Originally published at: We Noticed: Pucon 70.3 Results, Anne Haug’s New Gig (Or 1 of Them), Frodo Podcast, Pro Money Matters and More - Slowtwitch News
Two-time Olympian Diego Moya. Photo: World Triathlon
Pro racing got underway over the weekend with the first IRONMAN 70.3 race of the year in Pucon, Chile, and there were a number of Olympians on hand showing their prowess at going longer.
In the women’s race Mexico’s Cecelia Perez (who competed at the Rio and Tokyo Games) successfully defended her title, once again winning by a wide margin. Perez and Chile’s Macarena Salazar were neck and neck through the swim and bike, starting the run over three minutes up on France’s Lea Riccoboni. Perez would cruise through the run to finish almost seven minutes up on Romina Biagioli (she competed in Tokyo and Paris), while Chile’s Francisca Garrido would almost run her way to second, rounding out the podium just 10 seconds behind the Argentine.
| Place | Country | Athlete | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall |
| 1 | Mexico | Cecilia Perez | 27:46 | 2:22:33 | 1:27:31 | 4:22:39 |
| 2 | Argentina | Romina Biagioli | 27:46 | 2:27:09 | 1:28:56 | 4:29:11 |
| 3 | Chile | Francisca Garrido | 29:24 | 2:28:32 | 1:25:59 | 4:29:21 |
| 4 | Chile | Macarena Salazar | 27:44 | 2:22:30 | 1:35:34 | 4:30:53 |
| 5 | France | Lea Riccoboni | 27:49 | 2:25:02 | 1:35:24 | 4:33:49 |
In the men’s race it was the home-country favourite Diego Moya who led the way out of the water. Moya represented Chile at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, and finished 13th in the World Triathlon rankings last year. He was joined by France’s Cenzino Lebot on the bike, and the pair would hit T2 over four minutes up on Chile’s Martin Baeza. Moya would round out his day with the fastest run, finishing almost nine minutes ahead of Argentina’s Luciano Taccone, with Baeza hanging on to the final spot on the podium.
| Place | Country | Athlete | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall |
| 1 | Chile | Diego Moya | 23:08 | 2:01:03 | 1:13:17 | 3:42:07 |
| 2 | Argentina | Luciano Taccone | 25:02 | 2:05:56 | 1:15:04 | 3:50:54 |
| 3 | Chile | Martin Baeza | 24:11 | 2:04:40 | 1:19:44 | 3:53:00 |
| 4 | France | Cenzino Lebot | 23:13 | 2:00:53 | 1:25:58 | 3:54:48 |
| 5 | United States | Justin Metzler | 25:00 | 2:07:13 | 1:18:40 | 3:55:40 |
Anne Haug’s Next Venture
Photo: Daniel Jugan Welsch
Recently retired 2019 IRONMAN World Champion and two-time Olympian Anne Haug and her partner Sebastiaan Brouwer, a bike mechanic and bike fitting expert, have opened a new workshop, bike fit studio and performance testing centre in Lanzarote, Spain.
In collaboration with German-based gebioMized bike fitting, Sebastiaan offers advanced bike fitting for cyclists, mountainbikers and triathletes. During the end Haug’s decorated career, Sebastiaan functioned at the end as her primary bike mechanic and assisted in optimizing her position and equipment, including creating custom 3D printed accessories.
Haug will head up performance testing which will include lab and field lactate testing with muscle oxgen sensors, private one to one training sessions and sharing advice in all topics of triathlon (nutrition, racing, training, motivation…). As well as keynote talks for companies and clubs.
Their combined boots-on-the-ground experience racing at the top of the sport gives their clients an unmatched expertise and service–where else can a legendary team help you personally become better?
by Sarah Bonner
“Frodeno Going Mental”
Jan Frodeno before his final IRONMAN World Championship appearance in Nice in 2023. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon
The 2008 Olympic gold medalist and three-time Kona champion Jan Frodeno launched a new podcast today – “Frodeno Going Mental.”
