Challenge Roth champion Alanis Siffert will look to add another victory to her outstanding 2026 season when she headlines the inaugural Challenge Shanghai on Saturday.

The Swiss star has established herself among the sport’s leading names this year, winning Roth in July before claiming bronze at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in Nice behind Taylor Knibb and Julie Derron.

Knibb and Derron went on to finish first and third respectively at the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona. Siffert chose not to pursue qualification for Hawaii this season, leaving that challenge for the future, but her performances have provided plenty of evidence of her ability to compete with the very best.

She now leads the line-up in China on October 24, before attention switches to Challenge Forte Village Sardinia on Sunday, where Lasse Nygaard Priester and Sara Sandrini return to defend their titles.

Siffert seeks another title in Shanghai

Siffert’s Roth victory was the standout success in an increasingly impressive collection of results.

Having finished third at the German long-distance showpiece in 2025, she returned this summer to take the top step, while also adding another Alpe d’Huez Triathlon title to her record.

Her Nice podium then demonstrated her threat over the middle distance against a world-class field, with only Knibb and Derron ahead of her.

Shanghai offers the chance to continue that momentum, with Siffert the clear headline name in the women’s field.

Her opposition includes Australian trio Paige Cranage, Jasmine Brown and Sarah Thomas, alongside Americans Amy VanTassel, Caroline Bridges and Elizabeth Nyitray, and Canada’s Rachel Faulds.

The inaugural event takes place in Shanghai’s coastal area, with a bike course along the north bank of Hangzhou Bay and a run through Haiwan National Forest Park.

Phillips among Shanghai men’s contenders

There is a strong New Zealand and Australian presence in the men’s race, with Mike Phillips among those lining up.

Phillips is joined by fellow New Zealanders Ben Hamilton, Brett Clifford and Xander Marsh, while the Australian contingent includes Nathan Dortmann, Nicholas Free, Michael Boult and Joel Wooldridge.

Serbia’s Ognjen Stojanović, a familiar contender on the Challenge Family circuit, will look to prevent an Oceania victory.

Louis Woodgate of Greece, Dutch athlete Dorian Horsten, Spain’s Alejandro Rilo and Axel Becci, and Britain’s Jamie Philpott are also on the start list.

Defending champions return in Sardinia

Sunday’s Challenge Forte Village Sardinia brings together more than 50 professional athletes from 12 nations, with both 2025 champions returning to Santa Margherita di Pula.

Germany’s Lasse Nygaard Priester heads the men’s field alongside compatriot Tom Hug, the 2024 Challenge Peguera-Mallorca winner who added a podium at Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee this year.

Britain’s Josh Lewis, a podium finisher at Challenge Almere-Amsterdam in 2024, also features, along with Germany’s Ruben Zepuntke, Hungary’s Gábor Faldum, France’s Florent Lefebvre, Belgium’s Joran Driesen and Italy’s Andrea Figini.

In the women’s race, Sara Sandrini will aim to retain her title on home soil after podium finishes at Challenge Cesenatico and Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee this season.

Britain’s Nikki Bartlett, who finished on the podium at Challenge Mogán-Gran Canaria earlier this year, is among her challengers.

France’s Justine Guerard, the 2025 Challenge Sanremo winner, and Hungary’s Gabriella Zelinka, who won Challenge Cesenatico last year, add further competition. Italians Lilli Gelmini and Denise Cavallini, plus Slovakia’s Margaréta Bičanová, also feature.

Coastal course with a testing bike leg

The Sardinia race covers a 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21.1km run, starting with a single swim lap off the Forte Village Resort beach.

The one-lap bike course follows closed roads through Pula, Domus de Maria, Teulada and Sant’Anna Arresi, with 1,075 metres of climbing, a seven-kilometre descent and a coastal section.

A two-lap run follows the coast past Cala d’Ostia beach before the athletes finish in the resort grounds.