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T100 London Sees a Hometown Hero and a Comeback for the Ages
T100 London recap, nail your race morning breakfast, and power-boost your bike!
Matthew Sharpe
August 12, 2025
Good morning everyone,
Somedays I take experiences, learnings, etc. from my training and apply them to the newsletter. Today’s bit on using a snorkel is just that. It’s a tool I hadn’t used for ages until just the other day when I borrowed my wife’s.
I like it because it simplifies swimming and really allows you to lock into your stroke. I especially like using it to work on my catch and ensure my elbow isn’t collapsing.
Drill-wise, it’s also effective for getting a better understanding of the timing of my exhale when I pull.
And lately, I like to throw it in for longer intervals. When my head is under the water for a long period of time, it feels like I’m in a different world, and it’s almost like a form of meditation!
In today’s edition:
🏆 T100 London Sees a Hometown Hero and a Comeback for the Ages
🚴 No hacks, just real cycling power boosts!
🥯 And how to nail your race morning breakfast!
-Matt Sharpe, newsletter editor
Have a triathlete in your life who can't stop swimming, biking, or running? Fire this off to them. Forwarded from a friend? Sign-up for free.
ONE BIG THING
What is it: The 4th stop in the T100 Triathlon World was an emotion-filled spectacle that featured incredible victories from Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) and Hayden Wilde (NZ).
Womens Race
Swim: Charles-Barclay, feeling the immense hometown support, took the lead in the swim from the gun. She was joined by Jessica Learmonth (GBR), who helped keep the pace high.
Charles-Barclay and Learmonth would exit the swim first, shortly followed by Kate Waugh (GBR) and Taylor Knibb (USA).
The leaders would end up having a sizeable gap of over 90 seconds to Julie Derron (SUI) and Ashleigh Gentle (AUS).
Bike: The lead group of four started the bike together and continued to work together, creating an insurmountable gap to the chasers.
Derron and Gentle would end up over four minutes behind the leaders by the time they hit T2.
Meanwhile, up front, a run battle for the ages was about to ensue!
Run: As the run started, Charles-Barclay had a slight lead on the rest of the leaders - but shortly after, she was joined by Knibb and Waugh, and the three athletes were soon locked in a battle running shoulder to shoulder!
Just over 5km in, Waugh made the first move, dropping Charles-Barclay and Knibb. And for some time she looked to be enroute to her second T100 win of the season.
But as Knibb continued to fade, Charles-Barclay continued to hold her gap to Waugh.
Then, with 4km to the finish, the gap began to close. As Waugh’s figure closed in, Charles-Barlcay accelerated further. With only a mile to the finish, Charles-Barclay had rejoined Waugh in the lead.
But, with the win in her grasp, she dropped the hammer and accelerated past Waugh, who had no response.
Charles-Barclay would take her first-ever T100 win in front of the roaring crowd of family and friends. Waugh finished a strong second, while Knibb would hold on to third.
Men’s Race
Swim: Olympic silver medalist Leo Bergere (FRA) led the men out of the swim. He was shortly followed by T100 San Francisco winner, Rico Bogen (GER), Mika Noodt (GER), and most of the men’s field.
Hayden Wilde (NZ), who was returning to racing after a career-threatening accident, was 57 seconds back from the front.
Sam Long (USA) was solo, minutes down from the leaders.
Bike: Onto the bike, Bogen would take no prisoners, and he continued to show why he is one of the strongest cyclists in the sport. By halfway, he’d taken the lead and had a gap of 30 seconds on the next athlete.
Unfortunately for him, that athlete was Hayden Wilde!
By the end of the ride, Bogen would open up the gap to just over a minute. And with Wilde’s run-fitness in question post-accident, could the German see his second victory of the season?
Run: He couldn’t. By the end of the first run lap, Wilde had closed the gap to Bogen. Not long after, he attacked and built up a sizeable cushion on the rest of the field.
