By his own admission, the start list at IRONMAN Texas could be classed as the best triathlon field ever to be assembled – but Lionel Sanders isn’t the least bit bothered by the hype.
One of the most valuable lessons he has ‘finally’ learnt after a career spanning 15 years is that you stand a better chance of success if you focus on your own performance and let everyone else get on with theirs.
The Canadian is busy preparing for his first full IRONMAN since Hawaii at the end of 2024 as he completes a comeback which has seen him battle against the debilitating effects of the condition known as RED-S, or Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport.
Biggest challenge of his comeback
His debut race of the 2026 campaign saw him battle to victory at the 70.3 Dallas Little-Elm, but Texas represents a much bigger challenge, in both distance and in the standard of his competitors.
The Norwegian trio of Kristian Blummenfelt, Gustav Iden, and Casper Stornes will be joined by the likes of Patrick Lange (GER), Jonas Schomburg (GER), Marten Van Riel (BEL), Rudy Von Berg (USA) and Sam Long (USA).
Indeed, ten of the top 20-ranked triathletes in the current PTO rankings will line up on April 18 for what promises to be a thrilling encounter of so many of the sport’s heavyweight contenders.
Sanders, sporting a new Eminem-style haircut and looking as fit and determined as ever in his latest training YouTube vlog, embedded into the page below, may acknowledge the strength of the opponents who will line up against him, but he won’t spend too much time worrying about them.
‘Most stacked race to ever occur’
In another fascinating and entertaining episode, he reveals how he rarely lactates anymore, why the hard work for an IRONMAN is done many weeks before the actual race, and that he did actually attempt a last-minute dash to race at Oceanside but was blocked by IRONMAN.
“Dare I say it again, this might be the most stacked race to ever occur,” he says, talking about Texas. “It might be more stacked than any World Championship.
“Jelle Gans is there. New addition. One of the best in the world. And pretty much everyone who was at the World Championships, plus a couple of additions. Laidlow and Riddle are the only ones missing, plus maybe a couple of others.
“So, who cares? Just do you. At the end of the day, it’s taken me 15 years to realise that. Who cares about these other people? If you want to have your best race, focus on yourself. Because at the end of the day, your best race is going to come from you taking care of yourself and racing to your capacity on that day.”
‘I’m not going out on 35 minutes… It’s ridiculous’
And there is one key area where this will be essential for Sanders, where he knows his limits and is experienced enough not to stray from his game plan.
“Texas has a possibility of literally looking like a big city marathon. It could have 20 guys come off the bike around each other, who are all pretty good runners, who could take the first 10K in 35 minutes,” he says. “Can I run 35? Is 35 going to help me or hurt me in the business end of the race? It’s probably going to hurt.
“I’m not going out in 35 minutes… It’s ridiculous. That would be reckless. If you are a 35-minute 10K guy, then show it to me in the final 10K.
“It’s taken me 15 years to realise, who cares about these other people? Who cares about anything other than you focusing on yourself?”
‘I tried to get in… IRONMAN wouldn’t let me’
Oceanside, a place where he had won the previous two races, was this year taken by Pro Series leader and man of the moment Blummenfelt, who put in another incredible running performance to hunt down Long and Schomburg to take the tape.
Asked whether he had FOMO of not being at Oceanside, he revealed how a late change of heart almost saw him travel to California for the race, but he was denied due to having already removed his name from the start list weeks before.
“I tried to get into Oceanside. Let it be known. I tried to get in,” he confirms. “IRONMAN wouldn’t let me. I was going to fly out Thursday; I woke up, and I said, ‘I feel like a million bucks right now. I’m going to do a bike workout on Friday and a run workout on Saturday. Might as well do them both on Saturday’.
“And then, no go. IRONMAM was not bending the rules for anybody. I was registered. That’s what I argued. As a courtesy, I had taken my name off the list in the event that I didn’t do it. The lesson here is I will never take my name off another start list again.
“I even had my bag packed. I went preemptively before I heard back. I packed my bag, and I had the Southwest flight already pulled up on the computer. I was excited. Oh well. Oh well.”
The prospect of seeing Sanders do battle against the Norwegians and the likes of Long and Schomburg would certainly have been something to see at Oceanside, but triathlon fans don’t have long now to wait for that dream to become a reality as Texas looms large on the horizon.
