Morning endurance fans…

Roll out the red carpet and put the recovery boots on – it’s awards time at the Daily Split! After a season of outrageous swim - bike - run, breakthrough performances and battles that wowed our weekends, we’re giving the IRONMAN Pro Series our own alternative honours.

From the “Clear Your Diary” drama of Texas to “My House, My Rules” and “The Scoreboard Doesn’t Tell You Everything”, we’re celebrating the big moments, brave efforts and remarkable stories that deserve another turn in the spotlight.

And while we’ve been busy handing out imaginary trophies, the racing has continued apace around the world. We’ve got action from the weekend’s races to bring you up to speed, alongside our trip through the Pro Series highlights.

Get the kettle on, settle in and prepare to agree enthusiastically – or shout angrily in disapproval at our selections. Every good awards ceremony needs a little controversy, after all…

Here’s what we have lined up for you today…

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🫣 COSTLY: Solveig Løvseth’s manager believes her dramatic Kona collapse could have cost the athlete $1m in potential earnings. Read HERE.

🇮🇳 POLLUTION: Water safety will be closely monitored in the Sabarmati River ahead of next year’s IRONMAN 70.3 race in Amdavad. Read HERE.

🙌 LEGEND: Patrick Lange put the disappointment of his Kona DNF behind him with a classy gesture to hand out water at an aid station. Read HERE.

🏆 STACKED: The final race of the WTCS season – the rearranged Abu Dhabi event – has attracted a host of big-name competitors. Read HERE.

⚽️ PLAYER: Former Liverpool FC footballer John Arne Riise says he is ‘very excited’ to be lining up for next year’s Challenge Roth triathlon. Read HERE.

Jelle Geens returned to winning ways at IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie, while Natalie Van Coevorden overturned a sizeable bike deficit to defend her title in a closely contested women’s race.

Belgium’s 2024 and 2025 IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion won in 3:44:34 on his first appearance at the event, finishing 2:32 ahead of Kieran Storch, with Mitch Kibby third.

Van Coevorden’s route to victory was considerably less straightforward. The Australian admitted she considered stopping during a difficult bike leg before chasing down Emily Watts on the run to claim her fourth IRONMAN 70.3 win of 2026.

China celebrated a landmark day at the Beijing World Cup on Saturday as Xinyu Lin claimed the country’s first World Cup victory and Xirui Zhang became its first male medallist at this level.

Kate Waugh continued her strong finish to the season with bronze behind Lin and Hungary’s Márta Kropkó, while Max Studer extended his winning record on Chinese soil in the men’s race.

Matevž Nunar claimed a dramatic first professional victory at Challenge Peguera-Mallorca, overtaking Alexander Kull inside the final kilometre as just 34 seconds separated the men’s podium finishers.

The Slovenian emerged victorious from a closely fought contest, with Britain’s Jack Hutchens taking third – just one second ahead of Michiel Stockman.

In the women’s race, defending champion Cathia Schär of Switzerland overcame both Caroline Pohle and early stomach problems on the run to make it back-to-back victories.

Laura Philipp and Gustav Iden may have taken the $200,000 and secured the IRONMAN Pro Series titles for 2026, but they were not the only star performers in a season which featured 16 race events across nine countries and three continents.

The Daily Split team has been busy this past week putting together our own list of alternative awards, highlighting the races and athletes that stood out across the seven-month campaign.

We have decided not to include the events from last week’s dramatic finale in Kona because, let’s face it, we could have given out an entire cabinet of awards for that weekend of drama…

WINNER – TREVOR FOLEY (New Zealand, March 7): The opening race in New Zealand featured plenty of established names, including a Kristian Blummenfelt fresh from recording a new world-record VO2 Max score. Surely the Norwegian would walk to victory in Taupō?

No… it was Foley who supplied the winning finish; despite emerging from the swim almost four minutes behind the leaders, the American worked his way into contention and unleashed a 2:35:42 marathon to win in 7:46:44. Blummenfelt finished way off the pace… but would bounce back quickly.

WINNERS – TAYLOR KNIBB & SAM LONG (Oceanside, March 28): Taylor Knibb on a bike is rarely good news for the opposition, and Oceanside provided another demonstration of why. The American powered through the 90km course in 2:15:27, breaking her own bike course record and building an advantage of almost five minutes heading into T2. That is quite the cushion to take into a half-marathon… and she eased through to the finish line for a fine win.

But if we are going to mention Knibb’s heroics in the saddle, then you really can’t ignore Sam Long’s efforts on the same day as the American raced through in a time of 2:02:04, beating Lionel Sanders’ longstanding mark from 2015, taking him from 33rd out of the swim to the front of the race. He would eventually finish fourth as Casper Stornes stole a late podium place.

