Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2025 i 220 Triathlon

My journey in triathlon started some 15 years ago now. I’ve competed in most distances in triathlon, swimrun, running and open-water swimming events over the years and mostly considered my experiences to be good ones. But as a woman competing in the sport, I have to admit I’d never closely considered how my experience might differ from the male one. A few months ago however, I came across the work of Bianca Fernandez-Clark and Sophie Powers and their eye-opening report ‘Closing the gender gap: tackling the underrepresentation of women in triathlon’ and it changed my perception. We explore the topic in detail this month (p30) and I’d encourage anyone linked to multisport to read it. By making tri more welcoming to all, we’ll improve the sport overall – and that…

In December 2024 a report was released by two organisations, SheRACES and Women in Tri UK, entitled ‘Closing the gender gap: tackling the underrepresentation of women in triathlon’. The results and testimony from over 900 female triathletes, who contributed to the survey and shared their real-life experiences of events in the UK and around the world, shocked the global tri community. The statistics, such as ‘only 3% of athletes reported neither being deterred from entering a race (for reasons other than cost), nor experiencing inequitable provision as a woman’, were stark. Others, while less surprising, still made for uncomfortable reading – ‘67% of women are put off entering triathlon events due to the cost’ and ‘57% of respondents have experienced insufficient toilet provisions at races’. Then there was this –…

We’ve already covered off what’s new in entry-level tri-suits (issue 443 group test), as well as the men’s top-end tri-suits (issue 444 group test) so this month it’s the turn of the more premium women’s offerings. Aside from the larger spend though, what should you be looking for in a top-end tri-suit? Well, this is where brands start to couple comfort and performance with real technical edge to give you those marginal gains come race day. Fit is key as always, but what should you look for in a women’s suit? Well, comfort has to be a priority. No matter how technical a suit is, if you don’t feel great in it you won’t have a great race. This extends to how the design copes with women’s physiology too. Is…

“I position myself toward the back, knowing my front crawl has more in common with a pedalo than a powerboat” MEET ROB SLADE 220’s former content editor Rob has been running, cycling and hiking since he was a teenager, but pulled on the tri-suit for the first time in 2021. Since then, he’s raced everything from supersprint triathlon up to half Ironman. “Jesus, my butt hurts,” I say to myself as I return the saddle after a short climb. I knew I should’ve given the tri-suit a few extra outings in the run-up to this race. It’s not that I haven’t worn it before. It’s accompanied me for most of the races I’ve done over the last few years and throughout my spell working on this very magazine, but this…

THE BIG PIC Challenge Gdansk, Poland, gets underway on 22 June. Marcel Bolbat (GER) would set a new race record to win in 3:44:03, after closing a 2:30min gap on the run to second-place Louis Woodgate (GRE). Swiss Nina Derron – sister of Olympic silver medallist Julie – led from bike to tape, with a finishing time of 4:15:41.…

A few issues back, I tested Van Rysel’s RCR road bike and my word, was I impressed. Decathlon, the brains behind the Van Rysel range, had thrown its considerable heft behind the RCR, maximising premium development tools (using the same wind tunnel and expertise as Onera, France’s answer to NASA) and maximising value (it featured a power meter, electronic groupset and carbon galore for around four grand). It was fast, comfortable and just inspired you to get out on the road. Well now, it’s onto another bike in the Van Rysel range, its first triathlon-specific number. The XCR Tri hits the tills just over €6K. That’s not cheap but is compared to its premium competition. Have they cut corners or slick through them? Let’s hop on-board and find out… TAPPING…

Preparing nutritionally for an event is a complicated business. Google what to do and you’ll find conflicting advice about what and how much to eat. Everybody has an opinion! The fact is, what works for one doesn’t work so well for another. Our bodies react to competition in different ways, so it’s important to develop your personal strategy during training. The theory is that you want to supercharge your muscles so they’re ready for the race of their life! Tapering contributes towards this; carbs are converted into blood glucose and used for energy, or stored as glycogen in the liver and muscle. You’ll be jittery and desperate to squeeze in a few more miles, but reducing the length and intensity of your training in the week before your race will…

