IRONMAN Texas: Start time, preview and how to watch live

This is a preview for IRONMAN Texas, which was won by Mexico’s Tomas Rodriguez Hernandez and Great Britain’s Kat Matthews.

The IRONMAN Pro Series makes its second stop this weekend in The Woodlands for IRONMAN Texas, which also doubles as the IRONMAN North American Championship for 2024.

Always entertaining, the race, which has become a staple of the North American calendar in recent years, will feature a stacked professional field thanks to its status as part of the brand new IRONMAN Pro Series.

In our preview below, you can find all the details you need, including start times, streaming information and who to watch out for in the professional men and women’s fields.

Start times and how to watch live

IRONMAN Texas will take place on Saturday April 27 and will kick off with the men’s race. They will get underway at 06:25 local time, which corresponds to 12:25 in the UK, 13:25 in Central Europe and 04:25 on the West Coast.

The women will start racing five minutes later, at 06:30 local time. This corresponds to 12:30 in the UK, 13:30 in Central Europe and 04:30 on the West Coast.

The race will be broadcast live, with the event the second race this year to be broadcast on the dedicated IRONMAN Pro Series app. You will be able to watch for free on race day here.

As always, the ever reliable IRONMAN Tracker is the perfect data addition to support your viewing. If you haven’t got it on your phone already, where have you been?!

Pro Men

In Texas, two-time IRONMAN World Champion Patrick Lange leads the lineup, with the German one of the heavy favourites to contend for the IRONMAN Pro Series title at the end of the season.

Having finished 16th at IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside three weeks ago, after a tough race, the 37-year-old will be seeking redemption in Texas, having won here back in 2016.

Joining Lange on the start list are the runner-up and third place finisher from last year, Robert Wilkowiecki and Matthew Marquardt, who are both opening their season on Saturday.

More established names include Lange’s main rivals for the pro series, Braden Currie and Joe Skipper, who finished sixth and tenth respectively at IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside.

Menno Koolhaas, sixth at the Miami T100 last month, won Challenge Almere in 7:36:36 last year and will be one to watch, with Ognjen Stojanovic another European flying under the radar who could have a big impact.

Americans Chris Leiferman and Trevor Foley will hope to have strong performances, as will Clement Mignon, the French World Long Distance Champion who has struggled for form so far this season.

All in all, there are at least ten men who can challenge for the podium, with the battle for the win between Lange, Currie, Skipper and potentially Mignon certain to ignite some fireworks.

Pro Women

In the women’s race, it remains to be seen if defending champion Kat Matthews will be racing after suffering a calf tear at the Miami T100, but if she does, she will undoubtedly be a force to be reckoned with.

Returning from their podium performances last year are American Jocelyn McCauley and Danish pro Maja Stage Nielsen, who will both be looking to replicate or even better their fantastic 2023 result.

Britain’s Fenella Langridge will be one to keep an eye out for, after finishing sixth at IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside. Last year, Langridge secured her first IRONMAN win in Western Australia and will be hungry for another victory in Texas.

Danielle Lewis and Alice Alberts, alongside McCauley, will fly the flag for the home team, with Kiwi duo Hannah Berry and Rebecca Clarke bringing an international flavour to the event.

Australian pair Penny Slater and Kylie Simpson are two more podium contenders, with Simpson racing over the full distance for the first time since brilliant back-to-back wins at IRONMAN Cairns and IRONMAN Australia last season.

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 $1.7 million bonus prize purse. 

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 twelve qualifying slots (six MPRO/six FPRO) for the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice and 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