Racelify Blog

Category: Multisport News

  • Flash News: fēnix 9, Frodeno’s UTMB Win, Wołos Worlds

    Flash News: fēnix 9, Frodeno’s UTMB Win, Wołos Worlds

    A week in which Garmin unveiled a new flagship, and Jan Frodeno reminded everyone that winning does not stop when a career in professional triathlon ends. In Japan, two Polish riders reached the podium at a world championship, a full-distance race took place near Bydgoszcz, Poland, and one red card in Kraków, Poland showed how strictly IRONMAN now enforces its newest rule. Here is the roundup for 22-28 August.

    1. Garmin unveils the fēnix 9 and 9 Pro

    Garmin’s launch was the loudest release of the week. During a livestream on 25 August, Garmin unveiled the fēnix 9 and fēnix 9 Pro. The base version costs $1,000, and the Pro and Pro Solar models cost $1,100. Orders open today, 28 August.

    Internal storage grew from 32 to 64GB, and the AMOLED display now reaches about 2,000 nits, roughly twice as bright as the fēnix 8. The watch comes in three sizes, 43, 47 and 51mm, with the solar versions available only in the two larger sizes. All models get a titanium case back.

    Among the software additions, Garmin showed off Epic, a feature that stitches multi-day expeditions into one story built from photos, health data and results.

    2. Frodeno wins his age group at UTMB

    On 27 August the three-time IRONMAN world champion started OCC, the 50K finale of the UTMB Mont-Blanc series. At 61.4 km (38 miles) through the mountains, it was the longest run of Jan Frodeno’s life. He finished in 6:31:55, winning the M45-49 category by almost 25 minutes and placing 58th in a field of about 2,000.

    The best number is a different one: his time was faster than the winning result in the younger M40-44 category (6:33:47). Frodeno turned 45 on 18 August, so he had moved into the new age group just nine days before the start.

    This was not a race open to just anyone. OCC is the UTMB World Series final, and the entire amateur field had to qualify first. Three years after retiring from professional triathlon, Frodeno won an age-group category in a race that requires qualification to enter.

    3. Wołos crowned world champion in Japan, Miernik takes bronze

    On Thursday 27 August, the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships got underway in Niseko on Hokkaido, held in Asia for the first time in the event’s history. The opening event was an individual time trial, 15 km with the start and finish in Kyowa.

    In the K35-39 category, Ewelina Wołos was fastest in 20:17.87, an average of about 44.3 km/h. Britain’s Hayley Simmonds clawed back time in the second half of the course but fell short by 5.98 seconds. Bronze went to a second Polish rider, Ewelina Miernik (20:33.14).

    The new world champion’s name will be familiar from triathlon. Wołos won the K35-39 category at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Marbella in 4:59:30. She turned professional in February 2026, became Polish duathlon champion in May, and placed 11th at Challenge Roth in a personal best of 9:14:19. She closed her triathlon season on 11 August and switched to cycling. Clearly, the switch worked. The time trial field included 402 riders from 52 countries.

    4. Red card for filming his own finish

    Footage from the finish line at Enea IRONMAN 70.3 Kraków circulated across Polish social media this week. It shows an athlete filming his own finish on a small camera, crossing the line, and receiving a red card from a race official moments later. Grzegorz Dubowski appealed the decision. The appeal was rejected and the disqualification stood.

    The reason is not in doubt. In February 2026, IRONMAN tightened its rulebook, adding the line: “The use of any device (telephone, video camera, camera, glasses with a recording function, etc.) to take photos or record video during the race is prohibited. The athlete will be disqualified.”

    In practice, that removes everything at once: course selfies, a GoPro on the helmet, a live stream, camera glasses. Previously, carrying a phone was allowed as long as it was not used in a distracting way; now pressing record alone wipes the result. Dubowski said the camera was waiting for him 200 metres before the finish and that he had no idea about the change. Check the rulebook before your next start, since after eight hours on course a single gesture can erase the entire day.

    5. Leipzig debuts on the 70.3 calendar

    On Sunday 23 August, the first edition of IRONMAN 70.3 Leipzig took place. Wilhelm Hirsch won the men’s race in 3:30:59, ahead of Rico Bogen (3:32:59) and Pierre Dupuy (3:34:14).

    In the women’s race, Caroline Pohle had no rivals and finished in 3:53:42. Bianca Bogen was second, more than eleven minutes back (4:05:06), and Brooke Gillies took third seven seconds behind her (4:05:13).

    6. Borówno: 79 finishers on the full distance

    On Sunday 23 August, the Ocean Lava Metalkas Triathlon Polska took place near Bydgoszcz, Poland. Marcin Rodziewicz was fastest over the full distance in 9:07:08. The full 3.8 km / 180 km / 42.2 km was completed by 79 athletes, including 5 women.

    The swim took place on Lake Borówno, four laps for the full distance and two for the half. The finish and T2 transition were at the Zawisza sports complex on Gdańska 163 in Bydgoszcz, so the final kilometres of the run passed through the city. Three distances were on offer: sprint, half and full.

    The event is a veteran on the Polish calendar, held since 1997. For a full-distance race without a Hawaii-sized entry fee, this is the address.

    7. Räppo wins again in Tallinn

    On the same day, 23 August, Henry Räppo won IRONMAN 70.3 Tallinn for the second time. The Estonian crossed the line in 3:38:31, with Hannes Butters (3:39:38) and Enzo Bourdon (3:41:12) following.

    Italy’s Marta Bernardi won the women’s race in 4:12:04. The rest of the podium was tighter, with three seconds separating Sandra Huon (4:13:05) from Liis Kapten (4:13:08).

    8. Lima goes to the Americans, Molėtai blown out by weather

    Team USA swept the Pan American Cup in Lima. Carter Stuhlmacher won the men’s race after posting the fastest swim of the field (9:41 over 750m) and exiting the water 4 seconds clear. Foster Wilfong took silver. He trailed his teammate by 58 seconds out of the water but closed the gap in the bike group and ran the fastest split of the day (14:20 over 5 km).

    In the women’s race, Faith Duncan added a second win of the season after July’s Magog. The American rode the fastest bike split of the day (30:48), was first into T2, and added the fastest run (15:53), leaving experienced Elizabeth Bravo behind.

