Table of contents for January 2025 in 220 Triathlon

December is always a funny time of year in sports publishing. This issue is stranger than most however, as alongside a full photo report from the Ironman World Champs in Kona, showing the elite of our men's sport, we also have a guide to the best festive races to try… Yes, in the same issue as showing you what can be achieved with meticulous top-level training, we're also encouraging you to run around festooned in tinsel, dip in chilly water and refuel with plentiful supplies of mulled wine and mince pies. Maybe that's the beauty of being a triathlete though. We have swimming, cycling and running to play with (or we can put them all together) and we can train seriously but we can also use sport to have fun.…

KIT ZONE LONG-SLEEVE RUN TEES Humble it may be, but a good long-sleeved run tee is essential in any outdoor athlete's kit drawer. Come the chillier months, you'll be looking towards one of these for warmth and comfort, as well as visibility if not wearing a jacket. When it comes to testing, there are a few things we look out for. Comfort is high, as is fit. You also want your top to be light enough for performance, but snuggly enough that you feel warm when the mercury drops. Our testers also look for technical features. Did the tops wick sweat away effectively – and did the fabric still smell fresh after one or multiple runs? If you can get away with a couple of runs without washing, not only is…

01 Buddy up The first rule of open water swimming (and especially cold water swimming?) never go it alone. Even the best of us can get things wrong and having someone else with you reduces the risks of accidents and means that if the worst does happen, you can get help. Having a buddy also means you have someone to check in with –constant assessment of your own response to the water and of your friend's can help prevent problems like hypothermia before they even begin. Plus, you have someone to help you with kit (for example neoprene gloves are a pain to get off yourself when you're cold) and to drink hot choc with afterwards. 02 Make a plan I would always recommend a managed venue for cold water…

HOW WAS IT FOR YOU? IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPS BALA TRIATHLON My race bike isn't allowed on the bus. I'm going to have to race on my Brompton… Champagne Supernova' by Oasis blasts over the Bala Triathlon transition's loudspeaker, the Britpop band having enticed half the nation the previous day into staring at a spinning wheel of doom on Ticketmaster's website. This is probably the closest most of us will get to hearing Oasis in an outdoor setting this decade, and far cheaper too. Like those mono-browed chart botherers, the Bala Tri was also born in the 1990s and has been a regular presence on the UK tri circuit alongside the likes of the Vitruvian and Windsor Triathlon ever since. Times have been tough recently for the race, however, with 2020's cancelled even…

FAQ Winter can be a worrying time for your bike. Spray from wet roads can be particularly corrosive, especially if salt has been spread to prevent ice. Punctures are a big problem, too – replacing an inner tube on the roadside is much less fun in the cold. But, if you follow our plan to protect you and your bike, you'll storm through autumn/winter with plenty of miles in your legs ready for a summer of racing. Fit Mudguards Mudguards cut down the amount of spray that hits you and your bike when riding on wet roads. There are several types that can be fitted quickly and easily to a race bike, but always follow the manufacturer's instructions to assemble the mudguards. Best for a road bike are mudguards that…

THE BIG PIC Heavy swells saw the organisers of Challenge Barcelona on 3 November replace the swim with a 5km run. Despite not being able to showcase her strongest discipline, GB's Jess Learmonth still finished a solid second behind Germany's Caroline Pohle, while Belgium's Jonathan Wayaffe took the men's win in 2:18:55. JOSÉ LUIS HOURCADE/ CHALLENGE MEDIA…

BIG PIG IRONMAN WORLDS KONA IRONMAN WORLDS KONA…

KIT ZONE CHANGING ROBES GROUPTEST There are few pieces of kit that have exploded in popularity in recent years like the humble changing robe. Love 'em or loathe 'em, these voluminous, furry coats are now seen on everyone from professional athletes to dog walkers, open-water swimmers to folk popping to the supermarket. With popularity comes choice however and there are plenty out there to pick from. In this month's group test are eight that have arrived at 220 Towers over the last few weeks, from new launches to existing designs with updates. I've chosen a range which offers a variety of options, from lightweight packable robes to big puffy coats designed for maximum warmth. The options here are all good quality too and I've tried to include ones which offer good…

TRAINING NUTRITION Fibre is a type of complex carbohydrate that's found in plant-based foods such as peas, beans and lentils, fruit, dried fruit, veg and grains as well as nuts and seeds. As a triathlete, eating the 30g recommended daily dose of fibre will not only keep your digestive system super happy, it will help you feel fuller for longer (always a good thing for the constantly hungry triathlete) and prevent you feeling bloated, heavy and lethargic. First up, this quick and easy Greek-style beans on seeded sourdough toast elevates that good old staple to new, giddy heights. Made with big, fat butter beans, this dish provides around half your recommended daily intake of fibre, as well as protein, sustaining carbohydrate, B vitamins and minerals. It's all about the toast, though!…

ADVERTORIAL PALMA MARATHON MALLORCA There can't be many sights like a true marathon in full flow. Incorporating three distances, the full marathon, a half marathon and a 9K, a whopping 8,000 runners took part in the TUI Palma Marathon Mallorca events day on 20th October 2024. In doing so, the race consolidated its position as the biggest running event in the Balearic Islands, and one of the biggest female participation events in Europe with 44% of the field female this year. It's a truly Global entry list too with 75 nationalities represented. Annika Uckel (Germany) and the Aziz Boutoiz (Morocco) won the marathon distance events. Uckel dominated the race from the start, followed by Belgian Hannelore Polleunis, first runner up at the finish line in her debut at the marathon distance,…