Wilde would lift the tape and immediately break down in tears. A gravity-defying comeback after a devastating crash only months ago.
Noodt (GER) would end up second, while Jelle Geens (BEL) would once again finish on the podium in third.
Tempo’s take: Last year in London, Lucy Charles-Barclay wasn’t even able to finish the race due to a calf injury. This year, she turned the tables and took an incredible hometown win. But it’s not just that she won, it’s how she won.
Typically, Charles-Barclay wins by going off the front alone. But in London, she took it to Waugh and Knibb, who are both world-class runners.
What does this mean for the rest of the T100 season? And Kona? If she sustains this level of run performance, it’s not hard to imagine her running solo down Ali’i drive in October!
The women’s race was exceptional, and it’s all we’d be talking about if not for Hayden Wilde. Just over 90 days ago, he was getting picked off the ground after being hit by a truck. A broken scapula, ribs, and a season in question.
And now, a return to the top step in one of the best fields in the world. It’s an all-time comeback that begs the question.
Can anyone stop him?
FAVORITES
🚴 Cycling power boost: Are you looking to boost your power on the bike? There are hacks everywhere that promise lightning-quick results. But hacks don’t deliver. These five power-boosting principles - sourced from 18 years of cycling science - will give you real results! [WattKG]
🥯 Race day breakfast decoded: Your start line success starts at the breakfast table. But what do you need to eat to perform your best and keep your gut happy? This article breaks down what you need to make a world-class race morning breakfast! [My Sports Science]
⚖️ Road vs Tri: It’s pretty clear a triathlon bike will be faster than a traditional road bike. But is it enough for you to start browsing the classifieds? If you’re racing shorter triathlons, maybe not. But extrapolated over a full distance, the results are shocking as revealed in this video! [Mikes Bikes]
🦵Calf is king: Want more power in your sprint and stability on climbs? Kettlebell calf raises add resistance to a classic move, building strength, balance, and ankle mobility. And this article explains how you can turn every push-off into a performance boost! [Kettlebell Kings]
🤿 Snorkel swimming: It’s not just for scuba diving! A snorkel is a great tool for swimming that can help you focus on certain elements of your stroke - like your catch! And this video explains how to use a snorkel well, plus provides a few key drills! [Swim Gym]
TEMPO TALKS PODCAST
Why A Newly Discovered Benefit of Heat Training Can Boost Your Performance!
And what caused the ugly IRONMAN/TriDot breakup?
All this and more in the latest episode of the Tempo Talks Podcast!
Together with The TriDoc, we bring you the biggest stories in Triathlon,
Training tips to make you faster,
And breakdowns of the latest in sports science and performance!
REEL TIME
Training all those hours? Easy work. Doing this? Nearly impossible!
QUICK NEWS
Ageless athlete: She started competing in triathlons at 50, and she’s still racing at 87! Here’s her secret. [Economic Times]
Cancelled races: Intense flooding resulted in the cancellation of the second day of racing at the USA Triathlon National Championships. [Endurance Biz]
Famous and fit: 3x Olympic champion Adam Peaty competed in his first triathlon with none other than his future father-in-law, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey! [Daily Mail]
Yee’s speed: Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee is continuing his year of side quests. After finishing the London Marathon in April, he recently lowered his 5km PB to a mind-blowing 13:13! [TRI247]
Chafe city: In what we can only describe as insane, this Cleveland man completed a triathlon while wearing jorts! [News 5]
RACE WEEKEND
IRONMAN 70.3 Rio de Janeiero
Luciano Taccone (ARG) and Julie Iemmolo (FRA) took the wins in Rio!
IRONMAN 70.3 Lapu Lapu
Amelia Watkinson (NZ) and Josh Ferris (AUS) were victorious in Lapu Lapu!
LATEST EDITIONS
IRONMAN’s messy breakup. And terrible cycling purchases!
Tailwinds and turbulence for T100 in London. Plus: the irony of zone 2!
Faster cycling with torque, and are ketones for you?
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