HOW WAS I T FOR YOU?
With the worldwide race season largely on pause, it’s time to step back and celebrate the greatest multisport events on the planet. Prepare to update your bucket list as we count down our top 25!
IRONMAN KALMAR
Ask Mark Kleanthous, a man with 400 triathlons under his belt, what his favourite race is and Kalmar is right at the top of the list. Only launched in 2012, the location on Sweden’s eastern coast has become a firm favourite on the European M-Dot circuit. Highs include the Baltic Sea swim, the 6km-long bridge on the bike leg, and the stunning run leg, boasting lush Scandi scenery, island hopping and one of Ironman Europe’s biggest finish-line parties.
THE OUTLAW
Okay, the scenery doesn’t rival Kalmar, Klagenfurt or Kona, but there are strong reasons why Nottingham’s The Outlaw sells out in hours and is the regular winner of the 220 Race of the Year award. Take your pick from the warm atmosphere – welcoming to both iron-distance newcomers and the Outlaw returnees, of which there are many – the slick but personal organisation, and the pure celebration that greets every competitor as they step over the hallowed 226km finish line. Robin Hood would be proud.
POWERMAN ZOFINGEN
While it no longer attracts the world’s biggest multisport names to Switzerland like in its early 1990s heyday, Powerman Zofingen is still duathlon’s premier event, the sport’s equivalent to triathlon’s Kona or off-road triathlon’s Maui. And what a multisport test it is, with a 10km run, lumpy 150km ride and chastening 30km run finale that many duathletes (and triathletes, begrudgingly) will claim is the toughest format in multisport.
HAMBURG ITU
It may lack the mountains, golden sands or azure waters of many on this list, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a race that isn’t Challenge Roth that tops this ITU World Series race for raucous atmosphere. That’s due to the reported 300,000 spectators, who cram into Germany’s secondbiggest city to cheer on the world’s best short-course racers and a sizeable age-group contingent as they weave around the old town streets and take on the famous tunnel on the swim leg.
CELTMAN
Think about certain races – see Ironman Lanzarote’s winds or Kona’s humidity – and it’s impossible to separate them from their climatic conditions. Add Celtman to that list – we’re shivering just contemplating the iron-distance-ish event centred around the remote Torridon mountains. That’s due to the wince-inducing, jellyfish-infested 3.4km swim in the 400m-deep Loch Shieldaig, an extended 202km bike course subjected to the winds of the Scottish Highlands, and a marathon run over two Munros.
IRONMAN 70.3 PUCON
Cancelled in 2020 due to Chilean political unrest, and in 2021 due to Covid, it’s not been a decade to remember for 70.3 Pucón. And yet, when it returns, the multisport world will be reminded that this is arguably the Ironman circuit’s most beautiful race. The smouldering, snow-capped Villarrica volcano (more restless than our kids on day five of home school) provides the backdrop, as athletes take on a 1.9km lake swim, a hilly 90km bike to the Palguín hot springs and a crowd-pleasing 21.1km run leg through the outdoor sports playground of Pucón town.
BEIJING INTERNATIONAL
Everything about the Beijing International feels big. The vast hotel complex that houses medal-laden Olympians; Ironman legends and a huge number of age-groupers; the bike leg’s six-lane highways that are closed with military precision; the views to the Hebei Province and a nation that’s begging to be explored further. And that’s before we go into the post-race buffet. With the vast majority of athletes from the host nation, the event also provides UK racers with a genuine opportunity to experience tri in a different culture.
ÖTILLÖ SWIMRUN WORLDS
With over 30,000 islands and rocks breaking out from the blue, bracing Baltic Sea, the Stockholm Archipelago is one of Europe’s greatest destinations for exploration. Each September, in bucolic late summer Swedish light, 120 pairs of athletes crisscross the island chain in the influential ÖtillÖ Swimrun World Championship, faced with 75km of swimming and running (plus 47 transitions), and countless skerries to scramble over.
IRONMAN SOUTH AFRICA
April’s annual Ironman South Africa is the continent’s greatest multisport race, a 226km journey that marries scenic vistas, fivedeep crowds and some of the best post-race barbecue you’ll ever have. Hobie Beach in Port Elizabeth is the setting for the 3.8km swim, the 180km bike leg takes competitors along the coastline and through nature reserves, before the marathon run takes place in front of thousands of spectators on Marine Drive.
WINDSOR TRIATHLON
Like its host town, the Windsor Triathlon reeks of history. Since its inception in 1991, the Berkshire race has played a fundamental role in the development of swim, bike and run in Britain and beyond, hosting classic elite showdowns and providing the backdrop to thousands of age-grouper experiences. The stupid o’clock swim in the Thames is memorable, but it’s the run course that elevates the race to world-beating status, the multi-lap route taking in the devious Castle Hill climb, vantages of the Queen’s weekend hangout, and the Barry Avenue rite-ofpassage finish line experience.