    Europe fared worse. The Junior Cup finals in Molėtai, Lithuania were cancelled because of weather, a season that had already lost races to heat this time lost one to the opposite extreme.

    Frodeno’s age-group win at UTMB and Wołos in the rainbow jersey are the week’s two best stories. The one with the most practical consequences is the third: since this season, a camera on an IRONMAN course wipes the result.

    9. WTCS Weihai: Beaugrand chases the title

    Tomorrow, 29 August, the WTCS series returns to Weihai for the third time running. The women’s start list has 55 names, including the last three world champions. The field is effectively complete.

    The most interesting situation belongs to Cassandre Beaugrand. The Olympic champion is sixth in the series standings with three results from four possible starts, so she needs points. Lisa Tertsch and Beth Potter, meanwhile, are defending their lead over the Frenchwoman.

    In the men’s race, remember the name Solomon Okrafo-Smart. The Briton will make his WTCS debut straight off his first World Cup win in Edmonton.

    10. Philipp heads to Kona after three races in a row

    Laura Philipp demolished the field at Kalmar two weeks ago. This Sunday she lines up at 70.3 Zell am See, then heads to the world championship in Nice, then straight to Hawaii. Three starts in under a month and a half before the season’s toughest race is a deliberate change after last year’s Kona, where the German defended her number one and finished third.

    “I think I overdid the preparation, because I really wanted to be ready for the heat and set myself the goal of winning,” she said on The Women’s Race podcast. “There’s a thin line between wanting something and wanting it too much.”

    Last year she spent weeks in isolation on Maui, then walked into Kona race week with a full schedule of champion’s duties. This year she will fly to the island two weeks before the start, and that is it. “Nobody can guarantee it will work. Nobody can guarantee it either if you focus on nothing but Hawaii from now on and grind through every session.”

    11. What’s next: Zell am See-Kaprun

    On Sunday 30 August, the 70.3 calendar moves to Austria for IRONMAN 70.3 Zell am See-Kaprun. The Alpine course usually rewards strong cyclists, so times will be noticeably slower than in flat Leipzig.

  • COROS Replaces Watches Bricked by Firmware Update

    COROS Replaces Watches Bricked by Firmware Update

    You update the firmware on your watch and think nothing more of it. A few days later, the device will not turn on. For some COROS owners, the last few weeks have gone exactly that way. The manufacturer has acknowledged the problem and is replacing the affected watches.

    What actually went wrong

    The story was first reported by DC Rainmaker, one of the most trusted reviewers in endurance sports tech. According to his reporting, reports have clearly risen of COROS watches that stop working after the firmware update from mid-May 2026.

    The most deceptive part is that the failure usually does not happen right away. The watch keeps working normally, then stops turning on days or weeks later. Warning signs sometimes appear first: odd behaviour, a sharp drop in battery life, and in some cases a sticking rotating crown. Because of that delay, it is hard to connect the failure to the update.

    In practice, this is bricking. The device stops responding to charging or to restart attempts. Once a watch fails this way, there is no rolling back to a previous firmware version and no reviving it on your own. For a triathlete mid-season, building training around heart rate and power data, that is losing your data rhythm at the worst possible time.

    COROS acknowledges the problem and replaces the hardware

    This is where it gets better, because COROS has not swept the issue under the rug. The company is replacing the affected devices. Darian Allberry, Head of Product Marketing and Support, confirmed it on 17 June 2026:

    For anyone who reaches out to us and whose device has failed following the recent firmware update, we are replacing those units.

    Darian Allberry, COROS, quoted by DC Rainmaker

    That is a translation of the original statement, but the meaning is clear. If your COROS failed after the May update, you are entitled to a replacement. You do not need to prove you did anything wrong. The manufacturer shipped a faulty update. The scale is clear from a figure the company itself provided: within a 72 hour window, over 100 reports came in about watches that had stopped working.

    Which models are affected

    To be straight about it, COROS has not published a closed list of models. What the company has said points to one thing: the problem is hitting watches that are two to four years old the hardest. The most frequently reported model is the COROS PACE 3. The company notes that this is partly a statistical effect. The PACE 3 is its best seller, so it naturally generates more reports. Treat that as a pointer to where the risk is highest, not as a list of condemned models.

    What to do right now

    • If your watch failed after the May update: contact COROS support. Mention the firmware-update failure, since the company’s own statement means a replacement is owed to you.
    • If your watch still works and you updated it in May: do not force anything. Resetting it or reflashing firmware blind makes no sense while the device is working.
    • Regardless of the above: sync your data to the app regularly, so a failure does not cost you your training history.

    The whole episode is a reminder of an old truth: a firmware update is not always a clean win. Sometimes it pays to wait a few days after release and see whether other users are reporting problems.

  • Zwift 2026: Level Cap Removed, Four Challenge Tiers

    Zwift 2026: Level Cap Removed, Four Challenge Tiers

    For years, level 100 was a ceiling in Zwift. You reached it and kept riding nowhere, at least in points terms. In the spring/summer 2026 update, the platform removed that cap on the bike and raised the running ceiling from 30 to 50. Alongside it comes a feature that suggests your next workout for you, and a challenge linking indoor trainer riding with real roads.

    The end of the level 100 ceiling

    As of 29 April 2026, cycling progression in Zwift has no upper limit. Past level 100 there are no more new kits or unlocks, but every further level still costs 50,000 drops, the in-game currency spent on gear in the virtual shop.

    Zwift also introduced accelerated experience counting for riders who had been stuck at the century mark for a long time despite continuing to ride. The surplus points convert at a rate of 4:1, so the climb catches up faster than new kilometres accumulate. Runners got the same mechanism in a weaker form, 2:1, along with the level cap rising from 30 to 50. For now there are no new kits for the higher running levels, just the number climbing.

    For a triathlete who spends a dozen or so hours a month on Zwift over winter, this is not cosmetic. Once someone hit the top, progression stopped meaning anything. Now the counter keeps turning, so long winter indoor intervals produce a tangible side effect again, beyond the TSS number itself.

    Next Up: Zwift suggests your workout

    The second major change is recommendations inside the Zwift Companion app. The Next Up card suggests what to do in your next session: a specific workout, a Robopacer Ride, or a route, based on your recent ride and run history and your weekly goal, if you set one.

