One year could be a coincidence. Five years is no accident.

Once again, our athletes have proven that relentless aerodynamic development and optimization makes a difference. In a sport that never stops evolving, standing still is not an option if you want to stay ahead of the competition.

Through close collaboration with our athletes and continuous innovation, we keep pushing the limits of how fast 180 km can be ridden. It is a process that never stops.

Over the past four years, Sam Laidlow has established himself as one of the strongest cyclists in IRONMAN racing, delivering the fastest bike split at four consecutive World Championships, twice in Hawaii and twice in Nice.

Achieving the fastest bike split on two very different courses, four years in a row, demonstrates more than raw speed. It highlights the importance of adapting aerodynamic performance to different courses, conditions, and individual athletes. And it proves the value of our approach: working closely with athletes to optimize every detail.

Our focus on setting the fastest bike-split possible is important, because it is part of the work we can do for our athletes, to support the hard work they do in training every day.

The pursuit of five 

This year, we had the opportunity to make it five consecutive World Championships with the fastest bike split. With the IRONMAN World Championship returning to Kona, Hawaii, for both men and women, this race has been a key focus of our development work for the past year.

In the week leading up to the race, we finally revealed something we had kept under wraps for a long time: MAS Technology.

MAS Technology builds on patented low-drag garment innovations and a concept originally developed by aerodynamicist Simon Smart of Drag2Zero.

We have spent countless hours taking that principle further, developing an entirely new family of engineered fabrics through extensive material development and aerodynamic testing at the Tempo! Wind Tunnel in Denmark. 

Throughout the year, our athletes have played a central role in developing and testing our new race suit and calf sleeves. Every detail has been refined with one clear objective: measurable aerodynamic improvements for the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona.

The result? The new FUSION TEMPO! PRO suit and calf sleeves featuring MAS Technology, engineered for speed in real-world racing conditions.

But development and wind tunnel testing are one thing. Race day is where everything has to be delivered.

Had we once again managed to push the boundaries of aerodynamic performance? And could our athletes prove it against the very best in the world?

Race day. The ultimative test. 

After a demanding swim in rough ocean conditions, the athletes headed onto a windy bike course. Exactly the kind of conditions we had spent months preparing their aerodynamic setups for.

From the opening kilometers, Sam Laidlow and Magnus Ditlev were among the fastest athletes on the course.

Jonas Schomburg had also started aggressively. While Sam and Magnus had spent extra time putting on their calf sleeves in T1, Schomburg had already built a lead. A strategically decision by the FUSION-athletes to give themselves an even bigger advantage 

Sam quickly worked his way through the field, but it was clear something wasn't right. An injury was holding him back, an injury that would eventually force him to withdraw from the race. Despite the discomfort, he was still riding among the leaders.

Magnus had exited the swim further behind, but almost as soon as he reached the main group, he attacked and set off in pursuit of Schomburg.

Schomburg's aggressive start eventually caught up with him. As his pace dropped significantly, Magnus kept pushing forward.

By the time the athletes were heading back from Hawi, Magnus had taken the lead.

With speeds increasing on the return leg, Sam began making the most of his aerodynamic setup. He broke away from the chase group and launched his own pursuit of Magnus.

But Magnus held strong.

After 180 km, Magnus Ditlev entered T2 in first place, recording the fastest bike split of the day.

Shortly afterwards, Sam came flying into transition. Unfortunately, it was already clear that his injury would prevent him from continuing the race.

Despite that disappointment, both athletes had delivered an outstanding demonstration of speed, preparation, and aerodynamic performance.

Five years. One shared mindset 

For the fifth consecutive year, a FUSION athlete recorded the fastest bike split at the IRONMAN World Championship.

A powerful and aerodynamic debut for the new FUSION TEMPO! PRO suit with MAS Technology.

Setting the fastest bike-split means something to us, because it is a confirmation of what drives everything we do, in the pursuit of aerodynamic optimisation: continuous development, close collaboration with world-class athletes, and the determination to keep finding measurable improvements.

Five years in a row. And we're not done pushing the limits.