Kat Matthews’s Canyon Speedmax CFR and New Shimano Dura Ace Wheels Are Ready for Nice

September 10, 2026

Kat Matthews is one of the most feared athletes on the pro triathlon tour. She’s the only woman to have won the IRONMAN Pro Series, although her ripped tire at IRONMAN Texas has made a third straight title a long shot. (Matthews decided to stick with her original schedule that included Roth rather than try and “catch up” with another full-distance IRONMAN race.)

She is relentless in all three legs of every race she enters, and as she has shown the world time and time again, she can never be counted out — no matter how much of a gap she faces. She arrived in Nice with three wins on the season, along with a fourth-place from the always-stacked Challenge Roth, despite being sick.

Matthews will be looking to make that four wins in 2026 in Nice. If she manages to cross the line first, it would be her maiden world title (after five second-place results – three-times at the IRONMAN World Championship and twice at the 70.3 worlds). Matthews arrives in Nice rested and apparently in great spirits, which bodes well as she hopes to avoid what she described at today’s press conference as “that dreaded second place.”

Helping lift her to a big result on Saturday will be her new Canyon Speedmax CFR – a bike that has been specifically designed to accommodate the smaller size frame she requires. She’s also armed with Shimano’s new Dura Ace wheels, which she’s been testing all year. Slowtwitch got the chance to check out Matthews’s bike — here’s everything she’ll be riding on race day.

*^{Matthews on the bike at Challenge Roth.}*

Bike Feature

Kat Matthews — Canyon Speedmax CFR

Drivetrain
Drivetrain / Groupset	Shimano
1x / 2x	2x
Crank Length	160
Front Chain Ring	58/44
Rear Cassette	11/34
Power Meter	Dura-Ace (built into chainset)
Wheels & Tires
Wheel Brand	Shimano
Wheel Model	Dura-Ace
Front Wheel Depth	100mm
Rear Wheel Depth	Disc
Tires	28 front 5000 TT, 30mm rear 5000 TT
Tire Pressure (Front)	65
Tire Pressure (Rear)	65
Cockpit & Setup
Base Bar	Canyon
Aero Bars	Canyon
Front BTA	bladder and the built-in front sort of torpedo bottle
Rear BTS	none
Computer	Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt
Contact Points
Saddle	Selle Italia Evo
Pedals	Shimano Dura-Ace

Matthews isn’t sure she’ll be riding the 100mm-deep front wheel on Saturday, but we did the shoot with that wheel. Shimano has built some 100mm-deep rear wheels for the company’s sponsored pros to use in Kona.