    If you connect a Garmin, Wahoo or Hammerhead account, the recommendations also take in workouts done outside the app, on the road, not just on the trainer. Zwift says this helps the system avoid overtraining and lets it suggest rest. That makes sense for a triathlete: Zwift stops looking only at what happens inside it and tries to judge the load across the whole week.

    The Indoor Outdoor Challenge: four tiers, not one

    The Indoor Outdoor Challenge runs from 1 July to 30 September 2026. Riders mix trainer sessions in Zwift with outdoor activities, and the kilometres add up to a single pool. The condition for outdoor kilometres: a Garmin, Wahoo or Hammerhead account connected through Companion.

    The part that is easy to miss in the announcements is this. There are four reward tiers, not one:

    TierReward
    250 km100,000 drops
    500 kman exclusive cap and 20% off Maurten
    750 km5,000 XP
    1,000 kman in-game kit and an entry into a draw for a trip to L’Étape du Tour de France 2027

    Even if a rider does not reach a thousand kilometres in the quarter, it is still worth doing the maths. The Maurten discount unlocks at 500 km, roughly 40 km a week. The grand prize is a trip to L’Étape 2027, with flight, accommodation and a $100 Maurten voucher, drawn among everyone who reaches 1,000 km.

    No sign-up is needed. Anyone with an active subscription is in the challenge automatically.

    What this actually changes in training

    None of these features replaces a training plan built for a specific race, but for an amateur juggling work, family and training, it helps in two concrete places. First, “stuck at level 100” stops working as a demotivator for winter sessions. Second, linking watch data with the indoor riding app finally gives one coherent picture of the week instead of two separate logs.

    Next Up is brand new, and so far there is mostly beta feedback rather than hard data on how well it works. It is not yet clear how it handles unusual plans, for example full-distance training with long volume blocks instead of the standard 70.3 structure. It is a feature that learns from a rider’s history, so its accuracy should grow with regular use.

  • AI in Triathlon: Do Training Apps Understand Your Data?

    AI in Triathlon: Do Training Apps Understand Your Data?

    Not long ago, analysing training meant CSV exports, spreadsheets, manually comparing zones and long evenings spent over charts. Today more and more platforms try to make sense of it with artificial intelligence. The latest example is the Strava MCP Connector, an official link between Strava and Anthropic’s Claude assistant.

    It sounds technical, but the idea is simple: instead of digging through your activity history yourself, you can ask an AI about your own training in plain language. Not generic advice from the internet, but answers drawn from your actual activities.

    Strava MCP Connector: what actually happened

    Strava launched its official MCP Connector on 1 June 2026. The tool is available to Strava subscribers and links a Strava account to Claude. Access is read-only, runs through OAuth authorisation, and can be revoked at any time in settings.

    In practice this means Claude can analyse activity history, fitness trends, training load, GPS data, heart rate, pace and bike power. Strava stresses this is not a static data export but access to a user’s current account data.

    Some example questions that start to make sense:

    • Are my easy sessions actually easy?
    • How has my pace changed on similar routes over the last few months?
    • Does strength training or cycling affect my running?
    • What did my heart rate look like on intervals during my last training block?

    This is not yet an automatic coach that rebuilds an entire plan on its own. It is more of a very fast analyst that can read the data and pull out an answer without anyone copying charts by hand.

    Why this matters for triathletes

    Triathlon is an ideal sport for tools like this, because the data is everywhere. Swim, bike, run, intervals, heart rate, power, pace, sleep, HRV, fatigue, target race, taper. The problem for an amateur is no longer having too little data. It is having too much of it.

    So the biggest shift is not that an athlete gets yet another app. It is that analysis stops being reserved for people who already know how to read load charts, power zones and heart rate drift.

    If a system can answer, in plain language, why a Zone 2 run regularly finishes too hard, or why Sunday’s long run feels weak after Saturday’s ride, an amateur gets something valuable: faster feedback.

    AI in triathlon: a quick platform comparison

    The comparison below is not a ranking, since these tools solve slightly different problems. It is more of a quick map: what to pick if you want to analyse data, and what to pick if you want a plan that reacts to how training actually goes.

    PlatformMain useStrongest pointLimitationsIndicative price
    Strava MCP ConnectorAnalysing training history through ClaudeNatural-language questions about your own data: heart rate, pace, GPS, power, loadRead-only access; at launch, integration is mainly with ClaudePart of a Strava subscription: $11.99 a month or $79.99 a year
    TriathlifyAdaptive triathlon training planPlanning for a race or for weight loss, daily adaptation, Garmin/Strava/Apple Health integrations, Polish-language versionA younger platform than the biggest global players; some integrations are still on the roadmap9.99 USD/month or 99.99 USD/year
    TriDotAdvanced planning and result predictionExtensive training engine, RaceX, plenty of data and race scenariosHigher price; can be too much for beginnersfrom 14.99 USD/month; Essentials 39 USD/month; Complete 99 USD/month
    Athletica.aiAdaptive endurance plansSimple subscription model, dynamic plan adjustment, sports-science methodologyLess triathlon-specific ecosystem than TriDot; more focus on general endurance sport19.90 USD/month or 189 USD/year

    Strava: a conversation with your own training history

    How it works: the Strava MCP Connector lets you talk to Claude about your own training data. It is read-only, so the AI does not edit activities or upload new workouts to the account.

    For now, Strava is launching with Anthropic’s Claude, but says it may support other AI clients in future. That matters, because MCP as a standard could eventually become more than one app’s single integration.

    Who it suits: people with a long history on Strava who want to quickly find trends, dependencies or mistakes in their training, without exporting data by hand.

    Price: the feature is part of a Strava subscription. According to Strava’s current pricing page, an individual subscription costs $11.99 a month or $79.99 a year. Prices can vary by payment channel, promotion and bundle.

    Triathlify: adaptive triathlon training

    How it works: Triathlify is a platform built for triathlon. Its premise is to adapt the plan based on session data, not just display it afterwards. The platform states it syncs with Garmin and Strava, works on a periodised plan from sprint to Ironman distance, and adapts daily based on completed load, calendar and recovery signals.

    On its methodology page, Triathlify describes analysis of sleep, HRV, resting heart rate, wellbeing, adherence to the plan, CTL/ATL/TSB and phases of preparation. That matters, because in triathlon simply knowing “you did the session” is not enough. What counts is whether you did the right stimulus at the right moment.

