Kyle Smith dominates Challenge Barcelona 2026 as Anastacia Nielsen bags first pro win

Under clear skies and over a calm sea, more than 4,000 athletes lined up at Challenge Barcelona 2026 on the Catalan coast. In the pro race, with over 70 starters, New Zealand's Kyle Smith and Denmark's Anastacia Nielsen won with authority.

Three weeks, two very different stories around Barcelona. On October 4, IRONMAN had to cancel its 2026 IRONMAN Calella-Barcelona, held in almost the same area, after torrential rain made racing impossible. Three weeks later, Challenge Barcelona was run under a blazing sun, much to the delight of the 4,000 athletes entered across the various distances.

In the flagship Middle Distance race (1.9 km swim, 90 km bike, 21 km run), the swim was a single 1,900 m loop in the sheltered waters off Mar Bella beach, with views of the Olympic port and the Forum park. Switzerland's Sven Thalmann came out of the water first in 23:54, just ahead of Germany's Jannik Schaufler, New Zealand's Kyle Smith and another German, Maximilian Krüger.

Kyle Smith's solo show in the men's race

After a quick transition, Kyle Smith took charge in the opening kilometers of the bike and rode away alone, topping 60 km/h on the flat, fast course. By kilometer 30 he already had more than two minutes in hand. The chase group of eight was made up of the French pair Gaspard Tharreau and Thomas Teofili, Spain's Jose Ignacio Gálvez Ponce, Sven Thalmann, Germans Schaufler and Krüger, Slovenia's Ul Densa, and Belgium's Pamphiel Pareyn.

Smith rode all 90 km on his own and came into T2 after 1:50:42 in the saddle, more than five minutes clear of his nearest rival. Denmark's Thor Bendix Madsen started the run in second, 20 seconds ahead of Schaufler.

Halfway through the three run loops along the seafront, with temperatures still climbing, Smith stretched his lead to six minutes and was never seen again, taking the 2026 title. Behind him, Schaufler moved into second before Thalmann caught him, with Gálvez Ponce 30 seconds back. Thalmann finally crossed the line second in 3:35:01, ahead of Schaufler, third in 3:35:40.

It was a good day and I felt really good. I'm getting some positive momentum back after a particularly tough year. There were 4,000 of us this weekend. It's great to celebrate such a beautiful sport and such a community here in Barcelona.
Kyle Smith2026 winner

The French delivered a remarkable team performance: Keran Gallou took fifth ahead of Pol Le Bot in sixth, with Thomas Teofili seventh, Pierre Moraz eighth, Mathieu Merland ninth, Lilian Pierre tenth and Gaspard Tharreau eleventh.

Men's Podium

1) Kyle Smith (New Zealand): 3:30:39

2) Sven Thalmann (Switzerland): 3:35:01

3) Jannik Schaufler (Germany): 3:35:40

In the women's race, Spain's Maria Vilas led out of the water in under 27 minutes, with French athletes Maëla Loison and Eva Marsac about 20 seconds behind her.

The first five women stayed bunched within a minute of each other over the opening kilometers of the bike. Denmark's Anastacia Nielsen gradually closed the gap on the second lap, then moved to the front and shared the pace-making with Loison. Italy's Marta Bernardi bridged up to the lead group in the first half of the bike leg.

Mishaps galore in the women's race

By the end of the bike, this group had 2:20 on Germany's Katharina Krüger and four other chasers. With just 750 meters to go, Nielsen dropped her chain but quickly got it back on. Vilas took advantage to reach T2 first, with a bike split of 2:09:26. She then fell as she dismounted, got back up and started the run alongside Bernardi, Nielsen and Loison.

Nielsen led at the run turnaround, with Bernardi 10 seconds back and Vilas a minute behind. The two then went head to head through the final kilometers.

The Dane crossed the line first in 4:00:59 for her first professional win. Bernardi was second in 4:01:04. Krüger passed Vilas two kilometers from the finish to complete the podium in 4:07:28.

The battle was extremely tight and tough. In the last 500 meters I sprinted as hard as I could. I dropped my chain on the bike, but I managed to get it back on quickly and get back into the race.
Anastacia Nielsen 2026 winner

For the French, Maëla Loison ended up seventh and Eva Marsac tenth.

Women's Podium

1) Anastacia Nielsen (Denmark): 4:00:59

2) Marta Bernardi (Italy): 4:01:04

3) Katharina Krüger (Germany): 4:07:28

Full results