A two-time winner of IRONMAN Texas and three-time IRONMAN World Champion, Patrick Lange was one of the men most in the spotlight ahead of this year’s race.

The 39-year-old German last won in the Lone Star State in 2024 when he went on to triumph in the IMWC in Kona.

But a frustrating injury-hit 2025 meant he only raced three times – and not since Nice last September.

‘Difficult decision’

And his seasonal reappearance in Texas never really went to plan.

He was just under four minutes back after the swim and the gap went further out early on the bike before he took the decision to pull the pin.

He wasted little time updating fans via his Instagram account, explaining: “Today I had to make the difficult decision to end my Ironman Texas race early.

“It just wasn’t my day, I never really found my rhythm from the start. On top of that, pain in my weak spot, my lower back, increased as the bike leg went on.

“The past years in sport have taught me to listen to my body, and that’s exactly what I did today. As disappointing as it is not to finish a race, days like this are part of the sport.”

Missed opportunity

It was clearly not the start he wanted to 2026 and also denied him the chance of racing at the business end against what he termed the strongest-ever field outside of Kona.

At the time of his exit, all the other big favourites in the men’s race were still in contention, including defending Texas champion Kristian Blummenfelt.

Here’s how it all finished.