The ‘Tour de France of triathlon’, the ‘ultimate triathlon party on the planet’ – whatever you want to call it, there’s no race quite like Roth! Ahead of the 2025 edition of Challenge Roth, TRI247’s Jen Lucas-Hill and triathlon legend turned Challenge Family athlete liaison Belinda Granger sat down with ‘the Santa Claus of triathlon’ (as Jen put it!) the one and only Felix Walchshöfer on the latest episode of the TRI247 podcast powered by Challenge Family.
In this episode, we get a BTS look at what goes into putting on such a huge event, and what drives Felix and the Roth team to keep pushing the envelope and making the race bigger and better every year – despite the fact it quite literally sells itself.
Felix and Belinda also shared their ultimate Roth memories – including how it feels to experience the infamous Solar Hill for the first time, and why even 20 years on it’s a race that still gives Belinda goosebumps.
Plus, we talked pre-race podium picks and why Challenge Roth 2025 might set the stage for the magical sub-8hr barrier to be broken in the pro women’s field. Shared some race day tips for age-groupers lining up this weekend. And we got Felix’s take on the future of triathlon and the power of sport to create unity in a divisive world.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the pod on your platform of choice, and if you’ve enjoyed the first two episodes we’d love it if you could leave a rating on Apple/Spotify to help us reach even more tri fans! Stay tuned for episode 3, coming soon.
Are we in a triathlon boom, or hurtling towards burnout? Laura Siddall on the growth of the sport
