HOT ISLAND, FAST BIKES: QUINTANA ROO’S 2026 KONA RECAP
The Hawaii IRONMAN World Championship has come and gone, and we’re still buzzing. We started Kona Week with more pros racing aboard our bikes than ever: four pro women (Jana Uderstadt, Katrine Christensen, Marta Sánchez, and Grace Thek) and four men (Matt Hanson, Jordi Montraveta Moya, Kristian Høgenhaugh, and Jon Breivold), along with hundreds of Quintana Roo age group athletes all chasing a dream across the broiling heat of the Queen K Highway. And the island didn’t disappoint. (Heck, it never does!) Let's recap Quintana Roo’s week in Kona.
Before the Gun: Quintana Roo at the IRONMAN Village
The week kicked off for age groupers on Wednesday with the Parade of Nations, which concluded at the opening day of the expo at the IRONMAN Village, where Quintana Roo was present with its showroom and customary free service all week for Quintana Roo athletes, with four of our pro mechanics spinning wrenches to ensure QR bikes were dialed for race day.
We also had some good times planned with our pros, who were all present for an autograph session on Thursday before the race, signing special-edition trading cards and giving them to fans at the expo.
We also had three pros—Jordi Montraveta Moya, Grace Thek, and Jon Breivold—join us on the IRONMAN stage for a pre-race strategy session, with their own tips and tricks for age groupers on how to best manage their own race. From sighting the swim to staying present on your own race, to what their post-race meal will be (burgers were the overarching favorite!). It was a great chat.
The Kona Bike Count: QR Holds Its Ground
Quintana Roo is becoming the choice among discerning triathletes, and proved it yet again at the pier with the Hawaii IRONMAN World Championships Bike Count put on by our friends at Slowtwitch.com and Triathlete.com. At the close of count Friday evening, 6.32 percent of the field were on a Quintana Roo, earning fourth with 137 bikes on the pier.
Proven-fast bikes built and painted your way, delivered to your door, AND free mechanical support at key global races from Kona to Hamburg, The Woodlands to Roth, Nice and Marbella, plus a level of care after the sale that is unmatched? It’s clear nobody does triathlon bikes better, and triathlete preferences showed it in Kona
Race Day: The Rookies Showed Out
With eight pros making the start, how did they do? Ironically, it was the Kona rookies that showed up and showed out.
Grace Thek: 10th Place
The little Aussie made a big statement.
The pre-race prognosticators were gushing over the same names they typically do. But Thek flew a bit under the radar. Maybe because this was her first time on the Big Island. Many bigger names either detonated or DNF'd going for broke, but that was not Thek’s story.
Looking at her day, it was a balanced effort where she stayed within herself and on the plan. A 57-minute swim brought her out of the water in 15th place, just four minutes off the leader. Despite the temptation to ride hard, Thek kept things steady on the bike. "The first half of the bike I felt like I was struggling, but the back half of the bike I really felt like I was in a groove," Thek said.
After a 5:01 bike split, she embarked on a quick marathon (the eighth-best of the day) to finish 10th. "On the run, I tried to start very conservatively and not get overwhelmed by the atmosphere," she said. "My coach said if you're fresh at the top of Palani, that's probably a good sign. I felt strong in the last miles and was able to come across the finish strong."
A top-10 finish, on debut? She’ll take it. "It's unreal," she said. "To finally experience it for myself, it's really, really cool," Thek said.
Jon Breivold: 14th Place
Bike for show, run for dough, personified.
QR’s top male result came from a Norwegian whose Kona debut was all he dreamed it would be. Sure, the media was talking about the other three Norwegians racing, but despite being hyped as an uberbiker (which, to be fair, he is), Jon Breivold approached his Kona rookie effort with the smarts of a veteran. He conceded his weakness—the swim would put him on the back foot. And it did; he was second-to-last out of the water, 39th out of 40 pros. Not awesome.
But patiently, methodically, he rode forward through the field. The sixth-fastest bike split of the day (5:15, averaging 26.6 miles per hour) placed him inside the top 20 at T2. From there, he continued to pick off athletes to run a smart, balanced 2:48 marathon that carried him to 14th.
Side note: Jon’s sixth-fastest bike split was also the fastest among all the Norwegian pros racing. When everyone’s talking about “the Norwegians” being Blummenfelt, Iden, and Stornes, Breivold deserves to be entered into the conversation.
Marta Sánchez: Lucky 13th
Fortune favors the bold, and Marta was bold. A late fade still left her in the money.
We expected Marta to be among the leaders out of the water, and she was, exiting Kailua Bay in second. She battled at the front on the bike as well, taking her chances. For some, that early bravado blew up in their faces. After the 13th-fastest bike split (are we seeing a trend here?), she started the run along Ali'i in position for anything from a podium to a top-10 result.
