220 Triathlon

With the film festival KO’d, it was left to ÖtillÖ Cannes to provide the glamour on La Croisette in 2020, with 150 pairs of athletes traversing the French Rivera in swimrun suits and dayglo vests in October. The 44km course island-hopped between Sain

For a smallish corner of the planet, it’s amazing how much variety the UK offers us as triathletes. From soaring mountains to lush lowlands, crystal clear lakes to the roar of the sea, we’re pretty well-equipped when it comes to different natural env

It used to be that carbon was the sexy watchword for desirability in the bike market – but as 2020 has advanced, it’s becoming more synonymous with top-end run shoes. On Running are the latest to join the charge and their Cloudflash features a stripp

Launched over what would’ve been Kona week, the Plasma 6 is a complete overhaul of the existing Plasma 5 – the tri bike of Alistair Brownlee and 2014 Kona winner Sebastian Kienle, two of the sharpest minds in multisport aerodynamics. The new Plasma 6

Minimalist marketing and limited coverlines combine in this issue from early 1994, with the Oakley Zeros’ marketing team and 220 Tri coverline writers (‘France’, Brick goes Psycho’) leaving much to the imagination, unlike the two-piece tri-suit pants

The Channel Islands leg of Breca’s continent-hopping series managed to take place in 2020, and it’ll return in September 2021 for another athletic swimrun showdown with Jersey’s unforgiving tidal range. Some 11 stages of swimming and running will tak

According to recent research from Cambridge University, the benefits of swimming outdoors this winter could last a lifetime, with evidence that regular cold-water swimming may be an effective defence against dementia. The blood profiles of winter swi

Three years ago I came up with this crazy idea, which I called ‘The Iceman’. I was a nobody in tri, but I wanted to do something amazing to promote my business – a training platform that focussed on Ironman athletes. I thought I’d find something that

After 31 years as the International Triathlon Union, the sport’s governing body rebranded as World Triathlon this autumn. Standing for Swim-Bike-Run, Mind-Body-Soul, Earth-Air-Water, its new logo is represented in a palette of “Transition Blue, Lawn

There’s much best practice in triathlon, many successful blueprints to follow. But Cameron Wurf wasn’t one of those characters. Wurf’s approach was novel. The outspoken Australian is a former lightweight Olympic rower, who took a sabbatical from the

HELEN WEBSTER 220’s editor is your go-to for women’s multisport kit. JAMES WITTS He’s a published author writing about sports science. £449.99 The Garmin FR 945 is mightily good. Can the 745 compete? Garmin’s new Forerunner 745 is essentially a s

For when a base layer and a tee isn’t enough, a lightweight running jacket can be a saviour of your off-season run training. Given many on test here will tackle the rain, wind and even the cold, a well-chosen jacket can also provide the pathway to a

Historians out there will know of Leonidas, the Spartan king who held back the might of the Persian army with fewer than 300 soldiers. Time can distort history, so who knows how accurate or apocryphal the account was, but few societies valued discipl

Orbea’s Ordu triathlon and TT bike was first launched in 2006, and has seen plenty of success and rave reviews from 220 testers over the years. Most notably, it’s been consistently ridden to blisteringly fast times by Andrew Starykowicz, with the Ame

I received them a day or two before the super strict shutdown in Spain, and had few chances to try them out before my tri at home became the first 47:30min continuous test. They’ve been on my face ever since.” The ‘tri at home’ three-time and reignin

Weight 8.1kg Frame Orbea Ordu Carbon OMX disc Fork Orbea Ordu OMX ICR fork Gears Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Brakes Shimano Dura-Ace hydraulic disc Wheels Vision 55 SC Disc Carbon TLR CL Finishing kit Orbea Ordu OMX handlebars, Fizik Argo Vento R5 sad

It’s that time of year where training volume rises in search of building a strong base on which to build speed come spring. That’s potentially great for boosting aerobic capacity and fat-burning capabilities, but not as wonderful because of the incre

This is a great time of year to evaluate your current performance levels and calculate how to improve for next year. For many who come into triathlon from a non-swimming background, this means increasing the amount of swim time. Swimming is a discipl

This winter will be different than normal due to the lack of racing in the summer months. Also, so many pools were shut for what seemed like an eternity that it was impossible to get up to swim speed. And when the pools reopened, some of them even ha

The paleo diet goes back to caveman times (more on paleo on page 31) and is a nutritional strategy that’s all about the natural – about grass-fed meat, plenty of fruit and vegetables, and healthy fats such as nuts and seeds. This is said to reduce in

The athletes in my wave are flying past me, buoyed by cheering spectators. I’m losing valuable time in my bid not to come last in my new-found M40-44 age group. My strength is diminished but I keep pushing. Finally, with veins throbbing, blue lips an

Understandably, many women want to resume training as soon as possible after giving birth. If carried out sensibly, there are numerous benefits to training: it boosts mood and may cut the risk of post-natal depression; strengthens the muscles includi

5 COWMAN CITY DUATHLON (various dists). Campbell Park Civil Parish, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. bigcow.com 6 BLACK COUNTRY TRIATHLETES SPLASH & DASH (4oom S/5km R). Wombourne Leisure Centre, near Wolverhampton, West Midlands. blackcountry triath

There’s a cast of regular characters who routinely pop up in my writings including the anonymous tormentor known only as my ‘evil swimming coach,’ whose identity has been masked in secrecy thanks to my terror of what he’ll put me through if I reveal