British triathlon star Joe Skipper challenges Norwegian greats as he flies off for comeback race

Multiple IRONMAN winner Joe Skipper is on the comeback trail and will kick off his 2025 season at IRONMAN New Zealand.

The popular Brit has struggled since winning IRONMAN Lake Placid in July 2023 – and last year was his first since 2016 without a win.

But his latest training video on YouTube, which is embedded below, suggests things are moving in the right direction ahead of his first race of the campaign in Taupo on March 1st.

‘Like a duck out of water’

A training block in Gran Canaria was followed by a spell back home in Norwich and his latest session saw him tackle what he termed ‘death by 400s’, adding: “An IRONMAN athlete doing 400s is like taking a duck out of water.”

You’ll have to watch the video to see how he got on but in trademark Skipper fashion he had time to throw down the gauntlet to Norwegian duo Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden who are currently on an IRONMAN World Championship training camp in Nice:

“Come on boys, what can the Norwegians do? You’ve seen the British session, we’ve done it on a cold day in Norwich, let’s see what you can do on a hot day in the south of France!”

In a ‘good place’

The immediate future sees Skipper jet off to New Zealand for what he says: “Will be two hard weeks of training before tapering for the race.

“In Gran Canaria the training went great. I actually feel pretty decent to be honest and am hitting some good paces, especially considering I’ve only just got back in the water [after a swimming niggle].

“I’m pain free with my shoulder now which is the main thing but I’m just building it up gradually.

“My biking and running are going really well as I’ve been able to work on them a lot more. My threshold has gone up, it’s probably around 400 watts now on the bike. Heart rate in the right place too.

“Things are in a good place at the moment. And honestly I’m just hoping for a good race really. Hoping to feel good on race day and do what I can.

“I’ve trained so hard this winter, smart, consistent, great build up, everything has gone well. So I just want to execute a race that I feel like I should deserve from the training I’ve put in.”

Joe Skipper wins IRONMAN Lake Placid 2023 (Patrick McDermott, Getty Images for IRONMAN).

Written by

Jonathan Turner

Jonathan Turner is News Director for both TRI247 and RUN247, and is accustomed to big-name interviews, breaking news stories and providing unrivalled coverage for endurance sports.

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