Kat Matthews Triumphantly Returns to The Woodlands

A short seven months after a harrowing bike crash involving a car near this course, Kat Matthews used a dominating run performance to close a 9:19 gap and claim victory at IRONMAN Texas.

Matthews’ 2:49:32 marathon allowed her to pass long-time leaders Maja Stage Nielsen, Jocelyn McCauley, and Lauren Brandon. Stage Nielsen, who had taken the lead roughly four miles into the run, would settle for second place. McCauley, also returning from injury here, took third here, at the deepest full-distance prize purse outside of Kona and awarding five World Championship slots. Those final two slots were earned by Brandon and Danielle Lewis, respectively.

Matthews was understandably moved by her win: “It was pretty special. I didn’t have a great day. I had a bad swim, bad bike, but pulled it back on the run. I don’t know how I finished.”

When asked about when she thought she might finally be able to catch the leaders, she said, “At the start of the third loop where the time (deficit) went from five (minutes) to four to three really quickly.”

And Matthews is looking forward to returning to Kona: “I had a great holiday (in Kona) this year. It’ll be a bit different going back and racing it but I’m looking forward to it.”

Stage Nielsen was pleased with second place: “I’m so happy. What an experience. I don’t think you are ever sure of a lead when Kat is behind you, she’s such a great competitor. I had so much fun racing with Jocelyn on the bike. Just an amazing race.”

McCauley was understandably emotional after a strong performance given her recent injuries: “I was just happy to get to the start line, so third place is unbelievable. If people knew a tenth of what was needed to get me ready, people would be blown away. I had two surgeries and only been training for 11 weeks, and I got third.”

McCauley was planning on racing Lanzarote if she did not claim a Kona slot here, and she was very excited to get the job done here: “It was going to take me away from my family for a bit longer, and now I get to go home and go back to my kids!”

As it Happened

The cannon set off and immediately those lined up on the right hand side, led by Lauren Brandon, gapped most of the field. And by 2:15 into the race, Brandon already had nearly a 25 yard gap on the next closest swimmer.

Brandon held a 1:32 lead at the mile mark, chased by a trio of Lottie Lucas, Jocelyn McCauley, and Maja Stage Nielsen. Kat Matthews was solo fifth, 2:08 arrears, and Dede Greisbauer a solo sixth 2:32 back. Danielle Lewis and Jen Annett, meanwhile, were nearly five minutes off Brandon already.

Brandon continued to slash her way through the back of the men’s professional field. She wound up with the sixth fastest swim time of all professional athletes – man or woman – in 51:14. Brandon took her time in transition, pulling her aero kit up and over her shoulders and loading fuel into the pockets. Despite taking more than three minutes in transition, she still exited onto the bike before the next athlete finished the swim.

That next athlete was McCauley, 4:05 off Brandon’s time, joined shortly thereafter by Lucas and Stage Nielsen. Matthews had lost a lot of time to the chase pack over the back half of the swim, now 7:20 back but still solo in fifth. Greisbauer was sixth, 8:45 behind. Jess Smith and Alice Alberts were next, just under ten minutes off Brandon. Jodie Robertson and Amber Ferreira rounded out the top 10, and closed out the athletes within 14 minutes of the front.

Through the first few miles of the bike and McCauley and Nielsen had hacked forty seconds off of Brandon’s lead. In the process they’d dropped Lucas. Matthews was also moving quickly and matching McCauley and Nielsen’s pace.

After 20 miles and onto Hardy Toll Road, Brandon had ceded yet more time to the chasing pair or McCauley and Nielsen, her lead whittled to 2:12. Lucas, Matthews, and Greisbauer held position, but also had eaten into Brandon’s lead and within five minutes of the lead chasers. Alberts, Smith, Robertson, and Lewis all were holding position, but those in seventh through tenth ranged from 11:30 to nearly fifteen minutes off the pace already.

Roughly a quarter of the way through the bike and it was starting to become clear that it was merely a matter of when the chasing pair would make the catch of Brandon. The lead was now down to 1:06. Lucas remained in fourth, matching the pace of Brandon but meaning she was losing time to McCauley and Stage Nielsen. Matthews remained in fifth, riding faster than Brandon and Lucas, but not quite at the same pace that McCauley and Stage Nielsen were putting out. The fastest rider on the road, though, was Greisbauer.

