German bicycle manufacturer Canyon has announced its professional triathlon line-up for the 2026 season, featuring a roster of world champions and series winners.
The Koblenz-based company aims to build on a successful 2025 where its athletes secured nearly 30 wins globally using the Speedmax CFR bike.
The 2026 team is led by T100 Triathlon World Tour winner Hayden Wilde and back-to-back IRONMAN Pro Series champion Kat Matthews. They are joined by a veteran core of athletes including three-time IRONMAN World Champion Patrick Lange, reigning women’s World Champion Laura Philipp, and 2023 World Champion Sam Laidlow.
Andreas Walzer, Global Director Pro Sports at Canyon, said “We’re not just here to win races – we want to push the sport forward in every aspect. Our 2026 team is built on three pillars: diversity, athletic prowess, and a readiness to always innovate.”
The 2025 season served as a benchmark for the brand, with Hayden Wilde winning six T100 rounds to take the overall series title. Kat Matthews demonstrated high levels of consistency, finishing first or second in every race she entered, including wins at IRONMAN Texas and IRONMAN 70.3 Swansea.
The 2026 roster includes:
- Patrick Lange (DE) – The three-time IRONMAN World Champion and Hawaii course record holder continues to compete at age 39. He famously became the first athlete to break the eight-hour barrier at the 2018 World Championships with a time of 07:52:39.
- Laura Philipp (DE) – Following her 2024 World Championship victory in Nice, the 38-year-old maintained her form in 2025 with a win at DATEV Challenge Roth.
- Sam Laidlow (FR) – The 2023 World Champion and current bike course record holder at Kona (03:57:22) remains a key figure despite health issues earlier in the 2025 season.
- Kat Matthews (GB) – A specialist in the IRONMAN Pro Series, Matthews will seek to add a World Championship title to her consecutive series wins.
- Hayden Wilde (NZ) – The 28-year-old Olympic silver medallist transitioned successfully to the 100km distance in 2025 and remains a favourite for the T100 series into 2026.
- Julie Derron (CH) – After claiming Olympic silver in 2024, Derron secured five wins in 2025, including T100 rounds in San Francisco and Dubai.
Other professional triathletes competing on the Speedmax in 2026 include Marjolaine Pierre, Imogen Simmonds, Caroline Pohle, Lionel Sanders, Mika Noodt, Kyle Smith, Jonas Schomburg, Rico Bogen, Gwen Jorgensen, and Carlotta Bülck.
The team also supports autism ambassador Sam Holness and Paralympic athlete Jiachao Wang. For short-distance races, Canyon provides the Aeroad CFR to athletes such as Henry Graf, Tim Hellwig, Kjell Brandt, and Fanni Szalai.
Canyon also maintains a group of high-profile ambassadors. Former pro triathlete and world champion, Jan Frodeno, continues to collaborate with the brand’s engineers on technical innovations and his SGRAIL gravel event, which takes place in Girona in October 2026.
(SGRAIL is a unique gravel triathlon event in Girona, Spain, created by legendary triathlete Jan Frodeno to be a fun, adventurous, point-to-point experience rather than a traditional race. It combines a Mediterranean swim, an ~88km gravel bike ride, and a ~10km trail run, focusing on community, good times (donuts, beers!), and exploring Frodeno’s favourite trails in the area.)
Former professional footballer André Schürrle has also joined Canyon as an ambassador, with the aim of completing DATEV Challenge Roth. Ultra-endurance athlete Lucy Bartholomew continues her partnership with the brand after successfully competing in both the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc and the IRONMAN World Championships.
The Speedmax CFR, which has won eight World Championship titles, remains the primary equipment for Canyon’s long-distance roster of athletes. The company adds that it uses direct athlete feedback from its ambassadors to fine-tune the aerodynamic and integrated storage features of the bike.
