CANYON'S 2026 TRIATHLON ROSTER INCLUDES FIVE PROVEN CHAMPIONS: LAURA PHILIPP, KAT MATTHEWS, PATRICK LANGE, SAM LAIDLOW AND HAYDEN WILDE

Canyon's star-studded line-up for 2026 includes T100 series winner Hayden Wilde and Ironman Pro Series winner Kat Matthews, backed-up by former World Champions Patrick Lange, Laura Philipp, and Sam Laidlow, and up-and-comers including Julie Derron and Marjolaine Pierre.

Koblenz, Friday 9th January, 2025: As sporting years go, they don’t come much better than 2025 for Canyon's triathletes. With the Speedmax CFR they produced a masterclass in consistency, securing numerous victories at headline events including Kiwi sensation Hayden Wilde's T100 series win and back-to-back Ironman Pro Series titles for Kat Matthews.

The standard has been set for 2026 – and it’s a high, high standard. But while Canyon are aiming to build on last year’s sporting successes, their aim extends far beyond just dominating triathlon’s sporting landscape for another 12 months:

“We’re not just here to win races – we want to push the sport forward in every aspect. Our 2026 team is built on three pillars: diversity, athletic prowess, and a readiness to always innovate. With our commitment to, and love for, triathlon, added to the incredible dedication of our athletes, our aim is to inspire people around the world to fall in love with the sport,” says Andreas Walzer, Global Director Pro Sports at Canyon. 

Canyon goes far beyond just providing equipment sponsorship for their athletes. By emphasising close athletic collaboration and maintaining an active presence at races across the calendar, Canyon is also going the extra mile to offer essential support to its athletes, and gather essential feedback on its Speedmax bikes in the pursuit of continual improvement. 

Canyon triathletes amassed almost 30 wins across the globe in 2025, inspiring fans and demonstrating the race-winning technology inherent in the Speedmax CFR, one of the fastest triathlon bikes available.

Highlights include...

• Hayden Wilde's exceptional 2025, winning six T100 rounds and the overall T100 title.
• Kat Matthews doubled down on her stellar achievements in 2024 with back-to-back Ironman Pro Series overall titles including wins in the full-distance Ironman Texas and the middle-distance Ironman 70.3 Swansea and 70.3 Zell am See-Kaprun races.
• Laura Phillip won Challenge Roth, the Hamburg European Championships and Ironman 70.3 Kraichgau.
• Sam Laidlow also won at Challenge Roth as well as Ironman Leeds and Triathlon Argeles.
• Lionel Sanders scored wins at Ironman 70.3 Oceanside and St George.
• Julie Derron had a break-out year, winning five times including the T100 San Francisco and Dubai rounds, Ironman Vittoria-Gasteiz, Ironman 70.3 Langkawi and the Yangtze River Delta triathlon in China.
• Finally, wins for Caroline Pohle (Ironman 70.3 Jonkoping) and Henry Graf (Lievin, Dresden & Karlovy Vary) completed a hugely successful year for Canyon in triathlon.

New year, new goals and new signings. The season starts ripe with promise, but it also starts at zero. In 2026, a who’s who of triathlon’s finest talents are set to prove themselves all over again with Canyon's Speedmax CFR bike. 

Patrick Lange (DE): Three-time Ironman World Champion. Hawaii course record holder. The first athlete to break the 8-hour barrier, with his winning time of 7:52:39 at the 2018 worlds at Kona. And at the age of 39, Patrick still wants to win as badly as ever.

Laura Philipp (DE): In 2024, a lifelong ambition became reality for Laura when she won the Triathlon World Championships in Nice, the crowning achievement of an incredible career. But at age 38 Laura’s not about to let up any time soon, her 2025 results, including a win at Challenge Roth, show that she's still at the very top of her game. 

Sam Laidlow (FR): The Frenchman sent shockwaves through the world of triathlon with his unexpected World Championship win in 2023. Then in 2024, he made waves again in Hawaii where he became the first athlete to ever break the four-hour barrier for Kona’s bike split, clocking a time of 3:57:22 on the Speedmax CFR. Unfortunately, health issues hampered the start of Sam's 2025 season but he left his mark with a landmark victory at Challenge Roth.

