One of the most eagerly anticipated races of the modern triathlon era is now just days away, as a star-studded line-up of the sport’s biggest names heads to Texas for what promises to be a showdown for the ages.

Stacked with the world’s best men’s and women’s athletes, this cast of champions is ready to do battle over swim-bike-run in a race that many have already dubbed a ‘Kona 2.0’.

The cosmos has seemingly aligned to serve us up a mouthwatering prospect… So let’s get stuck into some of the key issues which we believe could prove crucial in the Lone Star State.

Can Blu, Knibb and Matthews maintain their stunning starts?

With six wins between the three of them at such an early stage of the season, it is really hard not to look at Kristian Blummenfelt, Kat Matthews and Taylor Knibb as the main contenders this weekend.

Big Blu may have struggled in his opener at IRONMAN New Zealand – where bike mechanics and nutrition issues played a part in his sixth-place finish – but he has since been in imperious form by winning two 70.3 events (at Geelong and Oceanside) with incredible running performances.

If the Norwegian gets it right, then it is hard to see anyone beating him, but will Taupō be playing on his mind? Ridiculous as it sounds, he will be under a certain amount of self-imposed pressure to show that he can be just as dominant at full distance as he has been at 70.3.

The battle between Matthews and Knibb is quite possibly the most eagerly anticipated one of the day, with both incredible women having won their opening brace of races this season – Matthews at Taupō and Geelong, and Knibb at the T100 on the Gold Coast and the 70.3 at Oceanside.

Knibb has set herself a crazy schedule this season, where she is keen to do battle on all fronts, including a push for the LA28 Olympics, and she will be keener than ever to lay down a marker on Matthews, one of her main Kona world championship rivals.

Indeed, while Knibb finished second at Texas last year – behind Matthews – she has not competed at this distance since she blew up on the Big Island in the finals last October, allowing Solveig Løvseth to come through and steal the crown.

Last year’s Pro Series winners, Blummenfelt and Matthews, will undoubtedly start as favourites, but they won’t need reminding that the calibre of competitors racing against them is of the highest standard.

Where will the main challenges come from?

The beauty of this race is that there truly could be challengers from anywhere in the field, be that in the men’s or women’s races.

Main challengers to Big Blu would have to include his Norwegian training partner and World Champion Casper Stornes and the German duo of Jonas Schomburg and Patrick Lange, who are capable of winning any race on their day.

But you also can’t rule out the likes of Sam Long, Lionel Sanders, Marten Van Riel or Gustav Iden. This is stacked, with a capital ‘S’.

As for the women’s race, it is very difficult to look outside of Matthews, Knibb and Løvseth, as all three are in fantastic form – Løvseth coming very close to catching Knibb at Oceanside, proving that her training schedule with the Norwegian boys is clearly paying off.

Another name to throw in the mix is Australian Grace Thek, who ran extremely well at Geelong to finish second behind Matthews and who was fourth at Oceanside, while Kiwi Hannah Berry also came in behind Matthews, this time at Taupo.

Is Lionel Sanders back to his best?

A fit and fully firing Lionel Sanders is undoubtedly a major threat to anyone in this race, and it will be fantastic to see him back and competing against the biggest names of the sport once again.

His battle with the nutritional condition RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency) was well documented on his YouTube channel and resulted in a complete change in both calorie intake and training regime.

Let’s be honest, he looks in incredible shape, and he battled to a 70.3 win at Dallas Little-Elm last month, which will have given him some confidence that the bad days are behind him.

A man who has made no secret of the fact that he wants to win the World Championship knows that time is running out for him to achieve that goal, and he will be desperate to show both his opponents and himself that he is on the right track for such success.

Can Jelle Geens go the full distance?

Undoubtedly one of the best short-course and middle-distance competitors in the world, the Belgian has chosen this weekend’s race in Texas to be his first-ever attempt at a full-distance race.

He admits to having never run 42km or, for that matter, ever cycled 180km… now he is planning to do them both for the first time straight after one another.

For most other athletes, the idea of jumping into such an unknown with such exalted company around to expose your faults and weaknesses would be enough for them to question whether competing was still such a good idea, especially when there is a less-stacked full IRONMAN taking place in South Africa on the same weekend.

But for Geens, the idea of testing himself against the best of the best is something which excites him, and we are backing him for a top ten finish… possibly even top five.

Will the weather play a part?

The athletes will no doubt be checking the forecast with eager eyes over the coming days, especially as they know Texas can be brutal in terms of both temperature and humidity.

Early indications are that this weekend will be no different, with the mercury nudging 30C and the prospect of light rain showers growing throughout the morning. Humidity is expected to be around 73%, which will undoubtedly require pacing and nutrition to be spot on.

• Check out our preview to IRONMAN Texas 2026 by clicking HERE.