Having finally experienced the unique atmosphere of Challenge Roth for herself, Kat Matthews is now determined to complete the perfect week by claiming victory on her debut in Bavaria.
Slightly bemused by suggestions that it has taken her quite a long time to decide to race Roth, it seems the stars have at last aligned to give her an opportunity that she is clearly keen to grab with both hands.
A dominant Matthews started the season with a bang, taking wins at IRONMAN New Zealand and the 70.3 at Geelong. While a puncture in Texas may have deflated her Pro Series ambitions, victory at 70.3 Elsinore only served to enhance her credentials as pre-race favourite heading into Germany this week.
Arrived with the intention of winning
And, for once, Matthews is happy to shoulder that expectation, announcing at one of the pre-race press conferences how she had very much arrived with the intention of winning.
As an athlete who admits she is driven by the dark feelings of doubt that can invade her mind in between race days, the idea of being able to complete Roth, and win Roth, is something that gives her extra incentive.
“I’ve always wanted to race Roth; every athlete does,” she said. “But what I really want is to win Roth. I’m here to win Roth.
“When my confidence is low, sometimes I don’t say I’m here to win the race. But on the world championship stage, as Roth is, you have to have the confidence to say you are here to win.
‘Looking back and saying I did my best’
“The determination to finish the race, knowing the times I have doubted myself and being able to turn it around, is the most satisfying. That’s what drives me, and it’s about looking back and saying I did my best.”
Matthews may be the pre-race favourite, but she knows only too well that her main rival for the title come Sunday – Lucy Charles-Barclay – is not only a two-race veteran of Roth but also that those two races saw her secure a win and a runner-up place.
Having clearly been asked numerous times why it had taken her so long to finally sign up for Roth, she explained that this year was the first when IRONMAN racing commitments had allowed her to take the diversion to Bavaria.
“I’ve only been in the sport a few years – I hadn’t even done a long distance when Lucy Charles-Barclay won (in 2019), and this is the first opportunity for me to say, ‘Yes, please’ to Roth!” she said.
‘Now it is time for Challenge Roth’
“I’m not sure why people keep saying that it has taken me so long to get here; it really has been the only year where I think it has been a possibility for me. I think you always have the complication of needing to qualify for Kona, and then Kona itself.
“I think having focused on the Pro Series for the last couple of years, now it is time for Challenge Roth.”
And it is fair to say that she has already been blown away by the experience, even before the cannon sounds for the actual racing to begin.
“I’m already experiencing why people love being here,” she said. “It’s this atmosphere before the race and people’s genuine attitudes to the race; there is a big community feel. It’s about the athletes, the organisation, and the volunteers. It’s the locals, our homestays, everyone; it just already feels so encompassing in that real love for the sport.”
Having come so agonisingly close to winning both the IRONMAN and 70.3 world titles, perhaps it is the alignment of those same stars that brought her to Bavaria this week which will finally deliver the defining victory her career deserves.
