Fabian Kraft and Kat Matthews clinch triathlon titles

The tranquil waters of Lake Zell and sun-drenched Austrian alps made the picture-perfect backdrop for Sunday’s today’s IRONMAN 70.3 Zell am See-Kaprun triathlon.

The race saw Fabian Kraft of Germany clinch his second 70.3 triathlon win, and first ever Pro series win. Kat Matthews took the tape in the women’s professional race in a time of 4:08:50, setting a new course record in the process.  

In the men’s race, Germany’s Jannik Schafler led a huge group out of the water, in a time of 23:06, closely followed by compatriot Fabian Kraft and Michele Sarzilla of Italy, who were just seconds behind him. It was Kraft however who surged ahead on the bike, setting the pace as the pack headed into the Austrian Alps.

American Kevin McDowell began to make his move just ahead of the climb to up Filzensattal (1280m+), relinquishing control over the front of the race. Behind him Kraft, Simon Viain of France, Lasse Nygaard Priester of Germany, and Gregor Payet of Luzemberg juggled for position, with the latter sitting in second place halfway into the bike course.

Kraft,who was first off the bike in a time of 2:06:33, had  a seven-man chase pack in his wake, including Priester, McDowell, Thompson and Briton Cameron Main. Onto the run, Kraft and Main ran neck and neck out of T2 with Kraft again keen to assert his dominance over Main, peeling away from him in the first kilometer.

Main dropped back to fifth and exciting battle between McDowell and Payet unraveled behind Kraft. Kraft remained unfaltering right up until the end, taking the tape. Payet who had eventually distanced himself from McDowell followed him 90 seconds behind, and in a heartbreaking final kilometer, McDowell lost three places, meaning he finished in sixth, and Nick Thompson completed the podium.

In the women’s race, it was Rebecca Clarke of New Zealand, who led  out of the water, followed by an eight-strong pack which also included the likes of Daisy Davies of Britain, Nina Derron of Switzerland, Kat Matthews of Britain and Australian Lisa Perterer.

Clarke maintained her lead as she embarked on the 90-km (56-mile) bike course, but it wasn’t long until Matthews quickly got to work on the bike, and established herself at the front of the pack. Meanwhile, a hungry Solveig Løvseth of Norway began picking off her competitors, moving herself from ninth to second within the first 30k.

In the descent from Filzensattal, Austrian Lisa Peterner became the biggest mover, putting 25 seconds into Matthews and bridging into second place. Løvseth slipped into fourth, and local athlete Derron sat in third.
Matthews came off the bike in 2:17:52, with Perterer just seconds behind. A speedy transition of 02:42 meant Matthews was able to bridge a bigger gap between herself and the Austrian early on.  A chase pack including Løvseth and Derron were next to follow into T2.

Matthews set a blistering run pace of 03:39 per kilometer, remaining untouchable until the end. Meanwhile, Perterer continued her aggressive form to keep her competitors off her back, while Løvseth ran herself back into third.

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