We Noticed: USAT Nationals Heads to Des Moines, Traka Results, Interesting Entry Lists and More

Des Moines, Iowa will host the USA Triathlon Nationals in 2027 and 2028. The event is USA Triathlon’s largest and longest-running national championship and includes three days of racing. The race weekend includes sprint and Olympic-distance, Paratriathlon, draft-legal and mixed relay national championship races. Athletes need to qualify for the sprint, Olympic and Paratriathlon events require qualification, but the open water swim, draft-legal and mixed relay events are open to all athletes. Qualifying criteria is available here.

The 2027 USA Triathlon Nationals will be held from August 6 to 8, while the 2028 races will run from August 4 to 6. This year’s sprint and Olympic-distance races will serve as qualifiers for the 2028 World Triathlon Age Group Triathlon World Championships in Tauranga, New Zealand.

Des Moines has quite a history on the major triathlon event front, dating back to 2007 when the original Hy-Vee ITU World Cup Triathlon took place, offering a whopping US$200,000 for the men’s and women’s winners – Denmark’s Rasmus Henning and American Laura Bennett took home the big checks that day. A year later the race served as a US Olympic qualifier, with Hunter Kemper and Sarah Haskins grabbing their spots for Beijing. The 2009 race featured the incredible sprint finish won by Canadian Simon Whitfield over Aussie Brad Kahlefeldt, Germany’s Jan Frodeno and Kiwi Kris Gemmell. (Aussie Emma Moffatt took the women’s win.)

In 2011 the race offered a $1 million prize purse as the World Triathlon Corporation (IRONMAN) 5150 Series US Championships, with Swede Lisa Norden and Australia’s Greg Bennett topping the podium. The big prize purse was halved in 2013 and Helle Frederiksen (DEN) and Kemper would take the final edition of the event in 2014.

IRONMAN returned to the city in 2021, but discontinued the 70.3 after last year’s race, announcing a new race in Omaha, Nebraska for this year.

This year’s national championships are set to take place in Milwaukee.

Würtz Schmidt and Klöser take Traka 360

It’s known as the “European Unbound” – the biggest gravel event in Europe. This weekend’s The Traka has attracted 4,500 riders from 75 different countries for the four different races. The flagship race took place today – the 360^o, which actually “only” includes 325 km of riding, but features 4,150 m of elevation gain. Tomorrow will feature The Traka 200, while Sunday includes The Traka 100K. Also included in the weekend’s racing is the Adventure, which includes 560 km of racing and 10,000 m of climbing.

Set in Girona, Spain, the Traka began in 2019 with just 70 riders, but has steadily grown to become a major event on the world gravel scene. Girona has long been a popular road-racing Mecca for the world’s top cyclists, the region also features expansive gravel trails through the Pyrenean foothills and Costa Brava coast. As gravel riding and racing started to explode, the race quickly became the European equivalent of Unbound and the launch of the Gravel Earth Series in 2023 became Europe’s equivalent to the Life Time Grand Prix circuit in the United States. This year five races in Europe will feature the “By The Traka” label, with this weekend’s race remaining the highlight of the series.

Solo breakaways led to the wins for Denmark’s Mads Würtz Schmidt and Germany’s Rosa Klöser, with the Dane riding by himself for over 100 km, while Klöser managed to get clear with just over 90 km to go.

Here are the top five men’s and women’s results from today’s racing:

Knibb/ Waugh Duel at WTCS and T100 Races in May

Taylor Knibb, fresh off her runner-up finish (and sub-3 hour marathon) at IRONMAN Texas, is entered in a couple of major races in May – she’s listed on the start list for the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) Yokohama race, and also for T100 Spain.

The T100 race takes place in Pamplona, Spain on May 23. Also on the start list is last year’s T100 champion, Kate Waugh, who was forced to skip the first T100 race of the season in Australia, due to a calf injury. Knibb won that race handily, then follow that up with another convincing win at IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside, then take second at IRONMAN Texas.

What’s interesting to me is that both women are also registered to compete in Yokohama, a week before the T100 race in Spain. The move signals that they are looking to keep their options open when it comes to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Knibb won in Yokohama in 2021, and medalled there in 2023 and 2024, so the race obviously suits her. That said, she hasn’t raced a draft-legal event since the Paris Olympics.

It’s not exactly a surprise to see Waugh on the start list – she competed in her first Olympics in Paris and competed at a couple of WTCS races (Abu Dhabi and Hamburg) while focusing on the T100 series. Last year she finished on the podium at every race she entered, winning Singapore, Wollongong and the Qatar Grand Final.

Here’s the start list for the T100 Spain event:

21 to 25 Hours of Training is Enough

After hearing a podcast in which Sam Long described a 45-hour training week, fellow American Matthew Marquardt was quick to point out that, while a huge training week might work for Long and others who have built up to such volumes, “you don’t need to train 40+ hours per week to be successful in triathlon.”

Marquardt, who also happens to be a medical student, doesn’t have nearly that kind of time in a week to train, but has managed to do just fine, recently setting a new course record at IRONMAN South Africa. His training volume during the six weeks leading up to his three IRONMAN wins (Cairns, Lake Placid and South Africa) varied between 21 and 25 hours a week. (And, just so you know, Matt, that’s still a lot of training!)

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Betty Designs Offers Headphones “Built for Badass Training Sessions”

We all know Betty Designs for its bold designs and high-performance apparel, but now the company’s philosophy that “badass and beautiful are not mutually exclusive” extends to headphones. The company has teamed up with H2O Audio and is offering two limited edition headphones that are available right here on the Slowtwitch store: the Betty x RIPT Ultra (US$249) and the Betty x Tri 2 ($149.99).

We reviewed the RIPT Ultra headphones last year and were very impressed. Featuring active noise cancelling and a sweat proof design, they are a perfect addition to your indoor training regimen. The Tri 2 headphones are waterproof and use H2O Audio’s bone-conduction technology, which makes it a great option for outdoor workouts and water-based training.

“Music is non-negotiable in my training,” Betty Designs founder Kristin Mayer said. “A killer playlist can take a workout from good to full-send and keep the fire lit when the intervals get spicy. H2O Audio makes headphones for athletes who actually perform. The RIPT ULTRA over-the-ear headphones are my go-to for indoor sessions when I want to disappear into the music and lock in. The TRI 2 open-ear model is perfect for outdoor sweat sessions—immersive sound while still staying connected to nature when I’m on the trails. And the pink hue in our collaboration? That’s pure Betty energy.”

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