Ryan Heisler

West Chesterfield

Dad, Mr. @kburnsgallagher, Editor-in-chief @slowtwitch. Per @djmacandcheeze, dazzlingly incompetent. #BabyDucksHaveItDown

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Nice to Host 2026, 2028 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships

2 weeks ago | slowtwitch.com | Ryan Heisler

IRONMAN today announced that Nice, France will continue to be the site of an IRONMAN World Championship race, awarding the city the 2026 and 2028 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship. The 2026 race will take place on September 12 & 13, 2026 — the same weekend of the calendar that had previously been received for half of the IRONMAN World Championship, which will now return to a single day of racing in Kona. It will be the second time that the city has hosted the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships.
Built It, But They Didn’t Come: On World Championships Participation and Qualifying for 2026 and Beyond

2 weeks ago | slowtwitch.com | Ryan Heisler

Today’s news of a return to Kona only for the IRONMAN World Championship is a welcome one for many within our sport.
Ups and Downs from a Record Re-Writing Day in Texas

2 weeks ago | slowtwitch.com | Ryan Heisler

We’re now through the first full month of the 2025 IRONMAN season, and apparently the theme for the year is Burn the Books. As in, burn the record books, because we’re going to be re-writing them all. Kristian Blummenfelt and Kat Matthews did their part on the way to victory, as did Taylor Knibb and Cam Wurf out on the bike courses. As it turns out, when you turn the wind off, Texas can be quite a fast day at the office, despite the incredible heat and humidity.
World Triathlon Updates Hydration Rules

3 weeks ago | slowtwitch.com | Ryan Heisler

World Triathlon has announced updated guidelines regarding the controversial hydration rules, aiming to provide additional clarity for professional and age-group athletes alike. The rules, which came into effect earlier this year, limited the number and amount of liquid that could be carried within bottles both in front of and behind the rider.
5 Bold Predictions for IRONMAN Texas

3 weeks ago | slowtwitch.com | Ryan Heisler

It’s time to fire up the old prediction machine, as the second full-distance race of the 2025 IRONMAN Pro Series is almost upon us. This one has been made slightly more complicated by the depth of field this year, as well as having the top two men across the finish line not here for wildly different reasons (Tomas Rodriguez Hernandez serving his doping suspension, and Patrick Lange withdrawing due to injury). As of now, 63 men and 27 women will vie for their share of the $175,000 prize pool.
Korir, Lokedi Take Boston Marathon Laurels

3 weeks ago | slowtwitch.com | Ryan Heisler

Kenya’s John Korir and Sharon Lokedi won the 129th Boston Marathon, with both making history in the process. Korir joined his older brother Wesley as a Boston Marathon champion, breaking out of the pack in the critical Newton hills to take victory and become the first sibling duo to win the event. Korir ran 2:04:45, the second fastest men’s winning time here ever. Nineteen seconds later came Tanzania’s Alphonce Felix Simbu and Korir’s fellow Kenyan Cybrian Kotut.
We Noticed: Tariffs Begin Impacting Bike Industry; Canyon Reduces US Workforce; Nike x Hyperice Recovery Boots

3 weeks ago | slowtwitch.com | Ryan Heisler

Lots of small bites flowing through our notebook this week. Here’s the top-line items that we’ve pulled out. Two of the largest bike companies — Giant and Specialized — have started seeing impacts to their business as a result of tariffs. We start with Giant, which announced that shipments of bikes in March declined over 5% year-over-year. That comes on top of March 2024 representing a 17.4% decline in year-over-year business.
Digging Into IRONMAN’s Data on Participation and Barriers to Entry

4 weeks ago | slowtwitch.com | Ryan Heisler

Yesterday IRONMAN released key data and research findings across the landscape of the sport, showing positive trend lines in participation but also some of the first concrete data we’ve had on barriers of entry to triathlon. It’s a report that provides reassurances that we could be in for the next growth phase in our sport, but it also highlights the potential high-water marks that we may hit without changes in how we, collectively, as stakeholders approach the sport.
We Noticed: ROKA Signs Taylor Knibb, Best Bike Split Re-Design, and Wattbike Sold for $15M

1 month ago | slowtwitch.com | Ryan Heisler

It’s been a busy week for the scrapbook with lots of interesting nuggets spread out. Here’s what we pulled out of the news cycle this week. ROKA is moving strongly back to its roots in multisport in 2025, making investment in both product and athletes within triathlon. To that end, this week they announced a four-year deal with IRONMAN 70.3 and T100 World Champion Taylor Knibb. The deal will see Knibb wear ROKA’s wetsuits, swim skins, and goggles going forward, after a lengthy time with 2XU.
Long-Term Test: The Brooks Hyperion 2

1 month ago | slowtwitch.com | Ryan Heisler

Having been in the footwear game now for nearly two full decades (editor’s note: Good Lord, it’s been that long?!?!), we’ve seen a lot of swings in footwear. We’ve ridden waves, from the original generation of Nike Free to minimalism to “natural running” to maximalism to the flood of carbon plated footwear that now makes up the majority of shoe walls today. You’d be forgiven for being confused by shoes today.