Talking Triathlon

Tim is finally back. We start with the Giro d'Italia and Maya Kingma's move into professional cycling, as she continues to show that triathletes can successfully make the transition to the pro peloton. Cassandre Beaugrand then adds another achievement to an already remarkable year by breaking the French 5km record. Supertri Austin follows, where the conversation turns to what has happened to the series. Once one of the most exciting products in the sport, Austin felt like a shadow of what Supertri used to be. T100 Spain delivered plenty of talking points, including Georgia Taylor-Brown securing the first T100 win of her career. Ironman Lanzarote saw Sam Laidlow get the better of Patrick Lange, while Lucy Charles-Barclay returned to long-distance racing with a dominant victory. We finish with WTCS Alghero. Olympic qualification is now underway, both fields are loaded with talent, and we discuss why WTCS continues to deliver some of the best racing in the sport, along with the improvements that have been made to the broadcast. BUILD YOUR TRIATHLON BUNDLE WITH HUUB AND SAVE! https://huubdesign.com/products/complete-race-day-bundle To support the podcast please head to: patreon.com/talkingtriathlon To watch this podcast as a video visit: https://bit.ly/3vzSss2 Or check us out on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingtriathlon You can follow James at https://www.instagram.com/bale.james85 You can follow Tim at https://www.instagram.com/tford14

This week Henry Räppo joins James. They start with 70.3 Gulf Coast before the conversation turns to Lionel Sanders and then Jelle Geens, whose form continues to be one of the biggest talking points in the sport right now. The discussion then moves to the T100 Series and the direction it's heading before previewing Ironman 70.3 Aix-en-Provence and looking at the latest Ironman Pro Series standings. T100 Spain and WTCS Yokohama also feature, before finishing with a look at Henry Räppo's season so far and what's ahead. GET 25% OFF HUUB USING THE CODE "getwelltim" AT www.huubdesign.com To support the podcast please head to: patreon.com/talkingtriathlon To watch this podcast as a video visit: https://bit.ly/3vzSss2 Or check us out on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingtriathlon You can follow James at https://www.instagram.com/bale.james85 You can follow Tim at https://www.instagram.com/tford14 You can follow Henry at https://www.instagram.com/henryrappo

This week on Talking Triathlon we start with a recap of Challenge Sir Bani Yas, where Jonas Schomburg took the win in the men's race and Katrine Græsbøll Christensen claimed victory in the women's. We break down how the race played out and what it told us about early season form. We then turn to Hayden Wilde after he said he had multiple professional cycling contracts on the table, and discuss how realistic that claim is and whether elite triathletes could genuinely step into the professional peloton. Jelle Geens has also said he wants to win Kona, and we dig into why he might be exactly the type of athlete who could make that leap successfully, along with what would need to go right for it to happen. The episode finishes with a deep dive into Supertri's newly announced 2026 format. With sprint races folded into mass participation events and a single standalone Grand Final, we talk through our disappointment with the direction of the series. That leads into a broader discussion about the uncomfortable reality facing the sport, that triathlon has struggled to monetise broadcast, costs continue to rise, and amateur athletes are increasingly frustrated with how expensive the sport has become. For 10% OFF the entire Huub range use the code "Talkingtriathlon10" at https://huubdesign.com To support the podcast please head to: patreon.com/talkingtriathlon To watch this podcast as a video visit: https://bit.ly/3vzSss2 Or check us out on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingtriathlon You can follow James at https://www.instagram.com/bale.james85 You can follow Tim at https://www.instagram.com/tford14 You can donate to Tim's Marathon here: https://melbmara2026.grassrootz.com/beyondblue/tim-ford

