CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE: CANYON ANNOUNCE TOP-CLASS 2024 TRIATHLON LINE-UP

Roster includes current and former World Champions Sam Laidlow and Chelsea Sodaro

After a world-beating 2023, Canyon Bicycles are going from strength to strength for 2024 with a star-studded triathlon roster. The lineup includes a blend of established stars and emerging talents including Florian Angert (DE), Daniel Baekkegard (DK), Jule Behrens (DE), Henry Graf (DE), Tim Hellwig (DE), Simon Henseleit (DE), Gwen Jorgensen (US), Annika Koch (DE), Sam Laidlow (FR), Patrick Lange (DE), Kat Matthews (DE), Mika Noodt (DE), Laura Philipp (DE), Sara Perez Sala (ES), Imogen Simmonds (SUI), Lionel Sanders (CA), Kyle Smith (NZ), Chelsea Sodaro (US), Sam Holness (UK), and Hayden Wilde (NZ).

With 6 World Championship victories thanks to its world-class aerodynamics, adjustability, and integration, the Canyon Speedmax is one of the most dominant triathlon bikes of the modern era – and almost all Canyon athletes are set to compete on the latest-generation Speedmax CFR in 2024. Canyon’s Olympic-distance athletes will race on the Aeroad CFR, utilising its benchmark aero efficiency, lightness, and stiffness-to-weight to mix it up at the front of the pack.

Leading Canyon’s triathlon roster are 2023 World Champion Sam Laidlow (below, left) and 2022 World Champion Chelsea Sodaro (right). Laidlow, who earned local hero status with victory at the 2023 World Championships on home soil in Nice, is to defend his title when the Men's World Championship returns to Kona this October. Sodaro is aiming for a podium position at the very least after winning in 2022 and recording a sixth-place finish last time out.

With second and third place World Championship finishes last year respectively, Patrick Lange and Laura Philipp (below) are also World Championship contenders in 2024. For Lange, a win at Hawaii would mark his third world title after wins in 2017 and 2018. After her fourth place in 2018 and third place last year, Philipp will line up as a favourite in Nice this September, with a demanding bike route set to play into her hands as one of the best riders in the field.

They will be joined on the long-distance circuit by top athletes Florian Angert, Daniel Baekkegard, Lionel Sanders, and Kyle Smith. Baekkegard in particular has high hopes for a big 2024 after having to pull out of the 2023 World Championships as a podium favourite due to illness. “Kona will for sure be a big deal. Qualifying early is key for me so that I can focus on the PTO calendar during the season and hit the ground running,” states the Dane.

Kat Matthews (below, left), Imogen Simmonds (right), and Kyle Smith are frontrunners over both middle and long distances. Matthews and Simmonds both made the podium at last year’s 70.3 World Championships in Lahti and are looking forward to more statement results in 2024 alongside fellow Canyon athletes Sara Perez Sala and Mika Noodt. Noodt, who finished fourth at the 2022 70.3 World Championships in the USA, struggled with several injuries in 2023 before bouncing back in style to win Ironman 70.3 in Augusta in September. In 2024, he aims to build on this momentum and elevate his performances to an even higher level.

Hayden Wilde, Jule Behrens, Henry Graf, Tim Hellwig, Simon Henseleit, Gwen Jorgensen and Annika Koch compete over the Olympic distance – with both Hellwig and Tokyo games bronze medallist Wilde targeting the Olympics in Paris this summer. There’s also a special personal highlight on the calendar this year for Wilde: at the 70.3 World Championships this December in Taupo, New Zealand, the 26-year-old wants to fulfil his dream of being crowned World Champion in his home country.

Canyon athlete Sam Holness (UK) achieved his goal to be the first triathlete with autism from the BAME community to finish in Kona and in 2024 he wants to continue with that momentum and continue to grow as an athlete.

Jan Frodeno is an all-time sporting legend and long-standing Canyon athlete. Although he retired in 2023, the greatest triathlete of all time is continuing to work closely together with Canyon: both as a brand ambassador, and by promoting SGRAIL100, his own gravel event which takes place in Girona.

However, Canyon's commitment to triathlon encompasses more than just supporting athletes. The company also supports the PTO Series and Challenge Roth with the goal of promoting the sport and the triathlon community.

As well as Triathlon, Canyon also sponsors riders in Road, Gravel, XC, Marathon, Enduro, DH and Freeride. For inspiring racing content from the year ahead, give your favourite athletes a follow or keep an eye on Canyon’s Instagram channel for another season of outstanding victories on Canyon bikes.