    Who it suits: athletes who want an adaptive triathlon plan, watch integration and the option to use the platform in Polish.

    Price: according to Triathlify’s current pricing, the Athlete plan costs 9.99 USD a month or 99.99 USD a year. A 7-day trial is also available. So you can test all features for free.

    TriDot: heavyweight and built on a predictive engine

    How it works: TriDot is one of the best-known AI platforms in triathlon. The system is built on analysis of an athlete’s data, training history, race profile and environmental conditions. Among other tools, the platform uses RaceX Performance for forecasts and race optimisation.

    This is a more built-out tool, and a pricier one. For some athletes it will be a great fit, especially if they like a heavily structured process. For others it may feel too heavy, or too rigid against everyday life.

    Who it suits: triathletes who want a very advanced training platform and are willing to pay for the full ecosystem.

    Price: TriDot’s current pricing starts with the Lifestyle plan at 14.99 USD a month. Essentials costs 39 USD a month, Complete 99 USD a month, and the Premium version with a coach starts from 249 USD a month.

    Athletica.ai: microcycle adaptation and simple pricing

    How it works: Athletica.ai focuses on adaptive plans for endurance sports. The platform analyses completed sessions, load and recovery-related signals, then adjusts the next sessions accordingly. Its strong point is a simple model: fewer pricing tiers, more focus on the planning itself.

    Who it suits: athletes who want a dynamic endurance plan without a heavily layered, multi-tier system.

    Price: 19.90 USD a month, 99 USD for 6 months, or 189 USD a year. New users get a 14-day trial.

    What is worth asking the AI after connecting your data

    Tools like this make the most sense once the questions get specific. Instead of asking “how should I train?”, it works better to ask something that can actually be checked against the data.

    • Are my recovery sessions actually recovery?
    • In which weeks did load rise too fast?
    • Does run quality drop the day after a long ride?
    • How has heart rate at the same pace changed over the last 12 weeks?
    • Which sessions correlate best with improved fitness?
    • Was the taper before the last race long enough?

    Where is the catch

    AI in training does not solve everything. A system can read heart rate, pace and power well, but it will not see poor swim technique, a badly fitted saddle, an overuse injury building up, or the fact that an athlete has been sleeping five hours a night for three weeks.

    Data is only powerful when it is complete and well interpreted. The best scenario is not “AI instead of a coach”, but AI as a filter that helps spot a problem faster.

    AI will not replace a coach. It can replace chaos

    The important question is not “will AI replace a coach?”. That is too simple. A good coach still sees more than a chart: life context, stress, motivation, injury history, technique, the athlete’s head before a race.

    But AI can replace something else: chaos. It can catch faster that easy runs are running too hard. It can notice that run quality regularly drops after a hard ride. It can show that a plan looks good on paper while the body has stopped absorbing it.

    For an amateur training between work, family and everyday life, that can make a huge difference. Not because artificial intelligence knows everything, but because it does not get tired of looking at the data.

    What is next

    The Strava MCP Connector points at the direction the whole market is heading. Training data stops being just an archive of activities. It starts becoming material for conversation, analysis and decisions.

    The platforms that win will not be the ones shouting “AI” the loudest, but the ones that turn data into a simple decision: train harder today, ease off today, shift emphasis today, you are ready today.

    Anyone who wants to check how Strava describes its official connection with Claude can look at the documentation: Strava MCP Connector.

    The future of triathlon will not be about getting even more charts. It will be about finally being able to read those charts fast enough to know what to do tomorrow.

  • IRONMAN 70.3 Kraków 2026: Stępniak defends by 20 seconds

    IRONMAN 70.3 Kraków 2026: Stępniak defends by 20 seconds

    The second edition of IRONMAN 70.3 Kraków ended exactly as the crowd would have scripted it. Kacper Stępniak defended the title he won last year, taking a head-to-head fight with a Dane right before the line on Kraków’s Main Square. In the women’s race Nikki Bartlett came out of the water more than a minute down and rode to the win anyway. The race was held on Sunday 2 August 2026, in temperatures reaching 30°C.

    Men: 20 seconds after 113 kilometres

    Germany’s Hannes Butters led out of the water (21:12), just ahead of Marc Dubrick and Cenzino Lebot. Stępniak (21:19) and Daniel Baekkegaard started the bike a few seconds later, in the same group.

    On the 90-kilometre course through Wieliczka and Bochnia, Stępniak took the initiative straight away and cut the lead group to five. When Baekkegaard lifted the pace over the final 30 km of the bike, Johannes Vogel and Butters lost contact. Three men started the run: Stępniak, Baekkegaard and Dubrick.

    Dubrick lost touch in the first kilometres of the half marathon, though not because he cracked. The American put down the fastest run of the day, 1:11:35, and still could not close the gap. Baekkegaard stayed with the Pole stride for stride until the last few metres. Stępniak attacked just before the line and won in 3:36:37, 20 seconds ahead of the Dane (3:36:57). Dubrick completed the podium in 3:38:22.

    A year ago Stępniak won the inaugural edition in 3:39:40. This year’s time is three minutes quicker, against considerably sharper competition.

    Women: Bartlett takes back 1:41 on the bike

    Italy’s Lilli Gelmini led out of the water (24:45). Nikki Bartlett reached T1 in eighth place, 1:41 behind the leader.

    On the bike the Briton started taking that back immediately. She was fourth before the 45-kilometre mark, took the lead a few kilometres later and never gave it up. At T2 she held 1.5 minutes on Brooke Gillies and Megan McDonald, with Francesca Crestani chasing.

    Places behind Bartlett kept changing on the run. The front did not. The Briton won in 4:08:26. Crestani ran through for second (4:09:59), and France’s Aurelia Boulanger took the last podium spot with the third-fastest time (4:10:45).

    The Poles: Stępniak was not alone

    Behind the winner, Jacek Krawczyk took fourth in the PRO classification in 3:41:24, only three minutes down on Dubrick. The fastest Polish woman was Agnieszka Gadomska, seventh in 4:16:51.

    More than 2,000 athletes from several dozen countries started, so on entry numbers Kraków in its second year already sits alongside Poland’s older races over this distance.