Thanks to the time delay between writing and the mag going on sale this might be the issue on sale during the festive period, but as I write this month's offering, I am looking out of my front window watching hordes of zombies wearing blood-soaked bandages stagger past my house, demanding money with menaces from terrified passers-by. I know this probably sound like a normal night out in Coventry, but on this occasion, it is because it is Hallowe'en. WEEKEND WARRIOR Not that I find zombies, witches and vampires very scary. After more than 20 years doing triathlons I'm well used to the sight of people lurching around with sheet-white faces and bits falling off their bodies. Triathlon, for all it's wondrousness, can be scary sometimes, something I had cause…

START It wouldn't be 2024 without divisive elections and triathlon is not immune. The actual racing can be the easy bit at times, and sandwiched between the World Triathlon Championship Series finals in Spain and the men's Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, we had a far more tactical contest - choosing the next leader of World Triathlon, the sport's governing body. The Machiavelliansim had been clear weeks earlier when long-standing executive board members and two of eight presidential candidates, Mexico's Antonio Alvarez and Japan's Shin Otsuka, travelled to France for a European Triathlon Congress to present – only to withdraw from the contest and throw their support behind the secretary general Antonio Arimany of Spain. Both Alvarez and Otsuka were reprimanded for breaching election rules and with ongoing concerns about…

French brand Lapierre enjoyed a priceless marketing win when Cassandre Beaugrand stormed to women's Olympic triathlon victory upon the new Xelius DRS. Now, you can follow in Beaugrand's skid marks (or follow in Beaugrand's slipstream) as the bike that's been used in ‘secret' for months is now available to the general public. It's claimed that it's 15% more aerodynamically efficient than its predecessors, the Xelius SL and Aircode DRS, thanks primarily to new Kammtail and elliptical profiles. A Kammtail foil's when a bike manufacturer takes an elliptical tubing – highly aerodynamic – and then chops off the end to satisfy the international cycling governing body's rules on tube ratios, but it still performs aerodynamically thanks to this ‘virtual tail'. It's part of Lapierre's 3D Tubular frame design that also allows…

KIT ZONE £140 The last iteration of the On Cloudsurfer has been a regular in my shoe rotation since I first tested it in 2023. Back then, I scored it 89% and praised it for the plush cushioning, which was a pleasure to wear on easy runs. That's still the case now, so I was intrigued to see what the Cloudsurfer Next had to offer. The latter looks a little more like a dedicated run shoe, largely thanks to the lightweight engineered woven upper and the lack of oversized ‘Cloudsurfer' tab on the tongue. It has a 6mm drop, versus 10mm on the Cloudsurfer. I've gone up half a size with these shoes, as I often need to do with On, and the fit is pretty much spot on for…

KIT ZONE SWIM JAMMERS GROUPTEST Shorts, baggies, trunks jammers, speedos, budgies… Yep, there are many names for the humble swim shorts. But these are all slightly different and what you choose will depend on how streamlined you want to be, what you prefer in terms of feel and how brave you are… Jammers are a good option for most athletes. Sitting just above the knee they are designed to have a snug, athletic fit to reduce drag through the water, and it goes without saying that if they feel too loose or too tight –especially at the waist – then you should size up or down accordingly. The leg grippers on most jammers end just above the knee, but you can also get mid-length jammers that finish in the middle of…

TRAINING MASTERCLASS Given this is our issue on sale in December, you might be questioning why we're talking about swimming outdoors. After all – there's nice warm swimming pools for all that once race season is over. Right? I have to admit, when it comes to quality training sessions I would absolutely agree with you. For focussing on technique or for distance sessions, the pool is the place to go once water temperatures start dropping in the winter months. After all, it's near impossible for most of us to think about tweaking our stroke when our whole body just wants to curl up against the cold. Plus, unless you have truly exceptional acclimatisation built up over years of cold water swimming, you aren't going to be in there for very long.…

OULTON PARK DUATHLON 30 MARCH 2025 Put a spring in your step with a choice of draft-legal racing, a rowathon, 10k running and non-draft racing. DECEMBER 1 BLACK COUNTRY SPLASH & DASH AQUATHLON (400m S/5km R) Ounsdale Leisure Centre, Wolverhampton, West Midlands. entrycentral.com 15 DORNEY DUATHLON DECEMBER (various dists) Dorney Lake, Windsor, Buckinghamshire. atwevents.co.uk HALESOWEN AQUATHLON (400m S/5km R) Halesowen, West Midlands. britishtriathlon.org WOODFORD COMMUNITY DUATHLON (various distances) Woodford Community Centre, Stockport, Greater Manchester. mcafitness.co.uk MARCH 2025 2 FROSTY AQUATHLON (various dists) Littlehampton, West Sussex. tuff-fitty.co.uk 16 THE DRAFT-LEGAL ‘CHILLY' DUATHLON (∙ SPRINT) (5km R/20.5km B/ 3km R) Castle Combe Circuit, Chippenham, Wiltshire. dbmax.co.uk 23 ELY 115 SQUADRON DUATHLON (various dists) Ely, Cambridgeshire. elytriclub.co.uk LINGWOOD DUATHLON (various distances and events) Lingwood Village Hall, Norwich. tri-anglia.club TRIWORKS EAST FORTUNE DUATHLON (∙…