Set against the stunning backdrop of the 15th-century Kronborg Castle, IRONMAN 70.3 Elsinore delivered a day of world-class racing as Great Britain’s Kat Matthews and Belgium’s Marten Van Riel claimed impressive victories. IRONMAN 70.3 Elsinore marked the eighth stop on the Experience Oman IRONMAN Pro Series circuit, and the first time this historic Danish city has hosted a Pro Series event.
Women’s Race
The women’s race began at a relentless pace, with Australia’s Natalie Van Coevorden leading the way out of the water in a swift 24:15, heading a tightly packed front group of five that included Fenella Langridge (GBR), Marta Sánchez (ESP), Lotte Wilms (NLD), and Lena Meißner (DEU), all separated by just 10 seconds. Matthews exited just under two minutes behind.
On the bike, Lotte Wilms took control at the front, stretching the field as the race began to take shape. Behind, Denmark’s Katrine Christensen faced early adversity, receiving a penalty in transition. Undeterred, she delivered an impressive ride, bridging a four-minute swim deficit to rejoin the main chase pack.
As the kilometers ticked by, Sánchez moved into second position, while Wilms maintained her advantage at the lead, holding a gap of over two minutes. Matthews, riding in the chase pack alongside Langridge, remained approximately three minutes back heading into T2, with both athletes beginning the run together.
Out onto the run course, Sánchez led early alongside Hanne de Vet (BEL), but the complexion of the race was about to change. Despite experiencing cramps in T2, Christensen quickly regained momentum, while Meißner surged to the front on the opening lap.
Eight kilometers in, Christensen took control from Meißner, but Matthews—already charging through the field—was rapidly closing. By the 3km mark she had halved her deficit, and by 10km she took the pass on Christensen.
In a commanding display, Matthews maintained both speed and composure, producing a race-defining 1:16 half marathon split. Having moved up seven places on the run, she surged to the front and never looked back, breaking the tape in dominant fashion in a time of 4:02:57.
Christensen’s resilience earned her second place on home soil, just 35 seconds back from Matthews, with Meißner completing the podium after a strong all-round performance.
Matthews said: “The plan was to do what I can to get to the front. But I did not expect to feel so bad on the bike – there were a lot of challenges… Getting onto the run, I didn’t feel great, but one of the pro men came past me at the start of the run and I was like ‘bam, switch on’ and I just ran with him for what must have been 8k or something – I can blame him for the first five kilometres!”
Men’s Race
The men’s race was equally dynamic from the outset, with South Africa’s Jamie Riddle and Germany’s Hannes Butters pushing the pace in the water. It was Butters who clocked the fastest swim of the day in 21:47, exiting alongside Riddle to establish an early lead group.
On the bike, local favorite Valdemar Solok thrilled the home crowd, riding assertively to the front and asserting control. Van Riel soon joined him, with the pair working together effectively to build an advantage over the rest of the field.
Behind them, a strong chase group formed, including Pierre Dupuy (FRA), Kristian Høgenhaug (DEN), and others, with the top four men all producing sub-two-hour bike splits in a testament to the pace of racing.
Solok entered T2 marginally ahead, but Van Riel wasted no time asserting himself on the run. The two remained shoulder-to-shoulder in the early stages, with Solok refusing to yield in front of his home supporters.
However, as the race unfolded, Van Riel gradually applied pressure, eventually breaking clear to take control. Displaying his trademark strength and consistency, the Belgian dominated the run to secure his sixth IRONMAN 70.3 victory in a time of 03:36:03.
Behind them, Riddle held position early in third, but France’s Simon Viain produced a standout run performance (1:09:25), slicing through the field to claim the final podium spot.
Solok’s second-place finish marked a career-defining performance for the Dane, while Viain’s late surge completed an exciting men’s podium. Riddle and Høgenhaug rounded out the top five.
Van Riel said: “It was full gas [on the run]. In the beginning, Valdemar was running with me and he did not make it easy for me. But yeah, I could control it a little bit once I had a solid gap to him, and make sure that I didn’t completely collapse and get the full 2,500 points and the ‘W’ in the bag, so yeah that’s incredible.”
