Kat Matthews and Marten Van Riel dominate in Bahrain

Britain’s Kat Matthews put disappointment in Kona behind her with a world-class run as she thumped the field at Ironman 70.3 Bahrain. Here’s Hal Crampin with our full race report…

Meanwhile, Belgian veteran Marten Van Riel powered to victory in the men’s race as Alistair Brownlee (GBR) returned a DNF.

The race played host to the 70.3 Middle Eastern Championship, with a mixed field of both short course and long course pros piquing interest.

Double Olympic champ Brownlee on the start line looking to reclaim another season that had been blighted by injuries, while Matthews, who had always planned to race here this year, was hoping to end the year on a high.

Joining them on the flat and fast course were regulars at this distance including Ellie Salthouse (AUS), Lucy Buckingham (GBR), short-course athletes like Britain’s Dan Dixon and Max Stapley, plus Van Riel and Henri Schoeman (RSA).

What happened in the men’s race at Ironman 70.3 Bahrain?

The race started at a blistering pace in Reef Island due to the swim prowess of the short-course athletes taking part.

However, Brownlee was never far behind and stuck with the front pack to come out of the bay together at the end of the 1.9km.

On the bike Van Riel moved to the front of the pack in his famous fluorescent tri-suit to begin setting a tempo that only Brownlee and Wilhelm Hirsch (GER) could keep pace with.

The tempo set by the Belgian appeared to prove challenging for some short course athletes who’d been in the front pack.

As the front three entered the Bahrain International Circuit, the athletes looked almost as aerodynamic as the Formula One cars that race there.

However, only two of Brownlee, Hirsch and Van Riel came through T2 and onto the run.

The Brit faced another setback as he reportedly suffered a puncture toward the end of the bike.

As Van Riel set off on the run he appeared comfortable, pulling away from Hirsch early on, creating a small gap in the first few kilometres. And that gap continued to grow as Van Riel averaged 3:19/km.

Further back, Schoeman, despite coming out of T2 90secs down on Van Riel, slowly clawed time back to be within a minute of the leader.

The Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medallist hovered around a minute behind Van Riel but couldn’t close the gap further.

The Belgian veteran cruised to victory in sunny Bahrain with a 1:10 half marathon to continue his transition from reliable short-course pro to middle-distance ace.

Schoeman finished second, while Stapley put in a fantastic performance to round off the podium in third.

Top 10 men’s results at Ironman 70.3 Bahrain

1. Marten Van Riel (BEL) – 3:31:21
2. Henri Schoeman (RSA) – 3:32:50
3. Max Stapley (GBR) – 3:34:20
4. Emil Holm (DEN) – 3:34:46
5. Gregory Barnaby (ITA) – 3:34:53
6. Wilhelm Hirsch (GER) – 3:35:12
7. Nicholas Quenet (RSA) – 3:35:40
8. Thor Bendix Madsen (DEN) – 3:37:39
9. Daniel Dixon (GBR) – 3:37:55
10. Mathias Petersen (DEN) – 3:38:31

What happened in the women’s race at Ironman 70.3 Bahrain?

The 1.9km swim around Reef Island saw Buckingham, an ever-present at the front of the swim, come out the water first with a gap of over 20secs to her closest chaser, Germany’s Caroline Pohle.

Race favourite Matthews came out the water almost three minutes down to Buckingham with a lot of work to do on the bike and run.

The Brit, who’s known for her prowess on the bike and run, would have hoped to be closer to the front but the warm water of Reef Island and a non-wetsuit swim played against her strengths.

Buckingham didn’t rest on her laurels as she pushed hard on the bike to add over a minute to her lead on Pohle.

Meanwhile, Matthews and Amelia Wilkinson (NZL), who ended up working together on the bike, were over five and a half minutes back coming out of T2.

In the latter stages of the bike, a car ended up on the course after an incident with a motorbike, causing Buckingham to go over the bonnet.

A little bashed up and in shock, she carried on and started strongly on the run, maintaining her gap back to the immediate chasers, but as the 10km marker approached she began to slow to almost 5min/km.

Despite picking herself up again and eventually getting back up to speed, Kat Matthews was already hot on her heels.

Matthews had Buckingham in her sights by 12km and had magnificently closed an almost five-and-a-half-minute deficit to the lead in just over 13km.  

Wilkinson followed Matthews through the field, but the latter maintained a gap over the Kiwi, which hovered at around a minute.

The Brit cruised to victory with a 1:19 half marathon, finishing with a total time of 3:59:07.

Wilkinson’s strong display on the bike and run saw her finish second, while Pohle came third.

Buckingham, meanwhile, crossed the line in seventh, which is remarkable given the events on the bike.

Her husband Mark Buckingham has confirmed on Instagram that she’s taken a trip to hospital for x-rays on her hip and elbow.

Top 10 women’s results at Ironman 70.3 Bahrain

1. Kat Matthews (GBR) – 3:59:07
2. Amelia Watkinson (NZL) – 3:59:43
3. Caroline Pohle (GER) – 4:00:17
4. Ellie Salthouse (AUS) – 4:00:50
5. Anna Bergsten (SWE) – 4:01:03
6. Kaidi Kivioja (EST) – 4:02:20
7. Lucy Buckingham (GBR) – 4:04:06
8. Laura Madsen (DEN) – 4:04:51
9. Kate Curran (GBR) – 4:08:34
10. Giorgia Priarone (ITA) 4:09:55

Top image credit: Ironman 70.3 Middle East