At 2:40 race time and Brandon’s lead evaporated as McCauley and Stage Nielsen made the pass. Lucas and Matthews were still riding steadily in fourth and fifth, respectively, but Greisbauer continued to chip away at the gap, sitting two minutes behind Lucas and under a minute behind Matthews. Alberts in seventh was more than five minutes behind Greisbauer and more than 11 minutes from the front — it seemed that, at this point, the race for the top five positions (and all important World Championship slots) was officially well up the road.

Through 50 miles and the now leading trio of McCauley, Stage Nielsen, and Brandon were powering away from most of the field. Lucas was solo in fourth, more than four minutes behind. Matthews was next, just under five minutes off the pace, but she was about to be caught by Greisbauer (who was the only rider on the road gaining time on the leaders). The next closest rider was Alberts, more than 12 minutes off the lead now.

Indeed, as the women started their second loop, there were two lead groups on the road. McCauley, Stage Nielsen, and Brandon traded pulls on the front. Meanwhile, Griesbauer led the chase trio with Matthews and Lucas with her, five minutes from the lead of the race. Alberts, Lewis, Robertson, and Katharina Grohmann rounded out the top 10, spread between 12 and 21 minutes away from the lead.

With fewer than forty miles left to ride, the leading trio had managed to put in another twenty seconds into the chasing group. That chase group, though, now just consisted of Griesbauer and Matthews. Lucas had been dropped, now 6:20 off the mark. And during the next 20 miles, it was Brandon’s turn to be shed off the back of a group, McCauley and Stage Nielsen putting in a surge that left Brandon a minute behind. That pace also continued to distance the likes of Matthews and Griesbauer — seven minutes off the pace, but still continuing to put distance between themselves and anyone behind them. The biggest mover behind was Danielle Lewis, now in 7th, 8.5 minutes behind the likes of Matthews and Griesbauer.

In the closing stages of the bike, McCauley snapped the elastic to Stage Nielsen. With a 4:33:23 bike split, she had a 48 second lead on Stage Nielsen. Brandon was third, 4:10 back. Matthews was fourth, 9:19 from the lead. Griesbauer held fifth, 9:35 back. Lucas was sixth, 14:18 off the pace. Lewis was 7th, 16:02 behind. Alberts was 8th, 18:58 behind. Completing the top 10 off the bike were Robertson and Grohmann, both 24 minutes from the lead and, crucially, nearly 15 minutes from the all important fifth and final world championship slot awarded here.

On the opening miles of the run, McCauley ceded the lead position to Stage Nielsen, who immediately opened up a 55 second lead. Brandon was third, but she was not running quickly, 5:49 behind. Matthews was the fastest runner on course, even making up ground on the fast moving Stage Nielsen, and was projected to pass Brandon by the mile 6 mark. Lewis was the next fastest woman running, and she’d already passed Lucas and had Griesbauer in her sights. Much further back, Jen Annett had moved into a paying position for the first time all day, passing Robertson for the 10th and final paycheck.

Through the first loop of the run and Matthews had put the hammer down; she’d pushed her way up into third and was outrunning everyone on the course. Stage Nielsen still led, with a 1:37 lead on McCauley and more than six minutes on Matthews. Long-time leader Brandon was fourth. Lewis had indeed run into fifth. Lucas had also moved past Griesbauer, who was fading with cramps.

Nearing the end of the second loop and Matthews had pushed to second. Stage Nielsen’s gap was 4:47 over Matthews. That said, Matthews was flying, taking 20 to 30 seconds per mile out of the lead. McCauley had buckled down, holding onto third. Brandon had also locked into fourth, but was now 15:40 off the pace. Lewis had slowed her charge toward the front, but was now nearly nine minutes up on any challenger for her final claim to a Kona slot.

With four miles left to run, Matthews breezed into the lead, comfortably blowing past Stage Nielsen and adding 30 seconds per mile to her lead over the final four miles. McCauley continued to grind and would eventually finish third, with Brandon and Lewis earning the final two coveted Kona slots.

1. Kat Matthews 8:32:52
2. Maja Stage Nielsen 8:34:51
3. Jocelyn McCauley 8:45:45
4. Lauren Brandon 8:53:07
5. Danielle Lewis 8:56:28
6. Alice Alberts 9:05:34
7. Joanna Ryter 9:06:43
8. Jen Annett 9:14:00
9. Jodie Robertson 9:23:51
10. Amber Ferreira 9:27:43

Image: Kyle Rivas / Getty Images for IRONMAN