Formidable Female Triathletes Also Dominating in Cycling
Paula Findlay, Taylor Knibb, and Sif Madsen are showing that the world's best triathletes can also compete with specialist cyclists.
Kevin Mackinnon
With the challenge of training and competing at the highest level across three disciplines, it’s easy to assume that professional triathletes wouldn’t also be able to compete with specialists in individual sports. Increasingly, however, today’s top athletes are proving that assumption wrong.
Today we’re focusing on recent success in cycling, but there are plenty of other examples. Lucy Charles-Barclay recently took on the extraordinary challenge of attempting to qualify for the Commonwealth Games in the 1,500m freestyle, while Alex Yee and Cassandre Beaugrand continue to stun us with their standalone running performances. Together, they demonstrate that success at the highest level of triathlon can also translate into elite performances in individual disciplines – at least for a select few of the sport’s biggest stars.
Paula Findlay
This week, Paula Findlay once again lined up at the Canadian Road Championships, joining a field of 14 riders in the 28km individual time trial.
Findlay, a three-time Canadian time trial champion (2022, 2023, and 2024), arrived looking to defend her title. Instead, it was Liv AlUla Jayco’s Nadia Gontova who claimed victory, finishing 1:08 ahead of Findlay.
As Findlay wrote on Instagram: “Silver for me at the Canadian ITT Championships. I had a decent race with similar power and time to when I won on this course last time, but Nadia had an amazing ride! Although I came here with the goal of winning and am disappointed, I am also really happy to see younger Canadian riders getting very fast and beating me – that’s how it should be!”
Findlay’s preparation has also looked a little different this season as she builds toward her full-distance Ironman debut in just three weeks at Ironman Lake Placid.
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Taylor Knibb
American star, Olympian, and multiple-time world champion Taylor Knibb is already well-established as one of triathlon’s strongest cyclists.
Earlier this month, she successfully defended her time trial title at the USA Cycling National Championships, recording the fastest time by 45 seconds over the 33.4km course.
According to TrainingPeaks data, Knibb averaged 329 watts for five minutes and covered the course at an average speed of more than 47 km/h.
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Sif Madsen
In Denmark, Sif Madsen delivered the performance of her career to become the 2026 Danish National Time Trial Champion.
Competing in her first-ever time trial, Madsen upset pre-race favourite Gertrud Madsen by nine seconds over the 29.2km course, finishing in 37:08 at an average speed of more than 47 km/h.
As she wrote on Instagram afterwards: “Completely speechless… My first ever TT race but definitely not my last one.”
In triathlon, Madsen recorded a DNF at Ironman 70.3 Oceanside earlier this season, but finished an impressive 11th at last year’s Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Marbella.
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