    The course: from Zakrzówek to the Main Square

    The swim was held in Lake Zakrzówek, a flooded quarry inside the city limits of Kraków. The bike course ran from there through Wieliczka to Bochnia and back, mostly along the DK94, which makes it a fast leg that rewards strong time triallists. The run finished on the Main Square, still a rare thing for age-groupers racing in Poland. Few events in the country finish in the middle of a major city.

    Thinking about Kraków in 2027?

    Two editions are not enough to draw hard rules, but one thing is already visible: an August date means heat. In 2026 the thermometers showed close to 30°C, and on a half marathon after 90 km on the bike that counts for more than the course profile. If you are planning to race here, train in the heat and rehearse your hydration strategy on brick sessions instead of improvising on the day.

  • Ultra Baltic Swim 2026: Kubkowski swims Sweden to Poland

    Ultra Baltic Swim 2026: Kubkowski swims Sweden to Poland

    When Bartłomiej “Foka” Kubkowski walked out onto the beach at Dziwnowo, on Poland’s Baltic coast, under his own power at around 20:30 on Sunday evening, 2 August 2026, everyone on the shore was in tears. After nearly 55 hours of unbroken effort in the black water of the Baltic Sea, he became the first person in history to swim from Sweden to Poland. Roughly 160 kilometres, though some accounts put it closer to 170 km because the currents lengthened the distance actually covered, done at the fifth attempt, announced as “Last Dance”.

    It was not a one-man show. Karolina Szczepaniak started from Sweden in the same weather window, a two-time Olympian (Beijing 2008, London 2012). She spent 58 hours in the water. Extreme exhaustion and heavy chafing led her crew to make the hard call to stop the attempt before she reached the Polish shore, but her swim goes into the history of Polish ultra-swimming regardless. She showed a resilience that carried thousands of people who were following her.

    Baltic Sea crossing, illustration

    Rather than add another round of general congratulations, it is worth breaking the weekend down. Here is what sat behind the project physiologically, in equipment terms and logistically.

    Physiological hell: face, hands and head after two and a half days at sea

    Spending more than two days in high-salinity water at an open-sea temperature of 16-18°C wrecks the human body.

    • Skin maceration: after that long in continuous immersion, skin loses its protective barrier. It soaks up water, goes soft as paper and gives way to the smallest injury. Swimmers’ hands and feet after attempts like this are wrinkled and bleached white, and even the touch of a towel hurts.
    • Damage to the mouth and eyes: constant contact with sea salt swells the face. Eyes sting and fog up behind goggles despite the seal. The worst of it is breathing in salt spray and swallowing water by accident. After many hours the tongue and throat can swell enough to make eating anything a torture.
    • Sleep deprivation and hallucinations: close to three days without sleep, combined with the monotony of black water, throws off the sense of balance. In 2025 Bartek was pulled out of the water 11 km from the Polish shore after more than 50 hours of effort. He had lost his bearings and was close to losing consciousness, so his crew ended the attempt. This year the key was surviving two full nights on open water without losing contact with reality.

    Equipment: what do you swim the Baltic in?

    Under Ultra Baltic Swim rules a neoprene wetsuit is allowed, and it is the basis of survival. What the swimmer may not do, at any point, is touch the support boat. Bartek swam in a sailfish wetsuit, visible in the photographs from the finish at Dziwnowo. The pressure points, neck, armpits and groin, are usually covered in a thick layer of protective grease so the wetsuit seams and salt crystals do not wear the skin down to raw flesh. That is standard practice among long-distance swimmers, not something specific to the Baltic. He used dark-lensed goggles for the crossing, and a lifeboat crew watched over him around the clock.

    Caloric hell: how do you feed a man who cannot stop?

    The constant arm work is only part of the energy cost. Most of it goes on thermoregulation, on fighting hypothermia and generating heat to hold core temperature. According to media reports Kubkowski burned around 55,000 kilocalories during the crossing. Everything was passed to him from the boat without him touching it, as drinks and food handed over on a pole.

    More than sport: over 800,000 złoty (about €185,000) raised

    The effort had a purpose beyond the swim from the start. Kubkowski swam for the beneficiaries of the Cancer Fighters Foundation, which supports children and adults being treated for cancer. Alongside the sporting record, the one that mattered most fell too: the dedicated fundraiser on the foundation’s site passed 800,000 złoty (about 214,000 USD) and is still climbing (as of 3 August it stood at roughly 780,000 złoty, about 208,000 USD). Conversions use the National Bank of Poland rate of 3.7468 złoty to the dollar, table 149/A/NBP/2026 of 4 August 2026.

    Bartłomiej Kubkowski after the Baltic crossing
  • Flash News: Słupek European gold, WTCS back in London

    Flash News: Słupek European gold, WTCS back in London

    This was a week when triathlon got everything at once: a historic Polish gold, WTCS returning to London, a structural reform of the professional calendar, and Alistair Brownlee starting one of the hardest triathlons in the world. Plus Boise, Toronto, Kórnik, Starachowice, the end of Flora Duffy’s career, and the story of Mohamed Lahna, who crossed America in triathlon format.

    1. Roksana Słupek is European champion. Elbląg went up

    The biggest Polish story of the week is not in doubt: Roksana Słupek became European champion in sprint-distance triathlon. On Friday 31 July in Elbląg she won the women’s elite race in 1:00:31, 15 seconds ahead of Ambre Grasset and 16 ahead of Léa Houart.

    This was not a case of leading out of the water and riding away with it. After the swim Słupek was 24th and more than 20 seconds down on the front. She came back on the bike, and on the run she did what you expect from someone racing for gold: she left everyone.

    It is Poland’s first ever European Championship medal in this event, and it is gold. A result like that in front of a home crowd needs no extra drama written into it.

    2. Elbląg gave Poland more than one result

    The European Championships in Elbląg did not end with Słupek’s gold. Milan Larivière took the men’s title, and the best of the Poles was Michał Oliwa in eighth. Poland’s mixed relay finished sixth.

    For Polish triathlon it was an important weekend organisationally as well as competitively. Elbląg was given a championship event, the national team put people near the front, and the crowd got something Polish triathlon still wants more of: a big race on home roads.