Kat Matthews (GB): An incredibly consistent 2025 saw Kat finish 1st or 2nd in every race she entered. She added another Ironman Pro Series title to her name in 2025. Will 2026 be the year we see her claim the Ironman World Championship title she so richly deserves?

Hayden Wilde (NZ): In 2024, the New Zealander underlined his credentials as one of the world’s finest Olympic-distance specialists, claiming a silver medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. In 2025, the 28-year-old embarked on a new journey – competing in the T100 Triathlon World Tour, stamping his authority over the 100 km distance.

Julie Derron (CH): The 29-year-old Swiss outperformed both her own expectations and those of the whole triathlon world in 2024 when she claimed Olympic silver against all the odds. Julie had her most successful season ever in 2025 with five appearances on the top step.

Other full-distance and middle-distance triathletes competing for Canyon on the Speedmax in 2026 include Marjolaine Pierre (FR), Imogen Simmonds (CH), Caroline Pohle (DE), Lionel Sanders (CA), Mika Noodt (DE), Kyle Smith (NZ), Jonas Schomburg (DE), Rico Bogen (DE), Gwen Jorgensen (US), Carlotta Bülck (DE), autism ambassador Sam Holness (GB), and paralympic athlete Jiachao Wang (CN).

Meanwhile, competing primarily in short-distance races on the Aeroad CFR, Canyon also supports Henry Graf (DE), Tim Hellwig (DE), Kjell Brandt (DE), and talented teenager Fanni Szalai (HU), as well as the four members of the ON Triathlon Academy, Aspen Anderson (AUS), Jimena De La Peña (USA), Mathis Beaulieu (CAN) and Canyu Liu (CHN).

As well as a roster of inspiring athletes, Canyon also partners with several ambassadors who help to broaden the appeal of triathlon. 

Widely considered the greatest triathlete of all time, Jan Frodeno (DE) continues to make invaluable contributions to Canyon’s developments. As an expert in technical innovations for triathlon, Jan works directly with the brand’s engineers, bringing his extensive expertise and experience to the table. In addition he’s also collaborating with Canyon on his gravel series, SGRAIL, which next takes place in Girona in October 2026.

In 2025, another world champion, this time from the world of football, joined the Canyon family: the former Chelsea and Fulham forward André Schürrle (DE). His aim is to complete Challenge Roth, the world’s largest long-distance triathlon event, on the Speedmax CFR, and he's hungry for more challenges that, as he says "push me to my mental and physical limits to truly understand what I can achieve.” 

Lucy Bartholomew (AU), the plant-powered ultra-endurance athlete from Down Under is saddling up again with Canyon for 2026. The 28-year-old was introduced to ultra-endurance sports early on and has since become a prominent figure in the ultramarathon running scene. In 2023 and 2024 she achieved the rare accomplishment of competing in ultrarunning and triathlon’s two biggest challenges, the 108-mile Ultra Trail Mont Blanc and the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile ride, and 26.2-mile run of the Ironman World Championships.

To produce stellar performances, you need stellar equipment to back you up. For years, Canyon triathletes have chosen the Speedmax, an aerodynamic masterpiece packed full of cutting-edge tech. “The Speedmax CFR is a testament to our pursuit of perfection, and our commitment to supporting athletes on their path to success,” says Walzer. 

No other bike on the scene can match the Speedmax’ eight World Championship titles – and thanks to continuous collaboration between Canyon’s engineers and top triathletes like Jan Frodeno, Laura Philipp, and Patrick Lange, the brand’s athletes will continue to have a bike in 2026 that stands at the forefront of modern triathlon technology. 

In addition to triathlon, Canyon support athletes across a range of disciplines in cycling – including road, gravel, cross-country, marathon, enduro, downhill, and freeride. Fans around the globe can follow their favourite athletes on the Canyon Instagram channel to get the latest inspiring content and race results.