There can be times in which the structure of elite triathlon can be a little confusing. The World Triathlon Championship Series represents the sharp end of the sport, with the World Cup being a run below and the Continental Cups a step below that. When people outside of triathlon hear the term “World Cup”, though, they can often be forgiven for mistaking that as the premier level of the sport. Part of the issue here lies in the history of triathlon. In the 1990s, when the sport was starting to…

Stepping up to the WTCS is no small task. As the pinnacle of the sport, the World Triathlon Championship Series represents a new level to athletes. Fields are deeper, races are that bit faster and the attention is greater. Some athletes have races to forget on their debuts. Sometimes misfortune strikes and they are forced to DNF. On some occasions, though, athletes break through on their first dance and surprise everyone. Both 2021 and 2022 saw a number of strong debuts in the WTCS so, without further ado, today we…

As we recently presented with the women’s field, the character of elite triathlon racing grows and changes over time. The same is true on the men’s side as much as it is on the women’s. A decade ago, the norm was similar to what we have recently seen in the women’s race. World-class swim-bikers like Alistair Brownlee, Javier Gomez Noya, Richard Varga and Jonathan Brownlee formed small breakaway groups out of T1 and attacked the bike. As Gomez and the Brownlees also possessed world-class runs, there was rarely hope for…

Like all things in life, racing at the elite level of triathlon changes and evolves as new athletes emerge and others decline towards the end of their careers. Like artists competing over the same canvas, each athlete can paint in a style unique to them in the moment afforded by their athletic talents, leaving a vivid array of colours, styles and crafts over the years as athlete after athlete leaves their mark. Like any revolution, there will be clues ahead of time for how these changes will look. We will…

As a product, triathlon is built around two fundamentals. For the sport to grow and thrive, it needs its stars (the athletes) and a stage for them to perform upon. Everything else is largely tangential. For years now, short distance athletes have torn up the WTCS and produced sensational performances, not least in the most recent WTCS Final in Abu Dhabi. Their stage, though, is something that will require careful planning and consideration in the coming years. There are races on the WTCS circuit, such as Hamburg and Yokohama, that…