This is a preview of possibly the highest-quality IRONMAN outside of the World Championship. Click on the names to read about super-impressive wins for Norwegian duo Kristain Blummenfelt and Solveig Løvseth.
Rarely has there been a stronger event outside an IRONMAN World Championship than what we have in store in Texas this weekend.
We’ve got multiple IRONMAN World Champions, former Texas winners and some standout ‘relative newcomers’ to full distance all taking each other on.
And it’s fantastic for fans of the sport that these big guns aren’t ducking each other but instead relishing the competition.
It also underlines that the IRONMAN Pro Series is working well – after all there are eight Kona slots and similar prize money on offer at IRONMAN South Africa a day later but there’s no comparison in terms of the standard of the respective fields.
Texas has always been a big draw but this really is something special and in our preview below you can find all the details you need, including start times, streaming information and who to watch out for.
And a couple of other key things to mention is that this is the first time we’ll see the 20-metre draft zone on the bike in an IRONMAN field of this quality – but those expecting record times should be mindful of the weather forecast which currently suggests it will be hot and humid, with temperatures just under 30 degrees Celsius by early afternoon for the run.
Start times and how to watch live
IRONMAN Texas takes places on Saturday April 18 – and kicks off with the men’s race. They will get under way at 06:25 local time, which corresponds to 12:25 in the UK, 13:25 in Central Europe, 07:25 Eastern Standard Time and 04:25 on the West Coast.
The women will start racing six minutes later, at 06:31 local time. That’s 12:31 in the UK, 13:31 in Central Europe, 07:31 Eastern Standard Time and 04:31 on the West Coast.
The race will be broadcast live and we’ve embedded the YouTube stream below so you don’t need to leave this page.
Pro Men – Kona dress rehearsal
This could be the one of the largest men’s IRONMAN pro fields ever, with just under 80 slated to start.
And it’s packed with quality – starting with the three Norwegians who swept the podium at the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice last season.
Kristian Blummenfelt has bounced back in sensational style from a bike mechanical at IRONMAN New Zealand by seeing off Hayden Wilde and Jelle Geens with a 1:06 half at 70.3 Geelong before virtually repeating that feat at 70.3 Oceanside.
Casper Stornes, who won in Nice, was third on his return to action at Oceanside and Gustav Iden also made his seasonal appearance there after injury niggles.
Indeed the top five from California – Jonas Schomburg (GER) was second, Sam Long (USA) fourth and Jason West (USA) fifth – all re-oppose.
Three-time IRONMAN World Champion Patrick Lange (GER) is looking to claim his third IRONMAN Texas title (following wins in 2016 and 2024) while Matt Hanson (USA) is a two-time Woodlands champion, albeit from an era where there was nothing like this strength in depth.
And we haven’t even mentioned one of long-distance triathlon’s biggest draws – Lionel Sanders (CAN) – nor US powerhouse Rudy Von Berg.
One big reason for the increased level of competition is the number of short course and middle-distance stars moving up.
Blummenfelt off course is an Olympic champion but in Texas we’ll also see reigning 70.3 World Champion Jelle Geens make his eagerly-awaited IRONMAN bow alongside his fellow Belgian Marten Van Riel who bossed the T100 after the Paris Games in 2024.
Vincent Luis (FRA) is another in a similar bracket in what is a race to savour.
UPDATE: One man who won’t be there is uber biker Magnus Ditlev who is suffering from shingles.
Pro Women – Star trio stand out
It’s a similar story in the women’s race, with the top two from the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona last year – Solveig Løvseth (NOR) and Kat Matthews (GBR) – wearing bibs #1 and #2.
And in #3 is American superstar Taylor Knibb.
That trio have dominated on the women’s side this season – Matthews won IRONMAN New Zealand and 70.3 Geelong, Knibb took the T100 opener on the Gold Coast and followed up at Oceanside where the only person to get anywhere near was Løvseth.
Knibb of course was leading in Kona last year until the final few kilometres and it will be fascinating to see how she goes on her return to full distance.
She was runner up to Matthews here last year, the Brit having taken this title in each of the last three seasons and Kat arguably looks better than ever in 2026.
Those three will rightly be favourites for the podium places but there will be plenty of others looking to impact the race.
Lisa Perterer (AUT) is one of those as she’s made a stunning impact since stepping up in distance in the last few years – she was third here in 2025, then second to Løvseth at IRONMAN Lake Placid and fifth in Kona before taking the title at IRONMAN Cozumel to round out a superb campaign.
Hannah Berry (NZL) is the fourth of the top five from Kona to head to Texas, matching the tally from Nice in the men’s race.
One name missing though is India Lee (GBR) who had been scheduled to start but has now announced the race has come too soon and she will instead target IRONMAN Hamburg.
The Texas course
The IRONMAN Texas course is fast and flat.
It starts with a 2.4-mile lake swim at Lake Woodlands before heading through a spectator-lined canal toward the finish at Town Green Park.
The swim is point-to-point with only one turnaround and because the freshwater lake maintains an average temperature of 74 degrees fahrenheit, it could be with or without a wetsuit.
The 112-mile bike features two loops on the Hardy Toll Road and although it can often be windy, the flat course is known for its lightning-fast bike times.
And then the 26.2-mile run is one of the best supported there is. It takes place around Lake Woodlands and concludes with a spectacular finish on Waterway Ave.
Prize Money: What’s on the line?
The prize purse on offer this weekend is $175,000 – with each of the winners collecting a $28,000 share of that total.
As part of the IRONMAN Pro Series, athletes will also earn points as they seek to become the IRONMAN Pro Series Champion and win a share of the $1.8 million bonus prize purse.
Both reigning champions are here too – Blummenfelt and Matthews.
In Texas, the maximum possible score will be 5,000 points for 1st place, with points for all remaining professional finishers diminishing based on the time deficit to first place, at a rate of 1 point per 1 second deficit to the winner’s finishing time.
In addition to money and series points, there will be a total of 12 qualifying slots (six MPRO/six FPRO) for the IRONMAN World Championships in Kona later this season.
The total funds will be paid ten-deep, as follows:
- 1. $28,000
- 2. $17,500
- 3. $11,000
- 4. $8,500
- 5. $6,500
- 6. $5,000
- 7. $3,500
- 8. $3,000
- 9. $2,500
- 10. $2,000
