Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2025 i 220 Triathlon

Over the years on 220 I’ve been lucky enough to meet some of my all-time heroes. Time spent with Dave Scott, Chrissie Wellington, Tim Don and Lucy Charles-Barclay as well as (of course!) the Brownlee brothers will always be great memories. This issue is a really special one though, as we step outside the world of triathlon to look at how the modern-day legends of swim, bike and run make it through the toughest of races. Enter Hector Pardoe, Tao Geoghegan Hart and Jasmin Paris, who share their discipline-specific advice (p28). I’m in awe of all three of them, but equally inspiring this issue is one of our own: Alex Yee (p22). Announcing his goals at the start of this year have left us all looking eagerly towards the London…

BIKE TAO GEOGHEGAN HART The youngest-ever winner of a Grand Tour, professional cyclist Geoghegan Hart rides for UCI WorldTeam Lidl–Trek and was the winner of the 2020 Giro d’Italia. RUN: JASMIN PARIS MBE The first woman to complete the iconic Barkley Marathons in 2024, Paris is an accomplished ultra-runner who has smashed multiple course records, including that of the Spine Race. SWIM: HECTOR PARDOE Representing Team GB at the Paris Olympic Games, Pardoe is used to racing tactically in the most difficult conditions. He holds the record time for swimming the length of Lake Windermere. SMASH THE SWIM One of the things we hear consistently here at 220 is that the open-water swim is the element of triathlon most triathletes find challenging. Whether it’s down to poor swim technique that…

First up, a confession. These reviews were meant to appear in the same issue as the men’s running jackets (issue 435) but thanks to a nasty dose of flu and bronchitis (yes, the bugs got me good this year) testing had to be delayed. On the plus side though, we had such a great response from brands this year that the eight new and updated jackets here wouldn’t have fit in the same issue anyway. Plus, this winter has been so wet and horrible here in my home county of Wiltshire that it’s fair to say every jacket here has had a thorough beasting. So what am I looking for? The jackets are a mix of waterproof, showerproof and windproof with one insulated option. In each case they are judged…

While the name might remind you of sports day at school (don’t drop the baton!), racing a triathlon relay comes in a couple of different formats. On the one hand you have the mixed relay, which is the type you might have seen professional athletes racing, for example at the Olympic Games, where each athlete must complete each leg (so everyone in the team swims, bikes and runs). More common in age-group racing is a team relay, where each member of the team takes one or two disciplines each. So a team of two might see one member swim and bike before handing over to the other team member for the run (for example). Or if there are three, each of you will take one discipline. I’ve got a bit…

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. This month’s column is about the strongest triathlete I ever had the privilege to meet. Not the best triathlete — although I do recall him saying that he once clocked 23 minutes for a 1500m swim, which most of us would jump at. Running was less his forte. When he completed the London Marathon last year by unconventional means (which I’ll come on to), he joked that it was likely the fastest way he would ever tackle the streets of the capital. But still, he was the strongest. And over the past five years, that strength only grew. When I first…

MEET THE TEST TEAM HELEN WEBSTER 220’s editor is also a qualified open-water swimming coach. ROB SLADE 220’s content editor and resident adventure seeker. MATT BAIRD Has spent years testing tri kit and accessories for 220. JACK SEXTY A strong agegrouper focusing on top-end gains. JAMES WITTS Former 220 editor James specialises in sports science. OUR RATINGS 0-49 % POOR SIMPLY PUT, DON’T BOTHER! 50-69 % AVERAGE IT’LL DO THE JOB WELL ENOUGH 70-79 % GOOD A DECENT PERFORMER 80-89 % IMPRESSIVE ONE OF THE BEST YOU CAN BUY 90+ % BUY NOW A GENUINE CLASS LEADER “Set-up is easy and ingenious. You simply ease the frame into the KickR then rotate the orange knob by the chainring upwards, which adds tension to the chain.” ZWIFT RIDE WITH KICKR CORE…