SLATEMAN
A swim in the shadow of Mount Snowdon. A bike course that takes on Pen-y-Pass. A trail run past a power station and into a disused quarry. The Slateman has a healthy shout at being the UK’s best short-course tri. Since 2011 the race has become an essential fixture on the UK tri calendar, with nearly 2,000 triathletes competing over the various distances. A special mention should also go to the fellow Llanberis-set Brutal, which ups the ante in terms of distance and elevation each September.
NOOSA TRIATHLON
Created in 1983, the Noosa Triathlon is intimately linked with the growth of triathlon in Australia – the winner’s roster reads like a who’s who of Aussie elite tri. Today the race is up there with London, Chicago and Hamburg as the biggest tri in the world in terms of participation, with 10,000 athletes heading to the Sunshine Coast, on the eastern coast, for a week-long multisport celebration.
LAGUNA PHUKET TRIATHLON
The multisport festival that is the Laguna Phuket Triathlon is the Godfather of tri in Asia. Since 1994, the race has attracted countless Ironman world champs – Mark Allen, Craig Alexander and Chrissie Wellington are just a trio – to Thailand in November. And you can see the appeal, with a long weekend of multisport events and social shindigs straddling the main event, the Laguna Phuket Tri, the highlight of which is the 1.8km swim that hops from the Andaman Sea into the beach resort’s lagoon.
IRONMAN AUSTRIA
This Central European M-Dot classic sells out faster than loo roll on the first day of lockdown, and it’s easy to see why. There’s a 3.8km swim in the crisp, bottledwater worthy Lake Wörthersee that’s ringed by forested hills. Snow-capped Alpine mountains make their presence known on the swift 180km bike leg, as do the scores of spectators who provide a motivational din to rival the Germanic races over the border. The largely flat marathon navigates the lake’s shoreline before heading into Klagenfurt for one of M-Dot’s greatest finish-line experiences.
CHALLENGE WANAKA
Ah, Wanaka, how we long to be coddled by your Covid-free embrace and big skies. Held since 2007, this Challenge classic on New Zealand’s South Island was able to defy the global pandemic and continue to host both the 2020 and ’21 editions of the multisport festival. While the scenery is droolinducing and the atmosphere embracing, there’s a bite to this Kiwi classic – the lake swim will turn both your lips and language blue, the undulating bike leg features coarse ‘big chip’ surfaces, while the half-marathon ventures off road for 75% of its duration.
IRONMAN LANZAROTE
On paper and in the flesh, Ironman Lanzarote is world-renowned as quite possibly the hardest official M-Dot event in the world. The 226km journey, with over 2,500m of climbing on the bike alone, is reason enough for it to nestle at the top of the toughest IM bike courses. Then throw in a choppy sea swim, blistering heat and skin-burning winds, and you’ll see why this one annually chews up athletes and spits them back out again just for fun. Never has a post-race glass of Tropical lager tasted so good.
IRONMAN WALES
Since its debut in 2011, Ironman Wales in Tenby has established itself as one of the most popular 226km courses on the Ironman circuit. With over 2,000m of climbing on the bike course alone, it’s also nestled its way to the top of the toughest M-Dots in the world, with the climbs at Ludchurch and Heartbreak Hill entering Ironman folklore. But what elevates it to classic status is the way the Welsh town of Tenby embraces the M-Dot show, creating a noisy, beautiful and supportive spectacle from daybreak into the depths of night.
ALPE D’HUEZ TRIATHLON
A 700m-high swim in a mountain reservoir opened once a year. A bike course that’s played a central role in the Tour de France. The world’s highest transition area and a run that takes place at 2,000m above sea level. Need any further convincing that Alpe d’Huez warrants its spot in our top 10? Then we’ll hand you over to Chrissie Wellington, the Ironman legend who knows a thing or two about international tri. “I’ve never competed in a race as beautiful as Alpe d’Huez,” the 2007 and 2008 champ has proclaimed.
XTERRA MAUI
Xterra Maui is the off-road world’s Ironman World Champs, another far-flung Hawaiian hive of history, heroics and humidity. But where the Kona Ironman sticks to the tarmac on the bike and run, its off-road neighbour in Maui takes things inland after the ocean swim – up and over the West Maui mountain range in a labyrinth of rocky creeks, jungle tracks, lava rock and fallen trees. There’s a final calf-killing beach run to the finish line, but the pay-off is one of triathlon’s greatest post-race parties.