This week on Talking Triathlon we are back and take stock of where the sport sits heading into 2026. We start with what we noticed over the break, running through the triathlon headlines that shaped the off season and set the tone for the year ahead. We then look at the updated PTO World Rankings and the impact of changes to how they are now measured. With the rankings now closely tied to the T100 series, it is no surprise that the athletes who raced and won the series are sitting at the top, with Kate Waugh and Hayden Wilde both ranked world number one. We also question how legitimate the rankings are now and what they are really designed to represent. From there we look ahead to 2026 as a whole, talking through the major race series, what we are most excited to see unfold and what we hope the sport delivers over the next twelve months. We break that down across Ironman, WTCS, T100, Supertri and Challenge, discussing how each series is shaping up and where the big storylines could emerge as the season gets underway. To support the podcast please head to: patreon.com/talkingtriathlon To watch this podcast as a video visit: https://bit.ly/3vzSss2 Or check us out on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingtriathlon You can follow James at https://www.instagram.com/bale.james85 You can follow Tim at https://www.instagram.com/tford14

This week on Talking Triathlon we start with Alex Yee's unbelievable 2:06 marathon and what it means for the sport. We talk about how performances like this show that triathletes are not just competent across three disciplines but genuinely world-class athletes. We also ask the big question: should Alex consider focusing on the marathon for LA 2028? From there we head to La Quinta 70.3 where Lionel Sanders made his long-awaited return, Sam Long took the win and Kirsten Kasper impressed in one of her first real attempts at the 70.3 distance. In Bahrain, Vincent Luis delivered another outrageous run that made us question why he thinks he should retire next year, and Georgia Taylor-Brown continued to look better every time she steps up to middle distance. Ironman Western Australia gets some brief but deserved attention, including a strong showing from Lotte Wilms. Then we dig into the T100 Grand Final picture. The men's title looks almost locked up with Hayden Wilde, while the women's race remains wide open with Lucy Charles-Barclay, Kate Waugh and Julie Derron all still in realistic contention heading into Qatar. We also look at the newly announced T100 2026 season schedule and discuss whether we think the series will genuinely follow through on the plan next year. To close out the episode, we give our nominations for the 2025 Podcast Awards. TT PODCAST To support the podcast please head to: patreon.com/talkingtriathlon To watch this podcast as a video visit: https://bit.ly/3vzSss2 Or check us out on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingtriathlon You can follow James at https://www.instagram.com/bale.james85 You can follow Tim at https://www.instagram.com/tford14

This week on Talking Triathlon Andy Horsfall-Turner replaces Tim and joins James to unpack a massive weekend of racing. We open with Andy's experience at the 70.3 World Championships and his first-hand perspective on how the event unfolded. James is then joined by Tim Hemming to unpack the chaos of T100 Dubai, a race that turned into a complete debacle. We break down Hayden Wilde being sent into an extra lap on the bike, the widespread confusion that saw nearly the entire men's field run one lap too few, and the messy aftermath before Morgan Pearson was ultimately confirmed as the winner. In the women's race Julie Derron managed to rise above the disarray to take the victory. To close the show we turn to Ironman Arizona, analysing the key results, standout efforts and what the race tells us as we head toward 2025. To support the podcast please head to: patreon.com/talkingtriathlon To watch this podcast as a video visit: https://bit.ly/3vzSss2 Or check us out on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingtriathlon You can follow James at https://www.instagram.com/bale.james85 You can follow Tim at https://www.instagram.com/tford14

This week on Talking Triathlon we wrap up a huge weekend of racing and look ahead to one of the biggest events of the year. We start with the Noosa Triathlon, where Matt Hauser and Jess Fullagar claimed impressive victories at Australia's most iconic race, before reflecting on the retirement of Aaron Royle and the incredible career he leaves behind. From there we move to Langkawi 70.3 and then preview the 70.3 World Championship, where Taylor Knibb, Kat Matthews, and Lucy Charles-Barclay headline a stacked women's field, and Gustav Iden, Kristian Blummenfelt, and Jelle Geens lead the charge for the men. We go deep on who's in form, how the courses could play out, and what it will take to claim the title. To support the podcast please head to: patreon.com/talkingtriathlon To watch this podcast as a video visit: https://bit.ly/3vzSss2 Or check us out on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkingtriathlon You can follow James at https://www.instagram.com/bale.james85 You can follow Tim at https://www.instagram.com/tford14