WINNER – IRONMAN TEXAS (The Woodlands, April 18): Undoubtedly THE race day of the season (outside of Kona), as Texas delivered a start list that looked more akin to a world championship dress rehearsal than a regular mid-season race in the Lone Star State.

The men’s field alone featured the likes of Blummenfelt, Marten Van Riel, Casper Stornes, Vincent Luis, Gustav Iden, Patrick Lange, Jelle Geens, Lionel Sanders, Sam Long, Rudy von Berg, Jonas Schomburg, Ben Kanute and Matt Hanson.

And the women’s field wasn’t too shabby either, with Solveig Løvseth, Taylor Knibb, Kat Matthews, Marta Sánchez, Jackie Hering, Hannah Berry and Grace Thek all lining up at The Woodlands.

Blummenfelt overcame a slow-leaking tyre to win in an incredible 7:21:24, with Marten Van Riel and Casper Stornes completing a heavyweight podium. This was an April race demanding October levels of attention.

Løvseth took the women’s race with an impressive performance, powering ahead of Knibb in second, with Sánchez picking up a breakthrough third.

WINNER – HARRY PALMER (Swansea, July 12): Winning a race once is an achievement. Winning it three times consecutively starts to look like a territorial claim. Harry Palmer completed his Swansea hat-trick despite describing a difficult opening half of the run, when a locked-up back and doubts about his prospects left him wondering whether even a top-five finish would be possible.

A familiar course, a roaring crowd and an athlete finding a way through a rough patch can create a story every bit as compelling as a world championship showdown. Palmer kept his patience and found the performance he needed. Swansea might want to consider charging him rent if he continues to dominate there and call it his ‘home’.

WINNER – PAULA FINDLAY (Lake Placid, July 19): Paula Findlay hardly needed an introduction to triathlon fans, but her first full-distance IRONMAN offered a fresh reason to pay attention. The Canadian won Lake Placid on debut in 8:47:43, combining a women’s bike course record of 4:50:26 with a 2:55:49 marathon.

An established middle-distance star had answered a substantial question about what might happen when she went longer, finishing nearly four minutes clear. Plenty of athletes talk about eventually stepping up; Findlay arrived, won and gave everyone something new to think about.

WINNER – Chelsea Sodaro (Lake Placid, July 19): Sixteenth in 10:11:21 would barely register among the season’s headline results. For Chelsea Sodaro, however, reaching the finish carried considerably more significance. Returning to racing after surgery earlier in the year, the former world champion endured a difficult marathon that included periods of walking, eventually completing the run in 4:14:00.

Finishing also fulfilled the validation requirement for her world championship place – although she would sadly miss out through injury – and while Findlay celebrated a spectacular debut victory up the road, Sodaro’s achievement was measured against very different circumstances.

WINNER – LAURA PHILIPP (Kalmar, August 15): An 18-minute winning margin tends to remove any need for a tense finish-line photograph. Laura Philipp’s 8:13:37 at IRONMAN Kalmar broke the course record and delivered one of the season’s clearest demonstrations of superiority. On a windy day in Sweden, the German made a demanding assignment look rather more straightforward than it was.

This was a performance so commanding that it risked being overlooked in favour of a closer contest as Philipp’s rivals were left racing for the remaining podium places while she put an emphatic stamp on her season.

WINNER – HAYDEN WILDE (Nice, September 13): There are comfortable ways to win a world championship. Having Blummenfelt charging towards you in the closing kilometres is probably not one of them.

However, Hayden Wilde held his advantage at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Nice, finding enough in the final stages to beat the Norwegian by just 18 seconds – even if he did drop his watch in the harbour at T2.

Leading brings its own pressure, particularly when the gap is shrinking, and this award recognises the composure required to complete the job when a seemingly decisive advantage starts to look alarmingly fragile.

Wilde delivered the result while giving everyone watching ample opportunity to worry on his behalf.

Race day may not have gone as he would have liked it, but Sam Laidlow is not about to let disappointment dampen his plans to help others.

Having announced before last week’s IRONMAN World Championships that he intended to donate all of his ‘winnings’ to 23 young athletes as part of a new ‘23 For The Future’ grant-style support programme, he has now confirmed that he will pay out €23,000 from his own wallet.

The Frenchman was forced to DNF shortly after starting the marathon in Kona, revealing later that he would require surgery after struggling with the vascular condition iliac artery endofibrosis, a problem caused by repetitive hip flexion, which leads to arterial wall thickening and reduced blood flow.

It meant that he walked away from the Big Island empty-handed, but despite that, he has confirmed on Instagram that he intends to honour his promise and is now in the process of picking the lucky 23.

