220 Triathlon March 2026

Writing this in February, we seem to be going through an endless few weeks of grey, rain and cold in the UK at the moment. While it's a cliché to talk about training and weather, I mention this as a way of explaining that I'm well aware that our lead feature – on racing in the heat – might seem a strange choice for this issue. It's an important part of planning your tri season to consider though. As races get hotter, writer Liz Barrett asks how we can prepare for a scorching event and what event organisers and hydration brands are doing to help. As well as training and fuelling appropriately it's also worth considering your preferences and ability in your planning. Though if last year's women's Ironman World…

THE BIG PIC The second Challenge race of 2026, on 31 January, attracted a stellar line-up to the island of Sir Bani Yas, Abu Dhabi. Travelling to the UAE for the early-season hit-out were Max Stapley (GBR), Henri Schoeman (RSA), Jonas Schomburg (GER), Pierre Le Corre (FRA), Kieran Lindars (GBR), Jolien Vermeylen (BEL), Fenella Langridge (GBR), Natalie Van Coevorden (AUS) and Ellie Salthouse (AUS). But taking home the top prizes would be Schomburg (3:13:52) and Katrine Græsbøll Christensen (DEN, 3:37:45). The 96km bike course, seen here, travels around the island's ring road and through its hilly interior.…

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. If you're new to triathlon, you could be forgiven for being a bit non-plussed on hearing that the draft zone in professional Ironman events is being extended by 8m. There's always been advocacy for fairer racing, and extending the distance that one rider can legally track another and take advantage of their slipstream has long been a core argument. But if your focus is mainly on completing, the watt expenditure of a pro is unlikely to be a top concern. Don't dismiss it completely though. There are several areas of intrigue. Firstly, when we tune in to the World Championship in…

Career highlights A mid-pack World Triathlon racer, Perterer has graduated to the pointy end since stepping up to long distance. Here are her best results, to date… 1st, Ironman Cozumel, 2025 5th, Ironman World Champs, 2025 2nd, Singapore T100, 2025 3 x Olympian 2020 European Duathlon Champion In 2025, Lisa Perterer didn't just race well – she raced wisely. The Austrian Olympian-turned-long-course contender has been a familiar name in triathlon for more than a decade, but last season marked something of a shift. No longer defined by raw speed or early-career aggression, Perterer's year was built on durability, composure and the quiet confidence that only experience can bring. Across a demanding calendar that spanned Ironman, 70.3, T100 and the sport's biggest stage in Kona (where she finished fifth on debut),…

“He's going to do a triathlon carrying a 100lb tree.” With those immortal words, shouted across the 220 Triathlon offices back in 2016 (and the gobsmacked disbelief that hit us when he actually did it), adventurer and extreme athlete Ross Edgley landed with a bang in 220's world. Since then he's gone on to swim 1,792 miles around the coast in the Great British Swim and I was lucky enough to swim the last mile with him, as part of a flotilla of finish line swimmers, seeing first hand the joy he can bring to even the toughest event. It was a feat of endurance that caught the nation's imagination, in no small part due to Edgley's infectious enthusiasm, refusal to quit and willingness to share every gory detail of…

What was your standout moment from the 2025 women's Ironman World Championship in Kona? Was it Lucy Charles-Barclay collapsing into husband Reece's arms and calling it a day after pushing her body to its absolute limits? Perhaps it was seeing the US powerhouse Taylor Knibb sitting on the side of the Queen K having done the same? Or was it Norway's Solveig Løvseth's incredible debut win? Kat Matthews’ outstanding marathon leg that saw her cross the line just 35secs behind Løvseth? There were countless other performances on 11 October that combined to make those champs one of the greatest – and most punishing – in the sport's 47-year history. But one of the key protagonists in Kona that day was also the heat. Temperatures in the Energy Lab section of…