    3. WTCS returned to London. Hauser and Beaugrand dealt the cards

    After an 11-year gap WTCS came back to London and immediately got a script worth the stage. Matthew Hauser won the men’s race in 50:28, beating Vasco Vilaça by three seconds. Csongor Lehmann completed the podium.

    In the women’s race Cassandre Beaugrand did what she has done best this season: won. It was the Frenchwoman’s third victory in three WTCS starts in 2026, finishing in 56:06. Lisa Tertsch and Tilda Månsson followed her in, and the best of the British, Beth Potter, was fourth.

    The home disappointment was Alex Yee. The Olympic champion raced in front of his own crowd, but after trouble on the bike and a crash he finished 14th. London was a reminder that form guarantees nothing, even for the best.

    4. Triathlon World Tour: the end of the format war?

    London also produced an announcement that could reshape professional triathlon. The PTO and World Triathlon presented the Triathlon World Tour brand, a shared structure meant to bring order to the professional calendar from 2027.

    WTCS is to run as the T50 World Championship Tour, and T100 as the T100 World Championship Tour. A Challenger level is to sit underneath, serving as the qualifying path and feeder for the main series.

    Technical, yes. The point is simple though: less chaos, a clearer hierarchy, and a better chance that athletes, sponsors and spectators end up looking at one coherent system.

    5. T100 puts on smart glasses, IRONMAN bans cameras

    Triathlon currently has two opposing visions of technology on course. IRONMAN’s 2026 rules ban athletes from filming or taking photographs during a race. T100 went in exactly the other direction.

    The PTO announced Meta as the official wearables partner of the T100 series. In practice that means Oakley Meta Vanguard and Oakley Meta HSTN Performance AI glasses used for footage from the perspective of athletes, officials and age-group participants.

    One organisation is talking about safety and concentration. The other is talking about showing people the race from the inside. That argument is more interesting than the hardware, because the same questions will reach age-groupers soon enough.

    6. Sam Long and Kirsten Kasper win IRONMAN 70.3 Boise

    Sam Long was back in Idaho. The American won IRONMAN 70.3 Boise in 3:32:25, building his lead mainly on the bike. Ari Klau was second and Blake Harris third, a few seconds ahead of Vincent Luis.

    The women’s race went to Kirsten Kasper in 4:00:50. It was a strong running comeback: Kasper pulled back time after the bike and took control over the closing kilometres.

    Boise was a reminder of something plain: you can win a 70.3 on the bike, but without a strong run you cannot close it out calmly.

    7. Supertri Toronto: Mislawchuk wins at home

    Toronto gave its crowd a local winner. Tyler Mislawchuk took Supertri Toronto in 51:27, with the fastest run of the day: 13:12 for 5 km.

    Solomon Okrafo-Smart was second and Nathan Grayel third. Among the women Zuzana Michaličková won, the only one to break the hour, in 59:34.

    The race closed qualification for the Supertri Pro Series final in Jersey, where the prize pool is to be 800,000 dollars. Short distance, fast legs, big money. Supertri knows exactly what it wants to be.

    8. Kórnik: full distance for Decewicz and Hanuszewicz

    Kórnik, in western Poland, put in a hard weekend domestically. At the GREATMAN Triathlon Kórnik athletes raced everything from one-eighth distance up to full.

    Over the longest course Przemysław Decewicz won in 9:43:48. The fastest woman was Pamela Hanuszewicz in 11:01:16. Joanna Preiss was third woman overall.

    This is worth saying out loud: Polish triathlon is not only big brands and televised events. It is also races like this one, where full distance still smells of local work, family on the course, and a very long day.

    9. Starachowice: Szymanowski and Madej take the Polish cross titles

    Triathlon does not live on tarmac alone. Starachowice hosted the Polish cross triathlon championships, and the golds went to Przemysław Szymanowski and Zuzanna Madej.

    Szymanowski won in 1:12:55, taking back a national title after 12 years. Madej was the fastest woman in 1:25:29. The course: a swim in the Lubianka reservoir, a technical mountain-bike leg and an off-road run.

    It is a different sport from fast half distances on flat, PB-friendly courses. Less aero, more bike handling. Less sterile, more terrain.

    10. Brownlee at Norseman. No longer “racing”, but second

    Alistair Brownlee said before the start that since retiring from professional racing he no longer competes, he “participates”. Norseman tested how true that was.

    On 1 August the two-time Olympic champion started the Norseman Xtreme Triathlon and finished second. Defending champion Kristian Grue won in 9:53:48, with Brownlee reaching Gaustatoppen in 10:18:21. Hans Christian Tungesvik was third.

    Norseman is a 3.8 km swim in a fjord, 180 km on the bike through the Norwegian mountains, and a marathon with a legendary climb at the end. If that is “participating”, most of us can safely stick to less dramatic hobbies.

    11. Flora Duffy retires

    This one is two weeks old, and still hard to walk past. Flora Duffy announced her retirement on 15 July 2026.

    The Bermudian leaves an exceptional record: Olympic gold from Tokyo, four WTCS world titles, six XTERRA titles, two Commonwealth Games golds and five Olympic appearances. It is one of those careers that needs no footnotes.

    For years Duffy was the definition of a complete triathlete: strong in the water, merciless on the bike, mentally durable on the run. Retirements like hers always leave an empty space in the sport.

    12. Mohamed Lahna crossed America by triathlon

    To finish, a story from the hard-to-believe category. Mohamed Lahna, a Paralympian and Games medallist, completed a 47-day triathlon across the United States.

    In total he covered about 3,300 miles, more than 5,300 km. The project included a swim around Manhattan, roughly 3,000 miles of cycling through 16 states, and 300 miles of running to Venice Beach. It was also raising money for Save the Children and the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

    In a week full of results, tables and seconds, that story sets the proportions well. Triathlon is sometimes a sport about a place on the podium. It is also sometimes a way of telling the world that the limits sit further out than we assume.

    The week in summary

    Roksana Słupek gave Poland a historic gold, London was a reminder of how spectacular a WTCS sprint can be, and the Triathlon World Tour showed that the biggest organisations finally want to tidy the calendar rather than add another layer of chaos.

    Add Brownlee in Norway, Duffy closing a great career, domestic racing in Kórnik and Starachowice, and stories that go well beyond classic results. A good week: plenty of substance, some emotion, and several subjects that will be argued about for a while.