“Fair to say you lot kept me busy,” he posted over the weekend. “500+ applications for Future23, so I’ve got my reading sorted for the flight to Australia 😅

“Kona didn’t go to plan, and there was no prize money to give away, so I’ll be putting up the €23,000 myself as promised. I’ll take the next week to read every application and choose the 23 young athletes.

“And if you want to help make the pot a little bigger, you can donate through the link in my bio. Every bit helps. 23 for the future. ❤️”

The significance of 23? Well, that has always been his lucky number, and he now hopes he can be a lucky omen for 23 young athletes. One thing is for sure… triathlon is certainly lucky to have Sam Laidlow.

Riding faster in an IRONMAN isn't about training harder every day; it’s about choosing the right cycling workouts. Check out our guide below.

WHAT YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND: Covering 180km (112 miles) requires more than raw speed; it demands endurance, efficient pacing, sustainable power and the ability to conserve enough energy for the marathon.

The cyclists who perform best aren’t always the strongest riders but those who train specifically for the demands of long-course triathlon. The most effective Ironman cycling programme combines:

LONG ENDURANCE RIDES: Long rides form the foundation of Ironman bike training. These sessions help improve:

Gradually increasing ride duration prepares both body and mind for racing.

IRONMAN RACE-PACE SESSIONS: Not every ride should be easy or extremely hard. Regular race-pace sessions teach you to hold steady power, control your effort, improve pacing and build confidence.

Practising at your intended race intensity makes it easier to avoid starting too fast on race day.

THRESHOLD INTERVALS: Threshold sessions improve the highest effort you can sustain comfortably. Popular workouts include:

These efforts increase sustainable power without excessive fatigue.

SWEET SPOT TRAINING: Sweet spot workouts combine moderate intensity with manageable fatigue. Benefits include:

ZONE 2 ENDURANCE WORK: Most Ironman training should still occur at an easy aerobic effort. Zone 2 riding improves:

BRICK WORKOUTS: Cycling fitness alone isn’t enough. Brick workouts teach your body to transition smoothly from cycling to running. A typical session might include:

Regular brick sessions reduce the heavy-leg sensation many triathletes experience after the bike.

LONG RIDES WITH NUTRITION PRACTICE: Ironman nutrition should be trained just like fitness. Use long rides to practise your carbohydrate intake, hydration, electrolytes and race-day nutrition timing.

HIGH CADENCE SESSIONS: Pedalling at a higher cadence improves neuromuscular efficiency and smoothness. Example workouts include:

CLIMBING WORKOUTS: Most Ironman bike courses include rolling terrain or sustained climbs. Hill sessions help improve your strength endurance,
power production, climbing confidence and help with pacing discipline.

Alternate between seated and standing efforts depending on the gradient.

RECOVERY RIDES MATTER: Easy rides are just as important as harder workouts. Recovery sessions help to increase blood flow, reduce fatigue, improve recovery and help to prepare your body for quality training.

Skipping recovery often leads to accumulated fatigue that limits performance.

IMPROVE BIKE HANDLING: Saving time isn’t only about producing more power. Confident bike handling allows you to:

Practising technical skills improves average speed while conserving valuable energy for the run.

MONITOR YOUR PROGRESS: Track improvements by observing:

Don’t expect every workout to produce a personal best. Long-term trends matter far more than individual sessions.

STAY CONSISTENT: One exceptional training week won’t prepare you for an IRONMAN. Instead, focus on:

Great Britain’s Anna Morris made it three gold medals from three events at the UCI Track World Championships on Saturday, adding a Madison title to the team pursuit and omnium titles she won earlier in the week.

Read the full story at Cycling Weekly HERE.

Sedona is an at-home blood test for people who train. One draw reads 1,000+ molecular signals and sets your baseline. Test again as training resumes and see which signals linked to muscle repair and inflammation have settled. Invite-only. Founding members lock in early access.

Former IRONMAN World Champion Anne Haug proved she can still mix it with the best after storming to victory at the FUDENAS mountain bike race in Fuerteventura at the weekend.

And in typical style, it seems she was also able to prove a few people wrong in the process. While her Instagram page carried the interview below after her epic win, her Insta story added a little more background.

Admitting that she was not 100% sure of what she was letting herself in for, she revealed how she had been told before the event that she was ‘too old to race in the Elite category’… and as many of the German athletes’ past rivals can testify, you really shouldn’t rile her like that.

“Got told I’m too old to race ‘Elite’,” she posted. “Best motivation ever… Won it with a 30-minute lead. 🤪 #ageisjustanumber.”

While we are unable to confirm whether it was the event organisers or a fellow athlete who told her that she was too old, we can safely say that whoever it was, sure looks a little foolish now!!!

Together, we go the distance. — @247_endurance 🏃‍♂️🚴‍♀️🏊‍♂️