This week Belinda Granger joins as guest co-host, bringing her perspective from inside the commentary box and from her role as pro liaison at Challenge Roth.

We spend a big chunk of the episode talking through the 2026 WTCS season with Belinda, covering Beaugrand's continued dominance, Vasco Vilaca leading the men's standings, what Alex Yee's DNF in Quiberon means for the rest of the season, and what it's actually like to call these races up close.

Then we get into Ironman Frankfurt, where Casper Stornes backed up his Kona title with a win over Gustav Iden in a race shortened to a 125km bike and a half marathon due to extreme heat, with Antonio Benito Lopez rounding out the podium.

The back half of the episode is all Challenge Roth, and with Belinda involved in the race it's about as good an insider preview as you'll get. On the women's side, Lucy Charles-Barclay and Kat Matthews headline as the two to beat. On the men's side, we dig into whether Kristian Blummenfelt can deliver, and where Sam Laidlow and Patrick Lange fit into the picture on one of the fastest courses in the world.

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We open with a full recap of WTCS Quiberon, where Cassandre Beaugrand was in superb form, putting the race to bed as soon as she kicked to beat Tilda Mansson. In the men's race, Dorian Coninx outsprinted Vasco Vilaca in a thriller reminiscent of his 2023 title run, while Alex Yee was forced to DNF. We also break down the Mixed Team Relay, where France completed a clean sweep of the weekend, winning comfortably even without Beaugrand in the lineup.

After the break, we cover Ironman 70.3 Elsinore, where Marten Van Riel made it six wins from six in 70.3 racing this year, setting a new course record alongside Kat Matthews, who ran away from the women's field for victory. Both results lock in important qualification slots heading toward the 70.3 World Championships.

We close with previews of two of the biggest races coming up: Ironman 70.3 Nice, where the final women's slot for the 70.3 World Championships will be decided, and Ironman Frankfurt, where Casper Stornes, Gustav Iden, and a long-awaited season debut from Magnus Ditlev headline the men's European Championship field.

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We open with news that Olympic champions Alex Yee and Cassandre Beaugrand are heading to the Diamond League, with Yee racing the 5,000m and Beaugrand the 3,000m at Monaco on July 10, marking Yee's first Diamond League appearance since 2019 and a first-ever start for Beaugrand. Then we cover Taylor Knibb, who claimed her second US Pro Road Nationals time trial title in Charleston, continuing her run as one of the most dangerous dual-sport athletes in the world. We also break down the announcement that Chattanooga will host the Ironman 70.3 World Championship again in 2027, locking in a new five year agreement with the qualifying cycle kicking off on July 5.

After the break, we recap Ironman Cairns, where Nick Thompson and Penny Slater both picked up maiden Ironman wins, with Slater inheriting the lead after Regan Hollioake was forced to retire with a torn hamstring while well clear on the bike. We then run through Happy Valley 70.3, where Trevor Foley finally got the better of Sam Long in their fourteenth head to head meeting, and Paula Findlay ran away with a dominant women's win.

We close with a preview of WTCS Quiberon, breaking down the start lists and storylines heading into the men's and women's races this weekend.

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We open with an update on Jelle Geens, who has been diagnosed with a stress reaction in his femur that has put his season on hold, including his pursuit of an Ironman World Championship qualification slot. Then we get into Lionel Sanders, who has confirmed he is working again with Mikal Iden after a difficult stretch dealing with RED-S and injury. Sanders is leaning into the Norwegian method as he targets Kona 2026.

The big story of the week is Ironman Hamburg, where metal shards were deliberately spread across the bike course in the Kirchwerder area, causing an estimated 400 punctures and forcing more than 100 age groupers to DNF. Police have launched a formal investigation. Despite all of that, the pro race went ahead and Solveig Løvseth took her fourth consecutive full-distance Ironman win, holding off Laura Philipp by just over a minute to claim the European Championship title.

We then recap T100 San Francisco, where Rico Bogen backed up his 2025 win with another dominant performance, going early on the bike and never looking back. Hayden Wilde, dealing with illness, had no answer for him.

We close out looking ahead to Ironman Frankfurt on June 28, where Gustav Iden and Casper Stornes lead the field, and Magnus Ditlev finally makes his long-awaited 2026 season debut, plus a look at other upcoming start lists.

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Alistair Brownlee is taking on Norseman, adding one of triathlon's most iconic races to his calendar and giving fans another reason to follow his post-professional career.

WTCS Alghero delivered exactly what we've come to expect from the series. Vasco Vilaça and Cassandre Beaugrand took the wins, the men's race featured crashes and drama throughout, and the women's race was simply outstanding. We also discuss why WTCS continues to produce some of the best racing in the sport and how much the broadcast product has improved in recent years.

Supertri Blenheim also features, with a surprisingly strong field assembled despite the ongoing challenges around actually watching the racing.

Attention then turns to T100 San Francisco. The venue is iconic, but with Hayden Wilde on the start line the question becomes whether anyone can stop him.

We finish with Ironman Hamburg, where Laura Philipp and Solveig Løvseth headline the women's race, and whether the long-discussed eight-hour barrier could finally fall.

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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.

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James is joined by Andy Horsfall-Turner again this week.

WTCS Yokohama kicks things off with the return of Alex Yee to triathlon and plenty of attention on how he looked back in the sport.

From there the focus shifts to Ironman 70.3 Aix-en-Provence and Ironman Chattanooga, before the conversation turns to the latest around Supertri.

Ironman Hamburg also features as the build towards the race continues, before finishing with T100 Spain.

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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.

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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:

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You can follow Henry at https://www.instagram.com/henryrappo