  • Week in triathlon: records and Garmin buys TrainingPeaks

    Week in triathlon: records and Garmin buys TrainingPeaks

    Triathlon did not let anyone rest last week. Records over full distance, European medals for Poland, heat that shortened the course in Banyoles, WTCS returning to London after 11 years, and a piece of industry news with weight: Garmin has bought TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic. Plus domestic racing in Rawa Mazowiecka and Starachowice.

    1. Van Riel and Findlay took Lake Placid apart

    IRONMAN Lake Placid was meant to be hard, classic and unrewarding. It was. Marten Van Riel and Paula Findlay apparently did not get the memo.

    The Belgian won in 7:41:57, taking more than eight minutes off the course record and adding the fastest marathon in the event’s history. It is his first full-distance IRONMAN win, and a firm signal ahead of the season’s main targets.

    Findlay had the debut you dream about: a first race over full distance, victory in 8:47:43, and a new bike course record of 4:50:26. It was not an outright women’s course record, but for a debut on a hard Lake Placid it belongs in the watch-it-twice category.

    2. Banyoles cooked the field. Run cut to 14 km

    The Multisport European Championships in Banyoles, in Catalonia, ended in conditions that had more to do with fighting the weather than racing middle distance.

    Organisers cut the run from 21 km to 14 km on grounds of heat and athlete safety. The final course was 1.9 km swimming, 83 km of non-drafting cycling and 14 km running.

    The elite races went to Mikel Arrasate Larrea and Marta Bernardi. The shortening was announced before the start, so there is nothing to speculate about here: athlete health beat the distance table.

    3. Garmin buys TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic

    This is the week’s biggest technology story in endurance sport.

    On 22 July 2026 Garmin officially announced the acquisition of TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic from Peaksware Holdings. Financial terms were not disclosed, but around 120 employees in Louisville, Colorado, move across to Garmin.

    What does it mean for a triathlete? Today, nothing to click in settings. Strategically it is a heavy move. Garmin takes in the platform coaches and endurance athletes actually use, plus a tool with deep roots in strength training.

    The question is no longer whether Garmin will build out coaching. It is how deeply it will fold training, data analysis and plans into its own ecosystem.

    4. WTCS returned to London after 11 years

    London got a top-tier race again. The World Triathlon Championship Series came back to the British capital after 11 years, as part of the London T100 weekend.

    It was raced over sprint distance: 750 m swim, 20 km bike, 5 km run.

    In the men’s race Matthew Hauser beat Vasco Vilaça to win in 50:28, with Csongor Lehmann completing the podium. In the women’s, Cassandre Beaugrand showed her running class and won in 56:06, ahead of Lisa Tertsch and Tilda Månsson.

    Alex Yee was only 14th, though with racing like that there was plenty to watch anyway.

    5. Hayden Wilde out of London

    The field lost one of its hottest names before London even started.

    Hayden Wilde withdrew from WTCS London after an MRI showed inflammation around his lungs. The New Zealander said it might explain his uneven form in training.

    A loss for the spectacle, a good decision by the athlete. With a season and targets like his, there is no sense pretending lungs are a detail.

    6. Laidlow’s Canyon Speedmax goes on sale

    Sam Laidlow won Challenge Roth in 7:21:04 on the new Canyon Speedmax CFR, beating the best mark over iron distance. A few days later Canyon officially put the new Speedmax on sale.

    The new frame is built around the AeroID system, meant to bring some of the pro-level aerodynamic fitting to bikes customers can actually buy.

    With the usual footnote: the wallet may give out sooner than the legs do on the second climb.

    7. RaceRanger shows data can change racing

    Challenge Roth published its RaceRanger data, and the numbers are concrete.

    Average time spent illegally inside the drafting zone fell from 2:40 in 2025 to 1:15 in 2026. That is a drop of 53%, even though the zone for pro athletes was widened from 12 to 20 metres.

    This may be one of the more important directions for long distance: fewer arguments after the race, more hard data. Officials are still needed, but telemetry is starting to do what an eye from a motorbike cannot always catch.

    The week in summary

    This week had everything: records, heat, an acquisition and London’s return to WTCS. The best part is that the season shows no sign of easing off.

  • Garmin CIRQA: No Screen, No Subscription, $199

    Garmin CIRQA: No Screen, No Subscription, $199

    Garmin has trained us to expect watches that do everything and cost about as much as a used bike. Now it is going the other way. On 21 July the company unveiled CIRQA, its first screenless band, priced at $199.99 (€199.99 in Europe). Sales start on 24 July. This is not a sports watch for swimming and running, it is a device built for a different job entirely. Which is exactly why it is worth understanding what a screenless band is for in the first place.

    What it actually is

    CIRQA is a lightweight band that monitors health and recovery around the clock. There is no display, you read the data in the Garmin Connect app on your phone. The fibre-reinforced polymer casing weighs about 20 g with the strap. You wear it on the wrist or as an armband, and the fabric straps come in several colours (Black, Captain Blue, French Grey, Mauve, Dark Olive, among others) and two sizes (S/M and L/XL). The battery lasts up to 10 days, so you charge it roughly once a training block rather than every other day.

    No subscription, but a Connect+ option

    You buy the hardware once and get every core feature with no subscription. In a world where Whoop charges around $30 a month for access to your own data, that is a real argument. Garmin also offers an optional Connect+ plan at $6.99 a month with expanded analysis, but the basic metrics, Training Readiness, HRV Status, VO2max, sleep, are free.

    What it measures

    Despite having no screen, CIRQA collects exactly the data a triathlete watching their recovery cares about. It tracks heart rate, blood oxygen (Pulse Ox), skin temperature, stress and movement around the clock, and calculates the same metrics known from Garmin’s pricier watches:

    Recovery: Training Readiness, HRV status, time to full recovery.
    Fitness: VO2max, training status, Acute Load, Load Ratio, Load Focus.
    Sleep: sleep stages, sleep score, HRV, breathing, nap detection.
    Activity: automatic detection of runs and walks, manual assignment from more than 80 activity types in the Connect app.

    In other words, you get the backbone of Garmin’s recovery system in a cheap, comfortable package you can wear at night and at work.

