Fenella Langridge Wants You To Express Yourself
How a fist pumping Brit has made a name in long-distance racing
Photo by:
Kevin Mackinnon
If you didn’t know who Fenella Langridge was before the Ironman World Championship in 2022, you certainly knew who she was after she chased down Lucy Charles-Barclay to take the lead on the bike.
“It was a bit weird over taking Lucy to share the load,” the 31-year-old British athlete recalls. “There were all the motorbikes and, it must have been raining, then I saw a rainbow and thought: ‘Oh my God, I’m leading the world champs.’”
With a time of 4:43:25, Langridge came into T2 in third place, just behind Charles-Barclay and Daniela Ryf—and was on top of her 51:42 swim split, the third fastest of the day. After a 3:16 marathon, she would go on to finish sixth. Langridge’s 2022 season was no doubt a breakthrough, but it was her Kona debut that cemented her place as one of the top competitors in long distance triathlon racing.
Investing in herself
Of all the heads she turned, Trek Bikes was one of them. At the start of this year, Langridge announced her official partnership with the bike brand. Although she had been riding a Trek Speed Concept already, she had bought and paid for the bike herself.
“At the end of 2021, I wanted a bike I could trust and believed in and wanted to ride. I had other offers, but I always wanted a Trek and our friend at Wheel Works gave us a good price,” Langridge explains. Making an investment in her bike was really an investment in herself.
Buying a bike was only one part of a larger effort to work hard on performance outside of training. Ensuring she left “no stone unturned,” Langridge also invested time experimenting with different equipment combinations and positions in the wind tunnel. Part of the reason was to go faster; part was to gain confidence.
“The wind tunnel is really helpful just to give you the numbers to solidify what it all means so you don’t second guess yourself. You know what works for you—am I going to use a disc versus a normal wheel, when is it worth the weight—all the information is useful,” she says.
It’s the reason behind her impossible-to-ignore helmet. The almost ridiculously large shape was the fastest option they tested.
“The helmet was surprising. It is quite big,” she admits with a laugh. But the wind tunnel numbers don’t lie and that gives Langridge a confidence no one, including herself, can deny.
All of her investments paid off when she opened the 2022 season with a win at Challenge Salou. She followed that with impressive consistent results throughout the season including an eighth at the Ironman World Championships in St. George, second at Challenge Roth, and her sixth in Kona. But it wasn’t just performance gains that Langridge earned. “I thought at the back of my head that if I did well, I could be seen and noticed—and Trek did when I was leading Roth and Kona. Now, I’m a sponsored Trek athlete,” Langridge says.
She unveiled her brand new blue Speed Concept just in time for her 2023 season opener, Ironman South Africa, where she took second place. That was followed by a fourth at Challenge Roth and a win at Challenge London. Things didn’t go as well in Kona in 2023, where Langridge would end up 30th, but last weekend she took a close second at Challenge Canberra and looks to round out the season with a big day at Ironnman Western Australia.
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Showmanship
Being seen and noticed is something Langridge can’t escape when she is on the racecourse, but it’s not just because she’s at the front. Her animated style of racing is energizing, refreshing, and you just can’t help but look and cheer her on. While she was leading Kona, Langridge was hyping up anyone and everyone at the aid stations. On every lap up Solar hill at Challenge Roth, she was pumping her fists and giving the crowd a show. Even on social media, where her biography reads “why fit in when you were born to stand out,” Langridge doesn’t shy away from having fun by dancing around or lip syncing.
Her showmanship really started in 2020 after Challenge Daytona. Although she had two Ironman 70.3 victories and multiple podiums to her name, she says her seventh place finish was a turning point.
“It was a really good race for me, a breakthrough moment. I was so happy to cross the line. It had been an emotional year with covid and I went into the race with a niggle. I was excited to celebrate just finishing,” she recalls.
Since then, she has leaned into her animated style of racing, capturing many fans along the way.
“You spend so much time alone, week on week, and it’s just such a celebration to be at the start line of a race. So, I want to put on a show and show my love, passion, and enthusiasm. When I’m enjoying it, the crowd is enjoying it, and you boost off each other’s energy. It makes for a better race, even when you’re struggling,” she says.
Ex-pressure yourself
Langridge says there have been times in her career where she has struggled mentally, putting too much pressure on herself about racing.
“It’s trickier than it sounds to keep your head level, keep grounded and not doubt yourself,” she says. “I was often thinking: ‘if I move up the rankings and get this money, I can afford to do this or get that.’ I put a lot of pressure on myself that way. At a stage before one PTO race, I got overwhelmed thinking, ‘I have to do well. If I come top-five I can pay for Kona and that will be a load off my mind,’” she explains.
At the time, one of Langridge’s training partners just happened to be a sports psychologist. After chatting to her, Langridge was able to change her perspective on performance.
“I spoke to her and it helped to reframe things. A race is not the be all and end all; it doesn’t define you or the future,” she says. “When I sat down and thought about it, each race is a learning experience and you don’t know what’s next so just enjoy the moment.”
As someone who clearly races on feel, shifting her mindset and alleviating the pressure gave Langridge room to create a different race experience, one that values and expresses passion, enjoyment, and, yes, fist pumps. Langridge talks about the “buzz” she feels from the crowd when she gets them going and, if you watch her in action, you can feel exactly what she is talking about. She knows her style might not be what people are used to seeing in professional triathlon but clearly, just like her bobble-head helmet, it’s the best way for her to perform.
“I hope my enjoyment of racing encourages other people to enjoy racing too,” she says. “You don’t have to be so serious. It doesn’t have to be head down, I’m a triathlete, I have to do it this way. Break out of the mold and express yourself.”
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Stats
- Living: Salsbury, UK
- Born: Winchester, UK
- Coffee or tea: Coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon
- Pets: 1 dog, Flynn (We used to run together but he’s old now.)
- Worst advice: Don’t eat carbs.
- Best advice: Eat carbs.
- Favourite race: Roth
- Favourite training: Mallorca
- Bucket list race: Patagoniaman
- Favourite environment: In the water.
Gear
- Wetsuit: DHB Aeron Lab 3.0
- Goggles: TheMagic5
- Trisuit: DHB Aeron Lab
- Bike: Trek Speed Concept
- Components: SRAM Red ETAP 54×1 11-30
- Bars: Wattshop Anemoi
- Bike Shoes: Bontrager xxx
- Helmet: MET Drone
- Wheels: Parcours
- Running Shoes: On Running
- Sunglasses: Anything that looks cool
- Tech: Garmin 520
- Nutrition: Precision Hydration
