In a race that in all facets was a showcase of why the sport of triathlon is so wonderful, Kristian Blummenfelt just silenced all possible critics and showed that he still belongs among the very best athletes in the world: after a magnificent battle, he won Ironman Texas in a lightning-fast time: 7:24:20. That put him just 56 seconds above Ditlev’s world best time (Challenge Roth 2024, ed.).
A spectacle was expected beforehand at the race, mainly because of the remarkably well-filled field of participants, not only in terms of quality, but also in terms of quantity. This was evident immediately after the swim, when Andrea Salvisberg came out of the water first after 48:26 minutes, but he was immediately followed by men like Ben Kanute, Thomas Gordon, Wilhelm Hirsch, Antonio Benito Lopez, Kristian Blummenfelt, Kieran Lindars, Andrew Horsfall-Turner, Finn Grosse-Freese, Rudy von Berg, Casper Stornes, Kristian Hogenhaug, Kacper Stepniak and Gustav Iden. Daniel Baekkegard and Leon Chevalier, also among the favorites beforehand, conceded more with 32 seconds and 3:25 minutes respectively.
Attack of the ‘Norwegian Train’
On the bike a large leading group stayed together for a long time, until the moment that the ‘Norwegian Train’ made a move: Blummenfelt and Iden tried to break away from their opponents after about 75 kilometer, grabbed a lead of ten seconds, but were never really let go and were soon caught again. Meanwhile, Cameron Wurf, Robert Kallin and Nick Thompson joined from behind, immediately setting the stage for more spectacle.
Due to several attacks, after about 120 kilometers a leading group of six was formed: Thompson, Kallin, Wurf, Hogenhaug, Benito Lopez and Blummenfelt. For more than forty kilometers this leading group of six rode together towards T2, but just before the end of the bike leg Von Berg also managed to ride back to these men. The bike leg was very fast for sure: Wurf recorded a time of 3:53hr which was almost impossible to comprehend.
Once in T2, serious differences appeared: Baekkegard, for example, came back in thirteenth place at three minutes, while Chevalier and Iden started the marathon in fifteenth and sixteenth, trailing by more than five minutes. For Iden, it was simply bad luck that he faced a flat tire in the closing stages of the bike, which definitely cost him a good position.
Blummenfelt outclasses Benito Lopez – and the rest
During the run, Wurf briefly took the initiative in the first kilometers, but the Australian was soon caught by Blummenfelt and Benito Lopez. Both men ran side by side for nine kilometers, grabbing a minute’s lead on the men behind them. In the tenth kilometer, however, Benito Lopez suddenly lost a minute on Blummenfelt, and even though the Spaniard briefly regained a few seconds on the Norwegian after that, the race was already decided by then. An unleashed Blummenfelt didn’t crack anywhere, steamed stoically towards the finish and added another beautiful victory to his record. In the meantime his gap to all other athletes increased significant.
Blummenfelt won the race in 7:24:20. Benito Lopez managed to secure the silver in 7:32:23 and Rudy von Berg took third in 7:33:26.