    How it works alongside your multisport watch

    This is the part that matters most for a triathlete. Data from CIRQA flows into Garmin Connect and merges with the data from your sports watch. DC Rainmaker confirmed this in testing: wearing CIRQA on one wrist and a Forerunner 170 on the other, a Fenix 8 Pro automatically updated its stats with data from the band, including steps and training load.

    What does that mean in practice? If you wear, say, a Forerunner 965 for training and CIRQA for the rest of the day, in the office, at night, in the shower, Connect gets a full 24/7 picture. Your 965 realistically lasts about 14 to 18 days on a charge (23 days claimed in smartwatch mode). CIRQA adds another 10 days of continuous monitoring without charging the watch. Together, they close the gaps in recovery and sleep data that appear whenever the watch is off your wrist or on the charger.

    Who it makes sense for, and who it does not

    Let’s be clear about what CIRQA does not do. It has no screen, so it will not show you pace, power or heart rate on the course. This is not a device for racing, you still need a multisport watch or a bike computer for training and competing in your disciplines. CIRQA will not replace a Forerunner or a Fenix.

    It makes sense as a second device dedicated to recovery. Your sports watch handles training and racing, while the rest of the day, at night, in the office, in the shower, a light band that you barely need to charge tracks recovery and sleep. For a triathlete who takes Training Readiness and HRV seriously but does not want to sleep with a heavy watch on their wrist, it is a neat solution.

    If you are after your first and only device, one that also needs to track your sessions, this is not it. In that case, spend more on a watch with a screen and sport profiles.

    Verdict

    CIRQA is a smart move: Garmin takes its proven recovery system, drops the screen, drops the subscription, and brings the price down $199 (€199.99). For anyone already tracking form through Training Readiness and HRV who wants a comfortable round-the-clock sensor, it is one of the more interesting launches of the summer. For anyone who wants a single device for everything, it is too big a compromise.

  • Triathlon Week: Roth World Record, Hamburg Sabotage

    Triathlon Week: Roth World Record, Hamburg Sabotage

    Long-distance triathlon got a new world record in Roth. Hamburg showed a darker side of the sport alongside a dominant short-course weekend. On the domestic front, Bydgoszcz, in Poland, drew close to five thousand athletes. On the gear side, COROS pushed a free update that takes aim at Garmin. Here is what mattered this week.

    1. Sam Laidlow breaks the iron-distance world record in Challenge Roth

    Sam Laidlow defended his Roth title and set a new world record of 7:21:04, improving on Kristian Blummenfelt’s previous mark of 7:21:12 from Cozumel.

    Blummenfelt finished second, in 7:30:15. Third place went to debutant Rico Bogen, who also posted the fastest bike split of the day: 3:54:45, against Laidlow’s 3:54:58. That is an exceptional level for a first start over full distance.

    The women’s race went to 24-year-old Alanis Siffert, in 8:09:09, the youngest winner in Challenge Roth history. The Swiss athlete led on the bike and the run, closing with a marathon of 2:45:00. Lucy Charles-Barclay finished second, Kat Matthews third.

    2. Matthew Hauser dominates WTCS Hamburg

    Matt Hauser won the men’s race for the third year running, in 50:07, beating Vasco Vilaça and Henry Graf with room to spare.

    In the women’s race Leonie Périault defended her title, improving her time from last year by 30 seconds to 55:51. Lisa Tertsch was second. In the mixed relay, France took gold and an automatic qualification spot for the Los Angeles Games, fielding Périault, Richard, Lombardi and Coninx.

    3. World Triathlon Para Series makes its Hamburg debut

    Hamburg hosted the fourth round of the World Triathlon Para Series for the first time. It is an important stop on the calendar, letting athletes test their form against strong competition. The courses through central Hamburg suited fast racing, and the event underlined how quickly the discipline is developing internationally.

    4. Julie Derron books her Kona slot at IRONMAN Thun

    Julie Derron won IRONMAN Thun, in Switzerland, in 8:42:40, taking a direct qualification spot for the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona.

    Derron started well behind swim leader Imogen Simmonds but was unstoppable on the bike and the run, winning by nearly 14 minutes (Simmonds finished in 8:56:27). Julie joins her sister Nina in Kona; Nina had already qualified at Lanzarote.

    5. Nearly five thousand athletes at Enea Bydgoszcz Triathlon

    Bydgoszcz, in Poland, hosted the 12th edition of its triathlon, drawing close to 5,000 athletes across distances from Super Sprint to half-distance.

    On the half-distance course, Piotr Klupczyński was the only athlete to break four hours, in 3:59:56, built on a 1:21:42 run. Barbara Streng won the women’s race. Over the shortest distance, Wiktor Brojerski won in 48:19, ahead of Jan Krakowski and Wojciech Szyp.

    6. Investigation into course sabotage at IRONMAN Hamburg

    Hamburg police are still investigating an incident on the bike course. Metal tacks and glass fragments scattered along the route caused widespread tyre and tube damage, forcing 300 to 400 athletes to stop and more than a hundred to withdraw completely.

    Organisers confirmed the course had been swept before the start, pointing to deliberate action taken during the race itself, near Kirchwerder. Local authorities suspect a link to resident protests against the road closures. Affected athletes were offered free entries to other 2026 races or to the 2027 Hamburg edition, and the incident is already pushing organisers worldwide to tighten security procedures.

    7. COROS chases Garmin with a free update

    COROS released a major software update for the Pace 3 and newer watches, adding features aimed squarely at its main rival’s strengths:

    • Pace Strategy: a race-plan generator built around the course profile, FTP, and a three-day weather forecast broken down by segment.
    • Hill Alerts: real-time notifications for climbs and descents, similar to Garmin’s ClimbPro.
    • Heart Rate Recovery: tracks the drop in heart rate during rest and exactly two minutes after finishing an effort.

    All of these are free. COROS is visibly closing the gap on the market leader, building loyalty without adding hidden subscription costs.

    8. Cooling materials arrive on the start line

    Mid-July also brought a clear rise in interest in thermoregulation. Triathlon clothing makers, Castelli among them along with smaller, more experimental brands, are pushing race suits built with graphene and UV-reflecting fibres. Combined with aero helmets designed with airflow channels for triathlon cruising speeds, the fight for seconds over iron distance is moving from wind tunnels into thermal labs. This season, the body’s ability to shed heat has become as important as saving watts.