“I … spent 21 years learning how to suffer at world-class levels,” Frodeno says. Now I’m sitting down to talk about it.”
“Welcome to FRODENO GOING MENTAL — a video podcast exploring what drives people who perform at a high level and live on their own terms,” the podcast’s website explains. “I talk with athletes, thinkers, and doers about performance – and about what happens when the lights go out: finding meaning beyond success, navigating doubt, and understanding why the real battle is almost always in your head.”
“After twenty years of racing at the front of the pack, I stepped away from championship competition and realized something: I’d spent my entire career learning how to push through pain, but nobody taught me what to do when the finish line disappears,” Frodeno continues. “This podcast is my attempt to figure that out – by talking to people who’ve navigated their own transitions, built something meaningful, or simply have interesting perspectives on performance, purpose, and the gap between who we think we should be and who we actually are. Some guests are athletes. Some aren’t. All of them have wrestled with the same questions: What drives you when nobody’s keeping score? How do you rebuild when your identity shifts? And why is sitting still somehow harder than racing an Ironman?”
The first episode features Frodeno’s fellow Olympic gold medalist Alistair Brownlee. You can listen to the podcast here.
Liévin Triathlon Indoor Festival “Postponed”
Cassandre Beaugrande wins the 2025 T1 Indoor Triathlon World Cup Liévin. Photo: by_wout.photographer
After a successful race last year, the unique Liévin Triathlon Indoor Festival will not be taking place as scheduled on March 7, 2026.
“Despite conversations with all the local stakeholders and a thorough review of all possible solutions to continue with the original date, we have taken the difficult decision to postpone the event, as we would not have been able to deliver the experience to the high standards we’ve set previously in Liévin and which our athletes, partners and spectators expect,” World Triathlon wrote on a release today. “We also don’t want to compromise the long‑term sustainability of the project.”
The race featured a unique format that included a 200 m swim in a temporary pool built into the middle of an indoor track, a 2.8 km bike on the outer lanes of that track before finishing with a 1 km sprint. Last year’s race, designated a T1 World Cup, was supported by the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO), which provided the live streaming of the event.
In 2024 the race went off as a World Triathlon Cup event, and prior to that it was held as a Europe Triathlon Cup race for two years. The format obviously worked – as last year’s exciting racing proved. The financial viability of the event, though, remains a bit tricky. Reports indicated that without the PTO’s support last year the event might not have been able to go ahead. While the PTO and World Triathlon have announced some big goals for the 2027, it wasn’t until halfway through last year that the PTO received some much-needed investment, so one wonders if the Liévin event has to be put on hold in the wake of some belt-tightening to make all the expansion work next year. We got some insights into the ambitious goals for the 2027 series from PTO CEO Sam Renouf after the announcement.
A Pro Divulges His Total Earnings … $0
We recapped the highest earners from the sport last year – today we’ve got a story from the other end of the spectrum.
Simon Shi, an American pro triathlete, posted an interesting stat on Instagram yesterday. Turns out that throughout his four-year pro career, he’s never earned any prize money. The 28-year-old’s top finish last year was a seventh at IRONMAN 70.3 Shanghai. His highest full-distance finish was at IRONMAN Canada in 2024 – he finished 15th.
Shi doesn’t seem to be too worried about how little he’s making in prize money, though.
“After four years of racing professionally, I have made zero dollars in prize money,” he said. “I’ve gotten better every season, stronger, smarter, more consistent. But the truth is, this level in the sport is brutal. Everyone works hard. Everyone is fit. Everyone wants to win. And only a few people get paid on race day.”
“Would it be nice to earn prize money?” he asked. “Of course. And that is the goal. But, I didn’t get into the sport just for money and for podiums. I raced because I love the process, the early morning, the boring miles, the small improvements that add up over time. And I love seeing what I’m capable of when I fully commit to this sport. Progress doesn’t always show up as money or medals. Sometimes it shows up as patience, resilience and belief when things don’t go your way yet.”