MARTYN BRUNT Martyn is tri’s foremost average athlete and is living proof that hours of training and endless new kit are no substitute for ability. I remember doing Ironman Lanzarote a few years ago and seeing a placard on the side of the run which said: “We don’t do this because it’s easy – we do it because we thought it would be easy.” More than any other slogan I’ve seen, I feel this encapsulates my athletic ‘career’ – constantly underestimating the scale of the challenge I have signed up for and taking to the start in a state of blissful ignorance, until the bulldozer of reality arrives. As regular readers will know, every year I like to add some kind of daft sporting challenge to my regular triathlon calendar,…

TIM HEMING Cutting through the spin of tri to address the issues that matter, Tim is a sports journalist who has written extensively on triathlon for the national press. Race organisations in triathlon are often criticised. They’re easy targets. Triathlon can be an expensive sport, the bigger brands carry more prestige, promise a premium experience, and charge higher entry prices. So, when customers aren’t satisfied, they can be vocal. But the organisations also listen to their communities, and in the past few weeks I’ve witnessed a number of examples that deserve acknowledgement. Let’s start with World Triathlon. In running its multisport World Championships in Pontevedra, older age-groups started in later waves and some athletes didn’t make the time cut-off. Initially, these results were annulled as per the rules, but met…

Few triathletes have sparked quite as much attention as pro Taylor Knibb. The Ivy League-educated, Washington DC native, whose mother was an age-group long-distance world champion, started competing in swim, bike and run when she was 15. Her progression in the sport was swift, winning three world titles over the next five years. Known as much for her bike strength as her often hilarious, straight-shooting press interviews, 27-year-old Knibb now boasts a hugely impressive podium-finishes-to-race-starts ratio, with several jaw-dropping performances that will be studied by generations of budding tri stars for years to come. For example, when she finished second at the 2017 WTS Edmonton, to become the youngest podium finisher in World Triathlon history at just 19; when she won the 2021 World Triathlon Grand Final in Edmonton, beating…

Female participation in triathlon is 32% overall in the UK (source: Triathlon Industry Association), but this number drops dramatically as the distance increases, with men outnumbering women by more than 4:1 at Ironman events globally. Back in April, the news broke that the Ironman World Champs would, from 2026, be returning to its original one-day format in Kona, Hawaii, meaning men and women would once again be sharing the stage rather than having two separate race days. The news was met with a mixed response. On the pro side, it was warmly received, with many women relishing the return to racing alongside the men. “I missed the feeling of being part of something bigger,” posted 2023 champ Lucy Charles Barclay on her Instagram account. But what about the age-groupers? Ironman…

The Smart Swim goggles from revolutionary brand Form have been around since 2020 now, when I was lucky enough to be one of the first to test them. Since then the Smart Swim 2 added new features and an improved design and these strange looking goggles have become a common sight in pool training sessions – their augmented reality training screen which ‘floats’ inside one lens making it easy to follow sessions and track performance. So what’s new in 2025? As we were about to go to print with this issue these new ‘Smart Swim 2 Pro’ goggles arrived at my door. I wasn’t able to fully test the new features in time for this issue (a full review will appear at a later date in these pages and at…

Polarised or mirrored? Amber or grey? Big or small..? When it comes to choosing a set of goggles for open-water swimming, the choices can seem overwhelming. Over the next few pages I’ve tested seven pairs of goggles all designed to make swimming (and racing!) outdoors easier. But which should you go for? Many open-water goggles will be larger than pool goggles. The extra width and height on the lenses can increase peripheral vision and make it easier to see what (and who!) is around you. Comfort is key here though, so think about whether you prefer a goggle that sits in or just around your eyes, or a larger mask-style design. You’ll also need a pair that fit you well so try the ‘suction test’ before buying – poorly-fitting goggles…

“Half-term, deadlines and the end of the football season meant I struggled to get out on the bike!” Mention the Ironman bike leg to any triathlon novice and watch as their jaw drops and their mind is blown. Some 180km (112-miles) after a 3.8km swim and before a marathon run? It’s the stuff of endurance sporting legend; a distance first attempted at Ironman Hawaii in 1978 and still the M-Dot standard some 47 years later. With great distances come great challenges, however, especially when relentless winds (Ironman Lanzarote), extreme heat and humidity (Kona), and hills (Wales) are further obstacles to overcome. Aerodynamics, fuelling, efficiency, comfort, power output and more are all components that triathletes should seek to improve. And that’s before we go into trying to find a hotel on…