AN IRONMAN RECORD, FOUR KONA QUALIFICATIONS, AND MORE BIG SUCCESSES
This weekend was a big one for Quintana Roo, with not one, not two, not three… but FOUR pro women qualified for the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona! Add to that: an IRONMAN record for Marta Sanchez, a fastest bike split at IRONMAN Texas, and a big-time bike bailout that helped save an exciting race for a special athlete. Let’s get into our biggest weekend recap of the Spring!
IRONMAN Texas: The Biggest Race of the Spring
Everything’s bigger in Texas, and this was one of the biggest races of the year. The IRONMAN Texas North American Pro Championship drew not only tons of age groupers from across the country—and a lot from Mexico—it drew a pro field that people were calling “Spring Kona.” With pretty much every big name expected to be on the start line in Hawaii this October, it was a world championship field. A stack of Pro Series points was on offer, as well as six coveted Kona qualification spots for both men and women. Athletes here meant business!
Quintana Roo had no less than seven pros racing. The men's field featured speedy Dane Kristian Høgenhaug, Briton Matthew Collins, and Americans Andy Krueger and Simon Shi, along with a name we know and love: American Matt Hanson. In the women’s field, we had three of our best taking the start: Spaniard Marta Sanchez, Australian Grace Thek, and young German upstart Jana Uderstadt.
Of course, we were in the IRONMAN Village expo with our complimentary mechanical services. Our team of pro mechanics helped tons of hyper-excited athletes get their bikes ready in time to see their IRONMAN dreams come true. The vibes were sky high!
As athletes checked in their bikes Friday night, Slowtwitch counted the pro bikes queued for action Saturday. A great indicator of Quintana Roo’s growing presence among the pros, Quintana Roo came in with the third-largest quantity of bikes in the pro pen with 8.5 percent of the pro field.
An IRONMAN Record and Kona Qualifications
Marta Sanchez finished 3rd at IRONMAN Texas.
We showed up in the morning for the swim start, cheering on all the athletes taking part in the day, and were blown away by all the amazing racing. Marta Sanchez ripped the second-fastest swim, putting herself right at the front of the race (and in front of the live coverage cameras with her now famous Studio NEXT giraffe print livery on her V-PRi bike).
Not far behind, Grace Thek and Jana Uderstadt exited in hot pursuit, each chasing one of the precious six Kona qualification slots. In a field of this depth, all hoped, but nothing was ever certain.
Sanchez had a dream day, and a big record was broken. Second out of the water, she maintained position among the leaders all day and ran to a brilliant third-place finish. Her time of 8:31:06 was the fastest-ever time for a Spanish female in an IRONMAN event. I repeat: she’s the fastest Spanish woman in IRONMAN history!
Thek also pulled off the big goal for the year: securing a debut Kona slot. It was her first-ever IRONMAN-branded event, and she pulled it off magically, finishing fifth in 8:40:44. On top of that, the result vaulted her into fourth in the IRONMAN Pro Series.
Uderstadt achieved her goal of securing a Kona slot as well, with a solid, balanced effort all day that carried her to the final Kona spot on offer, in 8:55:34. She was 15th in Kona last year; with even more confidence this year, we think Uderstadt is one of the most underrated pros in the field, and could surprise.
Among the men, the depth of field was immense. Kristian Høgenhaug bounced back from a good-but-not-great swim to power away solo all day to an astounding 3:54:03 bike split—averaging 28.84 mph—coming into run transition with the lead. He would eventually finish 12th, but came away content. While not what he wanted, a 7:35 in any other field would be a podium result. With Challenge Roth and IRONMAN Lake Placid on the schedule, the season remains full steam ahead.
Matt Hanson finished 11th, but again, against this field, he remains content. Paired with his 3rd place result at IRONMAN New Zealand earlier this year, vaulted to second in the season-long IRONMAN Pro Series. This early in the season, that’s a fine place to be.
Factory Team pro Andy Krueger bounced back from a lonely slog on the bike and a sluggish early marathon to negative-split his run to take 34th. The 23-year-old Matthew Collins was in the mix with the lead men, and while the first half of his run was great, he melted a bit on the back half. Speaking with his father, Richard, every race is a learning experience, and being taken to school by the best in the sport is the best way to learn.
All told, Quintana Roo athletes and bikes played a major role in one of the biggest races of the year. We were glad to be there for it!
Another Kona Qualification at IRONMAN South Africa
At IRONMAN South Africa on Sunday, Katrine Christensen showed why she’s also going to be a rising talent on the world stage that we’re excited to have racing with us aboard her bright pink V-PRi. After a solid swim and challenging bike (and the eighth-fastest bike split of 4:55), she put together the second-fastest marathon to take second overall Sunday in Port Elizabeth—and lock up that Kona spot!
Dutch QR Factory Team pro Giel Meesen was out there taking on the deep men's field as well, finishing 20th, but also notching the 11th-fastest bike in 4:23—nice work for a young pro.
IRONMAN 70.3 Valencia
At IRONMAN 70.3 Valencia in Spain, Italian Factory Team pro Filipo Candeo made his Quintana Roo debut, finishing 37th among the pro men. As he gets more familiar with his bike, we’re looking forward to seeing him move up the ranks as one of Italy’s young talents.
Challenge Family Gran Canaria-Mogan
At one of the most popular cycling locations in the Spanish Canary Islands, Tara Rooney flew the American flag, finishing 12th as she kicked off her season.
Drew’s Big Day
Finally, an amazing story from IRONMAN Texas. One we’re quite proud of, and in many ways, one of our biggest results from the entire weekend (and maybe the year!).
Drew Davis is a triathlete with cerebral palsy. With his pilot cyclist and runner, Josh Wagner, the duo were taking on IRONMAN Texas Saturday. One major issue stood in the way of starting, however. The team learned Thursday night that Josh’s bike was broken in transit to the race and couldn’t be repaired.
The Quintana Roo service team didn’t hesitate to get their gears turning to find a solution for Drew. Promising to help, whatever it took, the QR crew grabbed an IRONMAN Village showroom V-PRi bike (in flashy Podium Gold, of course) and added all the retrofits necessary to attach Drew’s trailer bike. Crisis averted. They checked in their bike Friday afternoon, and on race day, they finished before the midnight cutoff!
We were stoked to be out on the Hardy toll road bike course, and as we cheered on the hundreds of age groupers riding their Quintana Roo bikes, we captured Drew and Josh ripping by. We were there at T2, where they made it across the line just 36 seconds from the bike course cutoff. After making it in under the wire, they could continue to the marathon. In the end, they made the 17-hour official finisher cutoff with 30 minutes to spare. We are beyond proud and thrilled to have a small part in their incredible day!