The multisport watch market is an evolving one, with computer-processing speed accelerating and feature lists lengthening. But one of the greatest advancements of recent times has been the AMOLED screen. AMOLED, meaning Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode, is a modified version of an OLED display. OLED means Organic Light-Emitting Diode. AMOLED technology is commonly used in mobile phones and televisions thanks to its incredibly crisp, colourful display. That vibrancy derives from thin strips of thin-film transistors (TFT) behind each pixel. These transistors help the electric current move super-fast across the main display, meaning not only smoother graphics but also a faster refresh rate - two key reasons why multisport brands are increasingly adopting them, including Coros with, as you’ll discover, their new Pace Pro model. On the downside, AMOLED screens drain…

01 Decide on a goal as a team. Do you want to achieve a fast time? Or just have fun? Are you all wanting to work to your strengths, or are you keen to take on a discipline you are less confident in to really focus on improving, without the pressure of the full race weighing on you? Agreeing on these goals as a team can make sure you all have an enjoyable experience. 02 Decide on a race as a team! This might sound obvious, but if your swimmer is petrified of sea swimming while your cyclist and runner are relishing the idea of sea air in their lungs, it might not make for the most harmonious of days out. Each member of the team needs to be excited…

MEET SEAN Sean McFarlane was runner-up in the inaugural Celtman, City to Summit and Brutal extreme triathlons. He runs This Way Up Media, a film production company, and Athletico Management with Dougie Vipond and Andy McCandlish. I can see there’s a right turn ahead and an illuminous sign. It all depends what’s written on it. I can cope with just a big directional arrow, but I feel that any advisory words would present a much more significant challenge. The big wide forest track is changing into something much narrower and windier. The snow makes progress difficult, and I’ve just jumped back on my saddle after succumbing to the somewhat inevitable sliding. As I bang my shoes on the side of the bike to free up the cleats from any compacted…

With over 2,000 stores in 79 countries, French outfit Decathlon’s the largest sporting goods retailer in the world. In the UK, its presence has simmered rather than boiled with around 50 stores up and down the country. For the unfamiliar, Decathlon’s seemingly a hybrid of Sports Direct meets Go Outdoor with your shopping basket containing anything from sledges to a pair of football socks. It also stocks bikes; more precisely, it stocks its own range of bikes. In 2018, Triban replaced B’twin as its lower-priced offering. Then a year later, Decathlon launched Van Rysel, aimed at the higher-end of the market. Those of you who follow professional cycling can’t have failed to notice that in 2024, Decathlon became joint headline sponsor of French WorldTour team Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, bringing…

CELTMAN EXTREME SCOTTISH TRIATHLON 14 JUNE 2025 Take on the race that many claim is ‘tougher than Norseman’ at your peril… 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 (● SPRINT) (various distances and events) East Fortune race track, Edinburgh, Scotland. tri-works.co.uk 30 OULTON PARK DUATHLON (● STANDARD) (various dists) Oulton Park Race Track, Little Budworth, Tarporley, Cheshire. opevents.co.uk APRIL 6 NORTHUMBERLAND DUATHLON (● STANDARD) (various dists) Druridge, Northumberland. vo2maxracingevents.co.uk 13 DYFI DASH TRIATHLON (400m S/20km B/5km R) Bro Dyfi Leisure Centre, Machynlleth. ceristtriathlon.org.uk WEST LANCASHIRE SPRING TRIATHLON…

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 have a standard facial grimace that has a mouth sealed tighter than a tomb” Recently my local running shop advertised for someone to come and work for them on a Saturday. My first thought was whether this might be an opportunity for one of my younger relatives who is looking to offset the crippling modern-day costs of going out for a few drinks, with a bit of extra income. The owners of the shop are friends of mine so I spoke to them about what sort of person they were looking for, and they said that they wanted someone who was a bit more…