Taylor Knibb gave a vintage performance to win T100 Vancouver on Saturday. She's just getting warmed up for an ambitious 2025.
It says a lot about an athlete when the mere fact of not winning raises eyebrows.
Taylor Knibb took second place at her debut T100 Triathlon race of 2025 in San Francisco last May. It was the first time the 2024 T100 World Champion had ever finished off the top step of a T100 start. Suddenly, people were asking Knibb how she was feeling, as if there was anything more to say than sometimes the competition is very fast, too.
The questions that Knibb faced also imply that a performance like her win at T100 Vancouver last weekend should be considered business as usual. But winning shouldn’t be taken for granted. The hardest thing any athlete can do is stay on top when they are the target of their competition. Knibb’s win in Vancouver was just as special as any in a spectacular three-year run. Perhaps even more so for how hard she fought to reassert herself at the top of an increasingly cutthroat field.
Taylor pulling away on the bike in Vancouver, as she so often does.
“I’m both thrilled and, honestly, a little relieved to take my first win of the year,” Knibb said after the race. “I felt a lot more like myself race week and in the race than I had the previous two races. It was almost like I was fighting myself before — and I’m not entirely sure why.”
In San Francisco, Knibb’s undefeated T100 streak was ended by Paris Olympics silver medalist Julie Derron, who was able to stay within shouting distance on the bike, then win with one of the strongest runs in the women’s field. In Vancouver, Knibb got back to winning how she so often does: putting away the competition on the bike. Only Jessica Learmonth hung with Knibb into the second transition. Derron was nearly six minutes back after the bike, and though she would finish second after another blistering run, she was more than two minutes behind Knibb.
It was almost like I was fighting myself before — and I’m not entirely sure why.
Knibb didn’t change anything significantly from one race to the next. She just wanted to pace herself better. The winning margin was in line with many of her results in 2024, when Derron finished second to Knibb three times in T100 racing.
“On the bike, I had gone a bit too hard on the climbs in San Francisco, so this time my coach had me dialed back by .5/10 [on my Rate of Perceived Exhaustion],” Knibb said. “And then on the run, based on my feedback of how I felt in San Francisco, we made a few modifications to the training in between racing and I felt so much better coming off of the bike. So, all in all, it was a better race.”
Taylor's mission for 2025: Kona.
Before her blockbuster 2024 season — which included winning the US time trial national title, competing in the Olympics, and a three-peat Ironman 70.3 World championship along with barnstorming the T100 Triathlon World Tour — Knibb talked about training and racing with greater focus and purpose. This year she has one big goal: Ironman World Championships in Kona.
Knibb has only raced Ironman distance twice — 2023 World Championships, when she finished fourth, and earlier this year at Ironman Texas, when she finished second to Kat Matthews, who recorded the fastest women’s time ever at an Ironman event.
Nothing will be easy for Knibb as she takes on a challenge outside of her norm. For one thing, she’ll have to do something she really doesn’t like: sit still (just a little bit). Knibb is a natural born racer, and a carefully curated slate of races doesn’t always go with her any race/any time/anywhere mentality. But Vancouver showed that she’s clearly doing something right.
Sometimes you have to adjust your schedule to learn what works for you — and, sometimes even more importantly, what doesn’t work well for you.
“I’m really grateful that I’m able to race the T100 Tour,” Knibb said. “The races are super competitive and really reveal any/all weaknesses you have so you know exactly what you need to work on.
“Sometimes you have to adjust your schedule to learn what works for you — and, sometimes even more importantly, what doesn’t work well for you. But also the year isn’t over yet, and maybe it will be just what I need ultimately even though I’m really itching to race more right now!”
If you take away one thing from this season so far, it should be this: Knibb is just getting started.
