Innehållsförteckning för September 2024 från 220 Triathlon

WHY I TRI BIANCA FERNANDEZCLARK Bianca Fernandez-Clark is co-founder and chair of Fund Her Tri UK, a charity aimed at increasing gender parity in triathlon. The 40-year-old is originally from the Dominican Republic, but now lives in London and works in financial services. People who know me now might think I've always been a sports junkie, but I never did any sports growing up and the few times I tried, I was quite bad at it. I signed up for a local 10km aged 29 to try to help manage my deteriorating mental health. I couldn't run for more than 2mins initially, but achieving new milestones gave me a sense of purpose. I moved on to complete my first marathon within one year. I watched a Kona documentary in 2016…

TAG YOUR PICTURES @220TRIATHLON WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS 01 @vogtri I've been getting frustrated with my bike legs, it's taking time to adjust to the new bike and position and the old wattage seems to be taking a hit. 02 @mgalex10 My free coffee @kinandilk pick-me-up after forgetting my goggles. Back stronger 03 @sunderland_strider Second brick session of the year (starting with a 6am sea swim) went really well after few tweaks to the TT bike. Ended up having a brilliant session again with the club. 04 @jase140.6 Very hot morning run 05 @trigirlc Rain in the morning, sun in the afternoon 06 @skidders01 Lovely morning to get out there 07 @tigger_does_triathlon Saturday morning vibes. A swim at the lake followed by Moors Valley ParkRun and then a second breakfast! Livin’…

FEATURE PARATRI PARATRI FACTS DID YOU KNOW? The USA topped the paratri medal table in both Rio and Tokyo. GB were second in Rio, but dropped to third in Tokyo. Recovering from a stroke in a hospital in 2008, Mel Nicholls became captivated by the action from Beijing. The idea of paratriathlon at the Paralympic Games wasn't on the radar. In fact, it wasn't for another eight years that swim, bike and run would make its debut in Rio, but Nicholls needed a bit of inspiration. A car crash seven years earlier had left her with a heart condition that brought on repeated strokes and this time she wouldn't be able to return to running or cycling. “I thought: ‘Do you know what, I could try that?!” Nicholls says about the…

“It's now up to the athletes to show they've got this. They're a fantastic group that set the standards. But racing has been top notch: the French, Australians, Americans. They turn up every race and we can't be off our game. “There's talk of introducing a mixed team relay, which would be another exciting event for the sport, but the women's PTS3 category still doesn't have its own medal event, so hopefully we can have full classifications across both genders and then bring it together in the relay. “The challenge in Paris is being able to concentrate over two days. What do we need for the group on day one and how do we rebound if it's a good or bad day and recharge for day two? We can't take…

MEET THE TEST TEAM OUR RATINGS 90+ % BUY NOW A GENUINE CLASS LEADER 80-89 % IMPRESSIVE ONE OF THE BEST YOU CAN BUY 70-79 % GOOD A DECENT PERFORMER 50-69 % AVERAGE IT'LL DO THE JOB WELL ENOUGH 0-49 % POOR SIMPLY PUT, DON'T BOTHER! 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 age-grouper focusing on top-end gains. JAMES WITTS He's a published author writing about sports science. WAHOO TRACKR HEART RATE MONITOR £79.99 Chances are, if you look down at your wrists, you'll see a multisport watch that has one evolutionary commonality: the optical heart-rate sensor. They're usable, practical… and…

TOP-END WETSUITS If your goal is to exit T1 first, you'll want a suit that strikes the balance between flexibility, buoyancy and comfort, while also being super easy to remove on the fly. Orca Apex Flex £589 Soft and flexible; ideal for good swimmers. Issue 432 orca.com Yonda Ghost 3 £589 Impressive mix of flexibility and buoyancy. Issue 417 yondasports.com Sailfish G-Range 8 £691 Unrivalled freedom and the fastest on test. Issue 432 sailfish.com Zone3 Vanquish X £699 A dizzying array of tech put to good use. Issue 432 zone3.com Zoggs Hypex Ultra FS £700 Incredibly supple; improved hydrodynamics. Issue 432 zoggs.com BUDGET WETSUITS Always try before you buy as sizes can vary massively between brands. Then consider your swim ability, as some features may be lost on newbies (e.g.…