Top Five Female Professional Results
| Pos |
Name |
Swim |
Bike |
Run |
Total Time |
Pro Series Points (unofficial) |
Prize Money |
| 1 |
Kat Matthews (GBR) |
26:04 |
2:15:10 |
1:16:36 |
4:02:57 |
2500 |
$7,500 |
| 2 |
Katrine Christensen (DEN) |
28:08 |
2:09:56 |
1:19:31 |
4:03:33 |
2464 |
$5,000 |
| 3 |
Lena Meißner (DEU) |
24:17 |
2:14:16 |
1:21:13 |
4:04:55 |
2382 |
$3,750 |
| 4 |
Audrey Merle (FRA) |
25:08 |
2:13:49 |
1:21:54 |
4:05:58 |
2319 |
$3,000 |
| 5 |
Marta Sánchez (ESP) |
24:19 |
2:13:57 |
1:23:03 |
4:06:33 |
2284 |
$2,000 |
Top Five Male Professional Results
| Pos |
Name |
Swim |
Bike |
Run |
Total Time |
Pro Series Points (unofficial) |
Prize Money |
| 1 |
Marten Van Riel (BEL) |
21:55 |
1:58:04 |
1:11:31 |
3:36:03 |
2500 |
$7,500 |
| 2 |
Valdemar Solok (DEN) |
21:56 |
1:58:18 |
1:12:43 |
3:37:18 |
2425 |
$5,000 |
| 3 |
Simon Viain (FRA) |
22:42 |
2:02:25 |
1:09:25 |
3:39:00 |
2323 |
$3,750 |
| 4 |
Jamie Riddle (ZAF) |
21:48 |
2:00:47 |
1:12:23 |
3:39:37 |
2286 |
$3,000 |
| 5 |
Kristian Høgenhaug (DEN) |
23:02 |
1:59:10 |
1:13:01 |
3:40:14 |
2249 |
$2,000 |
Full results for the 2026 IRONMAN 70.3 Elsinore will be available here: ironman.com/races/im703-elsinore/results
IRONMAN Pro Series Standings
The Experience Oman IRONMAN Pro Series is a year-long performance-based triathlon race series with professional triathletes being able to earn points at 16 races globally. Open to approximately 1,000 eligible professional triathletes worldwide, the Experience Oman IRONMAN Pro Series ushers in a new era of IRONMAN racing where Every Second Matters with every second behind the race winner equating to a point earned or lost. For any athlete, only their top five event results count towards their overall Pro Series points and standing, of which a maximum of three IRONMAN results can be counted. How it works can be found here: www.ironman.com/proseries/about-ironman-pro-series.
Following today’s race, the biggest movers in the women’s standings were Kat Matthews, who climbs four places into third, and Lotte Wilms, who moves up two places into second, with Fenella Langridge now sitting in fourth overall.
In the men’s standings, the top five remain unchanged, but Rasmus Svenningson’s 11th-place finish in Elsinore sees him surge nine places into sixth, while race winner Marten Van Riel—bolstered by his earlier second-place finish at the Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas North American Championship—also jumps nine places to sit eighth.
Overall IRONMAN Pro Series Standings – Top Five Male (After Seven Events)
| Rank |
Name (Country) |
Total IRONMAN Pro Series Points (Max Top 5 events) |
Total Eligible Races Scored |
Eligible IRONMAN Races Scored |
Eligible IRONMAN 70.3 Races Scored |
| 1 |
Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) |
14,142 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
| 2 |
Matt Hanson (USA) |
10,814 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
| 3 |
Sam Long (USA) |
8,697 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
| 4 |
Rudy Von Berg (USA) |
8,543 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
| 5 |
Ben Kanute (USA) |
8,155 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
Overall IRONMAN Pro Series Standings – Top Five Female (After Eight Events)
| Rank |
Name (Country) |
Total IRONMAN Pro Series Points (Max Top 5 events) |
Total Eligible Races Scored |
Eligible IRONMAN Races Scored |
Eligible IRONMAN 70.3 Races Scored |
| 1 |
Solveig Løvseth (NOR) |
12,385 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
| 2 |
Lotte Wilms (NLD) |
10,691 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
| 3 |
Kat Matthews (GBR) |
10,000 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
| 4 |
Fenella Langridge (GBR) |
9,876 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
| 5 |
Hannah Berry (NZL) |
9,734 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
Full IRONMAN Pro Series standings can be found at www.ironman.com/proseries.
Next Events Coming Up
The Experience Oman IRONMAN Pro Series stays in Europe for the men’s European Championship at IRONMAN Frankfurt on June 28.
A free replay of the 2026 IRONMAN 70.3 Elisnore triathlon is available to international audiences via www.ironman.com/proseries or IRONMAN’s YouTube Page.
For more information on the IRONMAN Pro Series, visit www.ironman.com/proseries.