Last month we had a couple of "Ironman race tested" product reviews, when John Franklin raced in (and won his age group and a Hawaii spot), an Aqua Sphere Icon wetsuit and Fusion race kit at Ironman South Africa.

Seemed like an interesting idea we thought, so this month the super tough testing ground was Ironman Lanzarote, where Tri247 columnist Jo Carritt had the benefit of the latest Diadora Infinity Carbon bike shoe. They didn't seem to hold her back either, as she finished seventh overall and first age group finisher. That's her fourth overall age group win (Lanzarote twice, Wisconsin and Germany), and seventh age group podium (add Switzerland (2nd), New Zealand (3rd), Hawaii (5th - yes, top-5 make the podium in Hawaii...) from seven starts, to maintain a fine record.

Diadora, Italian cycle shoe specialists have recently ventured into the lucrative triathlon equipment market with their release of the Infinity Carbon bike shoe and Iron Mythos II and Mythos Fly running shoes.

I'm riding a pair of the Infinity Carbons out here in Lanzarote and enjoying the stiff  feel that a quality shoe provides. The Infinity is marked as a triathlon specific shoe by the single, inward closing Velcro fastening strap, open mesh outer fabric, elasticated tongue with looped tab at the top for better grabability on the roll, looped tab on the heel of the shoe and antibacterial micro-fibre inner material; of all the features that you'd expect to see on a triathlon specific bike shoe, as well as others that neither myself or my roommates out here in Lanzarote could determine the function. Perhaps a little over designed – clearly a shoe in this price range comes with Velcro fastenings to cover every eventuality.

Superfluous tabs aside, these shoes certainly tick all the important boxes: they look nice, provide a secure and comfortable fit, the stiff feel of a quality road shoe and screw holes to accommodate any type of cleat including the Look memory system. I did find myself wishing that they had fully stitched the tongue into the shoe rather than leave the top portion loose to fold in and get caught inside the shoe when trying to slip them on quickly – however, the looped tab at the top of the tongue makes this an easily rectifiable situation.

The shoes seem a little small for the stated sizing – I used EUR40 rather than my usual EUR39 - with a fairly narrow fit with scope to draw the shoe even tighter across the foot with a small secondary tab at the base of the tongue. Once adjusted, this can be left alone and does not seem to restrict the ease at which the shoe can be slipped on. 

I've been riding the hell out of a 30quid pair of Diadora road shoes in all weather for the last four years, and they're still going strong despite the dead cat odour (for which I can hardly blame the shoe).

I can vouch for the durability of this brand and expect to be racing in these for a few years - yes, I do get to keep ‘em!

To find out more about Diadora products, go to www.diadoracycling.co.uk.