Scan your eye across any of the T100 triathlon start-lists and you'll see 20 of the very best triathletes in the world competing for the richest prize purse in the sport. Among them will often be the three Lucys. All the best of British. All exceptional in their own right. Reigning Ironman world champion Lucy Charles-Barclay needs little introduction, nor does Lucy Buckingham, first out of the water in London 2012, with half-a-dozen middle distance wins to her name. But then there's Yorkshire's Lucy Byram. Quietly going about her trade, content to slide by almost unnoticed, but at 25 years of age is a developing talent, who already has the look of a champion. The law graduate from Leeds took a route less travelled up to long-distance triathlon at the…

How will Britain's paratriathletes fare on the biggest stage? Who better to ask than 2021 Paralympic silver and bronze medallist George Peasgood. George, above, won't be competing in Paris as he continues his rehabilitation from a brain injury after a life changing bike crash, but he is getting stronger every day. 220: Who are your red hot medal favourites? GP: Dave Ellis and Luke Pollard. These boys have been working tremendously hard for years and they should be atop the middle step. Unfortunately, as they very well know with their broken chain in Tokyo, anything could happen. Also Claire Cashmore and Lauren Steadman. The usual question for these two is in what order they'll finish on the podium. It'll come down to who performs better on the day. 220: Who…

While there are more cost-effective ways of buying speed, a wheel upgrade is a guaranteed way to improve your triathlon bike split when comparing to shallow alloy rims you'll often find on off-the-peg tri or road bikes. In this grouptest, I'm reviewing versatile all-round wheelsets that take speed and stability into account, meaning that the average depth of the wheels is somewhere around 50mm. Many of them come in deeper or shallower versions, but I think this is the sweet spot if you want a race-day wheelset for your tri and road bike, or if you're looking for something to deal with the savage crosswinds of a course like Lanzarote. All the wheelsets are for disc brake-equipped bikes and are compatible with tubeless tyres, offering you lots of choice when…

COACH BEN BRIGHT As the former head coach of British Triathlon's Olympic Programme, Ben Bright oversaw our most successful Games to date. He's also a former triathlon Olympian (Sydney 2000) and is now the national coaching consultant for British Triathlon. Swimming in the open water compared to in the pool requires much of the same skillset with a few new ones added in. One of the biggest factors can be fear – it's scary swimming with less of a safety net than in the pool, particularly in a race when it's like a version of head-bobbing dodgems. Everyone thinks they're the only one swimming straight and that everyone else is out to get them, but rest assured that no-one is swimming straight and everyone is just trying to get through,…

NATIONAL TRIATHLON RELAYS 24 AUGUST 2024 One of the oldest events on the UK tri calendar but still one of the most enjoyable, where each member of a four-strong team completes a 500m swim, a 15km bike and a 5km run. EUROPEAN CHAMPS QUALIFIER WORLD CHAMPS QUALIFIER AUGUST 4 THE SNOWMAN TRIATHLON & DUATHLON (various dists and events) Plas Y Brenin, Capel Curig, North Wales. alwaysaimhighevents.com COWMAN TRIATHLON (various dists and events) Emberton Country Park, Olney, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. the-cowman.co.uk HERTFORDSHIRE & MIDDLESEX TRIATHLON (various dists and events) Merchant Taylors’ School, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. atwevents.co.uk BIG EAST & MALDON TRIATHLON (various dists and events) Promenade Park, Maldon, Essex. atwevents.co.uk 7 DORNEY EVENING TRIATHLON (various distances) Dorney Lake, Berkshire. dorneytriathlon.com 10 CONQUER THE CHILTERNS TRI (various distances) Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. runthrough.co.uk SALTY SEA…

