The T3 Triathlon Team has officially launched, bringing together pro and age-group triathletes in a new training and racing group.
Based in the UK around the triathlon-training hotbed of Bath, T3 is the long-time coaching outfit of former British pro and GTN presenter Mark Threlfall who has joined forces with fellow tri coach and neo-pro Harry Palmer – of the Harry and Chris YouTube channel – to make the team a reality.
With a close-knit community of pros and age-groupers, the T3 Team launches with India Lee, Eloise Du Luart, Will Crudgington and Harry Palmer himself on the elite level programme.
T3 Triathlon team introduction
For Mark, starting the team has been a long time in the making. “T3 was started back in 2012 purely out of excitement and passion for triathlon,” he tells us at the T3 Team launch. “The team has been something I’ve wanted to do all along and now, with the support of Saddleback and all their brands, Precision Hydration, Strength For Endurance and BlueSeventy, it just seemed a really obvious time to take it to the next level and set the team up.”
Being home to pro racers seeking to take a step up and age-group athletes of all abilities craving a team dynamic in their training, the T3 Triathlon Team is a little different from other tri squads out there.
“One of the big things about setting the team up was bringing the community together,” says Mark. “We’ve got a real mix of athletes – people who race for their country on the world-class programme internationally, athletes winning their age group in Kona and athletes who are literally doing their first triathlon.”
By eschewing the usual angle of churning out elite-age-group success in favour of a mixed team dynamic, the T3 Team aims to create an inclusive environment with the age-groupers learning from the pro athletes and vice versa – with more experienced long-course campaigners able to advise the pros who are new to the distance.
Team membership includes coaching, invites to exclusive UK and international training camps – T3 already has a Mallorca camp set for April and another planned in Finland next July – and regular team meet-ups. Members can also enjoy access to special rates on supporting brands’ products and services.
“Not only did we want to give our team members really good coaching but also provide them with the best brands out there,” says Harry. “Having the sponsors we’ve got gives people confidence because they’re leaders in their respective industries. So we wanted to create that community, but we also want to offer the athletes loads of different services so they benefit massively from the team.”
To nurture the sense of community, whether elite or age-grouper, all team members race in the same team kit – one that proudly shows off the enviable list of sponsors that Mark and Harry have assembled to support the T3 Triathlon Team. Local cycling distributor Saddleback has leant its weight to the team with a selection of its brands including Castelli, ENVE, Stages, HJC, Peaty’s and Silca. Meanwhile, Precision Hydration steps in as the team’s hydration partner, Bath-based Strength For Endurance will provide expert tri-focused strength training and BlueSeventy is supporting with wetsuits.
“Not only did we want to give our team members really good coaching but also provide them with the best brands out there,”
For all its professionalism, the team isn’t all work and no play. “We finish the day’s training and we go and get a pasty and a pint – that’s kind of our mentality towards training,” says Mark with a grin. “We get the job done but it should be fun at the same time. We hope that with the kit and creating that team dynamic, the T3 Team is something people will want to be involved in.”
At Triathlon Vibe, we’re stoked to be a media partner for the T3 Triathlon Team and we’ll be following the team’s stories, race results and training advice throughout the 2020 season, so stay tuned. We’ll have more in-depth bios on each of the pro athletes soon, but in the meantime, here’s the lowdown on who to look out for in T3 colours in 2020.
India Lee
The 2016 ETU Champion, Indie stepped up to Ironman 70.3 in 2018 with some exceptional results. On debut, she won Ironman 70.3 Weymouth and has since taken the top spot at 70.3 Finland this year, come 11th at the 2019 Ironman 70.3 World Championships, won 70.3 Weymouth for a second time and punched her ticket for the 2020 world champs by coming sixth at the Ironman 70.3 Middle East Championships at Ironman 70.3 Bahrain.
“Obviously, triathlon’s an individual sport, so it’s easy to feel quite invisible at times,” India tells us at the T3 Team launch. “Being with the wider T3 Team is a really great opportunity to race with other people. It’s just cool to know that there are others doing the same thing as you, backing you and a few more people supporting and checking in on you.
“The sponsors help massively in terms of getting kit through to equipment for my bike and nutrition products. It’s really important because I probably wouldn’t be able to get that on my own. It makes a big difference in races for me to be able to be competitive.”
Harry Palmer
Top age grouper at both Ironman 70.3 Staffordshire and Ironman 70.3 Weymouth in 2018, Harry made the move to the pro ranks this year, spending his neo-pro season learning the ropes and gaining some great experience with top-10 performances at Ironman 70.3 Staffordshire, 70.3 Dun Laoghaire and 70.3 Weymouth.
“The team is all about a community and bringing people together,” says Harry. “Having the kit produced gives us an identity – we’re an official team now and I think people love to feel a sense of belonging like that. It works out great because as pros, we’re not just role models for the age-groupers but they can also aspire to getting onto that top tier of the team. So there’s something to work towards and a motivation to continually better yourself and that’s what triathlon’s all about.
“Obviously having all the Saddleback brands is going to be incredible, not just for me but for all the athletes on the team. But it’s the knowledge as well. Knowing I’ve got incredible people to get in contact with if I need advice or have an issue – and knowing they’ll have the answer – it’s given me more confidence my knowledge and I can then pass it on too.”
Eloise Du Luart
A former age-group European Triathlon Champion and elite British Super Series racer, Eloise took on her first pro-Ironman 70.3 season in 2018, coming fifth in her first race at Ironman 70.3 Finland and 12th at Ironman 70.3 Vichy. Following injuries in 2019, Eloise is now getting back to fitness for the 2020 season and is also a keen campaigner for women’s health issues.
“Being involved in a team of this nature with likeminded athletes is just fun,” says Eloise. “They don’t take themselves too seriously and that’s the way I like to portray myself as an athlete.
“Racing alongside friends in a team makes you feel involved, keeps things fun and really motivates you to want to do better – not only for yourself but as a representative of the T3 Team and the brands behind it, which I’m truly grateful for. It really just gives you that opportunity to do your best and represent the team as you want to.”
Will Crudgington
Another new name on the pro-circuit, Will is an exceptional swimmer and the youngest member of the team at 21. Despite his youth, Will is an experienced draft-legal racer, but now has his sights set on Xterra competition with a view to competing at the Xterra World Championships in Maui, Hawaii, in the coming years. He’s also planning on earning his pro card by competing at a couple of Ironman 70.3 races in 2020.
“The T3 Team basically brings together people I’ve been around for my whole triathlon career – I’ve known Mark since I first started triathlon and Harry as well,” says Will. “So the team has created a really good group who can bounce thoughts off each other, share training ideas and bring us all together for training when I’m back home from uni.
“The support of the team and sponsors is going to help a lot! In terms of being a poor student at uni, having Castelli providing race kit, ENVE providing race wheels and all the other support is just going to mean that I don’t have to worry and can free up my time so I can train.”