But oof… that back half of the marathon. Sanchez was passed late by a few athletes and came home in that lucky 13th position. Still, she took her shot, and we'll take that every time. "It was really great fighting for a Top 10 result, but the last 10k of the run was really hard, and my whole body started to cramp. I was just thinking about making it to the finish line. It was special finally coming across that finish line, but that last 10k was a really, really long way! I'm glad I left it all out there—I'm proud of my day.
And a hunger? It's there.
"For sure, I'll be back here next year, stronger than ever," she says with a smile. "I want to have my best day here."
Jordi Montraveta Moya: 18th Place
A top 20 is what he wanted, and it’s what Jordi got. He called it a slow start (37th out of the water), but like Breivold, he found his pace on the bike, posting the 12th-fastest bike split of the day. In fact, he and Breivold rode close together for the rest of the bike: good company among teammates.
"At the beginning, I didn't feel so good, but I started slow, and kept building all day," he said. "It was also so good to see Jon out there having a great race."
A steady marathon then saw him chew up athletes who had overcooked the bike, moving him to 18th by the finish, where he riled up the crowd as he crossed the line, thrilled with what he’d accomplished. "To have a day like this in Kona, I'm very, very happy."
And he was gushing about the week. "Thanks to the Quintana Roo people for support all this week. Quintana Roo—best team!"
Matt Hanson: 20th Place
Matt’s 54-minute swim would be world-class at any venue… other than Kona. Here, it left him on the back foot out of the water. "I was cramping anytime I was trying to kick during the swim," he said. "I pretty much had to drag my feet the entire time!" He was forced to chase solo all day on the bike,
He began to make up time on the bike when "crosswinds hit, and my back decided it was done for the day. I had a rough 3-hr stretch there," Hanson said.
It all left him to hope against hope that the boys up front would crumble in the heat of the marathon, where his long running stride is his ace in the hole—and he felt good.
Indeed, a 2:40 marathon (the fourth-fastest of the day) carried him past several fellow pro men and up to 20th place overall. It was a day that would be a top-three result at most races, just not here, on this day.
By his own account, it was a good day, just not a great one. "Mixed emotions on this one," he said. "But... another World Championships in the bag!"
Jana Uderstadt: 20th Place
How do you negative-split a race in Kona? Ask Jana.
She was 15th here last year, and never one to oversell her hand; she came in with a very open mindset of “what will be, will be.”
The sweet, quiet German had a 1:04 swim that put her in pursuit mode from the outset, and through a 4:50 bike, was able to move forward. In the marathon, she continued her smart, methodical procession. With a 7:17/mile pace, she ripped off a 3:11 marathon (13th-best of the day) to take an impressive 20th overall.
Our Danish pros Kristian Høgenhaug and Katrine Christensen were casualties of Madame Pele and didn’t finish after the bike segment. Sometimes with risk comes the chance of a rough day.
IRONMAN Pro Series Final Rankings
Kona marked the finale of the 2026 IRONMAN Pro Series, the season-long chase for points at select IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 Races. How did our pros fare?
Marta Sánchez: 5th Place
To her 13th-place Kona finish, she can add a runner-up result at IRONMAN Lake Placid and third place at IRONMAN Texas North America Championships, plus a stack of top 70.3 results. She was the top earner among QR pros.
Matt Hanson: 9th Place
For a good part of the year, Matt resided at the top of the IRONMAN Pro Series list. 20th place at Kona saw him tumble a bit, but a Top 10 result after a full season proves the so-called “veteran” can still trade blows with all the young up-and-comers.
Grace Thek: 9th Place
For a woman who made her IRONMAN debut, not bad! Tenth in Kona plus a bunch of top placements all year have laid a solid foundation for even more IRONMAN success in the future.
Katrine Christensen: 15th Place
Katrine had a rough day and dropped out of the race in Kona after the bike, and thus missed out on final Pro Series points. It saw her finish in 15th place, with an $8,000 payout—a testament to the strength of her season.
Andy Krueger: 27th Place
Andy just missed out on Kona this year, but his strength of results across the season—highlighted at year’s end by a 9th place finish at IRONMAN Kalmar-Sweden—was rewarded by IRONMAN with a solid payout. Kona is coming soon for Andy….
Kristian Høgenhaug: 31st Place
The results for Kristian this year were solid—10th at Lake Placid, 5th at 70.3 Elsinore—especially considering he was balancing training with his first year being a dad. When he gets “dad life” on lock, look out!
Matthew Collins: 36th Place
We love this young Briton because he continues to take on the biggest fields at the biggest races without fear, knowing he needs to learn what the top looks like to get there. We expect Collins to continue to climb this list in the coming years.
Jana Uderstadt: 40th Place
Strong and steady, her 20th place Kona finish saw Jana vault 25 spots in the Pro Series.
Lots to learn after this one? Always. We will be back to see even more QR pros and age groupers meet their dreams head-on in Kona in 2028, and we'll be following up with some accounts from some of our age groupers and teams. The stories and inspiration continue…Jay