STAR LETTER Got an opinion to share? Then email us at fao220@220triathlon.com MORE STEC SUFFERING Since my first triathlon in 1993 in Hong Kong I was hooked and raced consistently round the country and overseas for the age-group team. I had time off after developing rheumatoid arthritis, but managed to make numerous comebacks. My last race was in 2014 when life became a bit of a rollercoaster of rheumatoid flares, two rounds of major surgery, injury, ill health and, finally, the pandemic. Last year I felt I'd turned the corner. Training was going well and I started thinking about a triathlon not too far from home. Then from nowhere came Shiga toxin E. coli (STEC) – not from open water but from a food source as yet unknown. Twenty-four hours…

By the time you're reading this, the 2024 Olympics will be over. Whether the Brits achieved hero status or not, watching them battle it out over the swim, bike and run is a spectacle to behold. And if you've never raced before, it's one that may get you thinking… ‘Could I do that?’ The answer is a big, fat yes. Everyone starts somewhere, it's just knowing where and how. People enter the sport in so many different ways. It's all part of the journey. The beauty of triathlon is that there's something for everyone. If you don't swim, do a duathlon. If you don't cycle, do an aquathlon. “What's great when you look at the Olympic and Paralympics triathlon teams heading to Paris is the different journeys they've taken to…

1 SEPTEMBER All the ambulant classes compete on the first day of paratriathlon competition in Paris in the following order: ► Men's PTS3 ► Men's PTS2 ► Women's PTS2 ► Men's PTS5 ► Men's PTS4 ► Women's PTS5 ► Women's PTS4 2 SEPTEMBER The second day of competition sees the wheelchair classes followed by the visually-impaired triathletes. ► Men's PTWC ► Women's PTWC ► Men's PTVI ► Women's PTVI All the action starts at 7am BST (8am local time) on both days.…

01 LOST GOGGLES First off, try and remain calm! You've just started the day so there's no need for it to derail your entire race. Stop, fix your goggles and start again. A great trick, though, is to place your goggle straps underneath your swim cap, that way you can quickly adjust them without having to worry about losing the goggles themselves. Also try swimming without them in training occasionally, so if the worse does happen you'll be a little more prepared. 02 PUNCTURES You should have practised how to change a flat on your race wheels many times in training so race day is no different. Be prepared with not only all the right equipment but also the knowledge of how to change tyres efficiently and effectively. Changing a flat just…

KIT ZONE PERFORMANCE RUNNING SHOES All being well, barring any injuries, by the time you're reading this you should be in the middle of the racing season, putting all your incredible kit to good use. But sometimes it's time to retire and replace an old piece of gear or invest in something designed to help give you a performance boost. Cue a pair of go-faster race-day shoes. As triathletes, we know that weight matters. Which is why a pair of lighter shoes really can pay off. Okay, we may only be talking 100g or so per shoe over your training shoes, but throw in a cadence of around 120 strides per minute over 5km, 10km, 21km or 42.2km, and that soon adds up. If those weight savings are equal to energy…

01 Mix up the surfaces Do as much of your mileage as possible on soft and/or mixed surfaces. Run in parks and woods when you can. This will lessen the repetitive stress on your legs while also helping to develop strength and agility. The scenery will probably help you enjoy the run more as well. JM 02 Double up on shoes Have two pairs of training shoes on the go at any one time. One pair should be relatively new. Use them for any longer runs or runs predominantly on hard surfaces. You'll realise when the older shoes are worn out because you stop wanting to use them even on the shorter runs. If you're running on trails where you need additional grip, you might need a third pair, too.…

THIS MONTH'S COACHING PANEL ANDREW SHEAFF Maintaining swim technique in races US swim coach Andrew has been helping swimmers improve for 20+ years. He specialises in helping triathletes improve their swimming through online coaching. PHILIP HATZIZ Train for an IM in one year Tri coach and athlete Philip Hatzis is the founder of Tri Training Harder LLP. SARAH GREEN Strong abs Sarah is a rehab consultant and running guru at Six Physio, Fitzrovia. WILL SMITH Roadside repairs Will is a bike mechanic at London-based bike repair company, havebike. He specialises in offroad bikes and wheel truing. MAINTAINING SWIM TECHNIQUE IN RACES Q My swim technique seems to fall apart in races, how can I maintain it? Beth Yarling A Most triathletes are aware of how to maintain a given intensity…