What was new at the women’s Ironman World Championship expo?

The women’s Ironman World Championship in Nice wasn’t just noticeable for the action on the road, but also for the array of exciting products on display in the expo. Our man on the ground Tim Heming picks out the kit that caught his eye…

CdA Aero Trisuit: WYN Republic has it all covered

“It’s a trisuit designed for swim, bike and run,” says WYN founder Luke McKenzie, which might seem an obvious statement, but when aiming for flexibility, aerodynamics and cooling there often need to be tradeoffs. 

Not this time. The team behind the new CdA Aero (€645,95), launched in the run-up to the Ironman World Championship in Nice, have aimed to deliver the best of all worlds for the most serious competitors.

For the past 18 months, the Wyn team and sponsored professional athletes, including 2022 Ironman world champion Chelsea Sodaro and the No 1 ranked T100 performer, Ashleigh Gentle, have been working together to develop the CdA Aero.

It’s been tested for aerodynamics in the wind tunnel, in the velodrome and – most enlightening McKenzie found, in the real world out on the road with the Notio Aerometer.

Fifteen iterations later it arrives with high-end Italian textiles, aero panelling, and micro mesh underarm panels designed to be hyper flexible and avoid chafing.

It’s all about details. Seamless shorts for comfort, a cooling Swiss Coldblack fabric front panel, and five internal pockets including an ice pouch on the back of the neck.

The McKenzies, Luke and triathlete-turned ultra runner Beth, have seen impressive results in development, such as for pro Sam Appleton, who ended up saving 20 watts in testing with combination of the suit and calf sleeves. Equivalent to 7mins over 180km.

The CdA Aero comes in a clean white or grey design – and sticking with appearance, the mid tier Hi Velocity X (€303,95) suit is also worth a mention.

For 2024, as a collective nod to all three Ironman World Championship locations it’s available in Azur Nice, Kona Sunset and Taupo All Black.

Argon 18 E117: Age-grouper bike bringing the pro features

Launched at the Nice expo, Argon 18’s new E117 triathlon bike takes many of the features of its pro-focused E119 model – as brilliantly ridden by Ruth Astle in the Alpes-Maritime – and delivers them at a more age-grouper friendly price point.

Brakes are now integrated into the forks and aero optimised frame, there’s a bento box on the top tube, a toolkit on downtube and an aero bottle. Prices start from €3.8k euros with alloy wheels, up to €6k complete with integrated carbon wheelset and cockpit. The “perfect price point for a triathlete” says project manager Marc-Olivier Hardy.

If you want to go full pro, the E119 comes with the Notio Aerometer that measures drag, with your CdA displayed on your bike computer, so you know when you’re more and less aero in real time. Choose the option with SRAM Red with ZIP 858 wheels and you’ll be looking at a cool €14.5.

Omius: 40% bigger and 40% better

They were first revealed as strange looking graphite cubes seemingly stuck to the foreheads of a handful of athletes. Now, in hot races in particular – as showcased by Sifan Hassan winning the Olympic marathon this summer in Paris – the Omius headband (£180) has become almost de rigueur.

With triathletes never afraid to try out new tech, marketing manager Jay Weber says about 80% of the pro triathlon field wears them.

The devices work to provide a greater surface area to dissipate heat through the head. To achieve this they need to be kept moist, which is why you’ll see athletes dousing themselves with water at aid stations.

What’s new in this space? Bigger means better! The new blocks – that were only be worn by the pro women in Nice, but should be on sale in Kona next month – have increased in size by 40% to purportedly give an extra 40% cooling capacity at negligible additional weight. 

So, if you miss seeing the meltdowns of yore on Ali’i Drive (and now the Promenade des Anglais), then perhaps Omius is to blame.