PATAGONMAN
Bucket-list races don’t come much better than Patagonman, set in the wilds of Chilean Patagonia and luring 250 lucky racers to the Southern Hemisphere since its debut in 2018. Yet a longdistance triathlon picnic this isn’t. The adventure begins with a leap from a ferry into a bitingly-cold fjord for the 3.8km swim (the Norseman influence is strong and Patagonman is part of the same Xtri World Tour). Next up is a winding, wilderness 180km ride on windswept roads, before the dirt road marathon run is flanked by some of triathlon’s – and the world’s – greatest scenery. “Hands down the hardest tri I’ve ever done. Patagonman is raw triathlon!” was UK tri legend Tim Don’s verdict after winning the 2019 event.
IRONMAN FRANCE
Ironman France, the Nice Triathlon, the Nice LongDistance Triathlon, whatever you call it, this is an event that’s drenched in triathlon history. From the early years, when Ironman legend Mark Allen made it his own, to the latter days of 80,000 spectators lining the course, this is a race that’s played a major part in the evolution of triathlon in Europe. After the 3.8km Mediterranean swim, much of the acclaim is down to the unparalleled 180km bike course that climbs into the Alpes Maritimes, complete with panoramic views of the glistening Mediterranean below. While the views are jaw-dropping, the event is far from a sight-seeing tour of the Riviera: heat and humidity play a part in making this one of Ironman’s toughest days in the sun. The flat marathon run provides a counterbalance to the rolling bike, with four fast loops along Nice’s promenade in front of spectators that cheer long into the night. An honourary mention should also go to Embrunman, another French classic on the long-course circuit.
NORSEMAN XTREME
Possibly the only thing tougher than Norseman’s course is gaining a place at this extreme tri classic, with thousands of athletes annually vying for one of the 250 gold-dust entry spots. Every August, the dramatic terrain of Norway’s west fjordland region is the setting for this raw, iron-distance event. The epic challenge starts with a leap from a ferry into a brain-numbing Norwegian fjord, before enormous climbs and a constant battle with the elements are key features of the point-to-point bike course where even the names – hello Hardangervidda – sound intimidating. The peak of Gaustatoppen is the final run target, where the iconic black t-shirt awaits all finishers.
ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ
Leaping from a boat – see also Norseman and Patagonman – has to be the best way to start a triathlon, and few come more atmospheric than the commencement of Escape from Alcatraz, first held in 1981. With the infamous former-prison island of Alcatraz as the backdrop, each year sees over 2,000 athletes make the jump off the back of an old steamboat, the San Francisco Belle, into the freezing cold waters of San Fran Bay for a 2.4km swim to shore. The Golden Gate Bridge is never far away on the 29km bike leg, before the 12.8km run separates the women from the girls and the men from the boys as racers hit the sandy trails of the Golden Gate Recreation Area, home to the formidable Sand Ladder – 400 nigh-on vertical steps up a cliff face. Ouch.
CHALENGE ROTH
If Norseman is an exercise in isolation, Challenge Roth is the race of the people. Nowhere does community and triathlon as well as this German town, where doors (and fridges) are opened for athletes and crowds in excess of 200,000 descend on northern Bavaria to create triathlon’s noisiest spectacle. The fun begins at the Main-Donau Kanal, where spectators flank the banks and bridge over the 3.8km swim start. Onto the bike and the iconic Solarer
Berg climb comes quickly. It’s triathlon’s most raucous and perhaps greatest spectacle, with tens of thousands supporters cheering themselves hoarse from the first athlete to the last. Bier Mile follows on the bike before the marathon run takes athletes out of town and, to a pumping Euro-pop soundtrack, back into the huge amphitheatre-come-finishing chute. The final athlete before the cut-off is welcomed as loudly as the first, with a huge fireworks display (and a hangover or two) to follow.
IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPS – KONA
It’s the Big One on the Big Island of Kona, the location where Ironman racing really started to enter the sporting world’s consciousness (it was held on neighbouring Oahu from 1978-80). The hallowed ground of Julie Moss and the Iron War between Dave Scott and Mark Allen, the Hoyts and Chrissie Wellington, Jan Frodeno and the world’s best agegroupers. And that sense of history pervades race week in Kona, where the Parade of Nations, the Underpants Run and multiple galas attract the legends of triathlon (throw a stick on Ali’i Drive on race week and we guarantee you’ll hit Mark Allen).
Come race day and one of triathlon’s beauty-andthe-beast classics emerges in the Pacific Ocean, with the reliably formidable heat, headwinds and humidity ensuring the 180km bike course switches from dreamland to Dante’s Inferno at the flick of a (Di2) switch. And yet, come the Ali’i Drive finish line of the marathon run, each participant enters triathlon immortality and becomes part of a very select club to say, ‘I’ve completed Kona.’ Sounds good, doesn’t it?