Marta Sánchez will head the field at this weekend’s Challenge Salou-Costa Daurada, fresh from her recent exploits in achieving a fantastic podium finish at IRONMAN Texas.
The Spaniard stunned what was a stacked field by taking third place behind dominant Norwegian winner Solveig Lovseth and American runner-up Taylor Knibb in what was a display of pure grit and determination.
Heralding something of a return to form for the 30-year-old, she will be hoping to build on her success in a race where she is sure to feel right at home with plenty of local support.
Curridori looking for a repeat
Sánchez, currently ranked 26 in the world, is one of three women in the world’s top 100 lining up on Sunday, with last year’s winner Elisabetta Curridori (ITA) and Milan Agnew (AUS) currently positioned in 49th and 88th, respectively.
Curridori will be hoping to repeat her heroics of last season. A month prior to that win, she had won the Peniscola Infinitri, and she repeated that feat again last week as she returns looking for similar success.
The most dangerous outsider seems to be Agnew, who travels to Salou with two 11th-place finishes to her name earlier this year – IM 70.3 Valencia and IM 70.3 Geelong – and seems to have found form at just the right time.
Behind these three ladies, another group of dangerous outsiders is forming, including the likes of Maaike Vooren (NED), Agnieszka Gadomska (POL), Macarena Salazar (CHI), Magda Nieuwoudt (RSA), and Zaira Lorenzo Perez (ESP).
Large British contingent
Although the race is being held in Spain, Challenge Salou-Costa Daurada could turn into a British ‘clash of the titans’, as last year’s winner Thomas Davis is joined by Will Draper, Harry Palmer, and Jack Hutchens – four athletes who are ranked well within the world’s top 100.
Davis wrote on his Instagram last week how much he was looking forward to the race: “Less than 2 weeks till we head back to @challengesalou. I’ve been on the podium 3 times with 🥉 in 2019 and 2024 and 🥇 in 2025. One of my favourite races.”
Draper will be looking to maintain his strong Challenge form, having stood on the podium at Challenge Wales, Challenge Xiamen, and Challenge St Pölten, among others. In 2025, he won at Challenge Mogán-Gran Canaria, Challenge Samarkand, and Challenge Almere-Amsterdam, where he made his long-distance debut and took the European title after a thrilling sprint finish.
Last year, Palmer took two Ironman podiums and finished sixth at The Championship.
Fellow Brit Joe Skipper is also named in the starting line-up after his recent success at IRONMAN South Africa, where he finished second behind America’s Matthew Marquardt.
For further information, visit www.challenge-salou.com. Live race updates will be available at www.challenge-family.live, with the starting gun set to go off for the pro men at 07:15 CEST, which is 06:15 UK, 01:15 on the east coast of North America, and 22:15 the previous evening on the west coast.
