While race weekends come and go, it’s worth pausing for a moment on the recent Ironman 70.3 Northern California, where three Canadian pro men landed inside the top five, illustrative of the incredible long-course talent we currently have racing out of Canada. (And Brock Hoel and Blake Harris weren’t even on this start list!)

As for who was: Jackson Laundry, fan favourite Lionel Sanders, and rookie pro Luke Tasker, whose rapid rise through the age-group and now professional ranks is one worth unpacking. (We have an in-depth interview with him coming soon!)

Here’s how race day unfolded.

A Canadian Charge in Northern California

Laundry led the Canadian charge out of the water, exiting 54 seconds behind the leader, while fellow Canadian Tasker exited in 11th place, leading the chase pack 2:28 back. Sanders was 3:02 behind.

By the 15km mark of the bike, Laundry had already worked his way up to the leaders and, by 30km, had taken over the lead. Meanwhile, Sanders had moved into sixth, now only 2:10 back, with Tasker also inside the top 10, 3:14 behind. By the end of the 90km ride, Laundry had built a two-minute lead, with Sanders entering T2 in fifth and Tasker right behind him in sixth.

American Jason West ultimately ran his way to the win, celebrating his 22nd victory as a professional triathlete, while Laundry finished runner-up, securing his first podium of the season. Sam Long took third, followed by Sanders in fourth and Tasker in fifth.

For Laundry, the performance is significant following a late start to the season as he recovered from a hip injury. In his post-race recap, he shared that this was the first time in a long time he had felt so good from start to finish.

For Sanders, while not a “W,” as he would say, fourth represents a strong comeback race after several months of injury – part of a broader two-and-a-half-year stretch riddled with injuries, as he has documented on YouTube. He has indicated, however, that he does not intend to compete at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nice in a few weeks’ time, opting instead to patiently rebuild toward championship racing in 2027.

For Tasker, a fifth-place finish in a field featuring the likes of West, Laundry, Long and Sanders is simply remarkable. Ironman 70.3 Northern California was only his fourth professional race, and the result marks his best finish yet in his first year racing pro. Undoubtedly, there is much more to come from the Canadian.

It was only in 2025 that Tasker really started making waves in the triathlon world. His overall age-group win at the Vancouver T100 extended his undefeated streak over the middle distance to five-for-five. Even more striking: the victory came just 18 months after he was introduced to triathlon.

That streak included overall age-group wins at Ironman 70.3 Oceanside, Ironman 70.3 Washington Tri-Cities, Ironman 70.3 Oregon and Ironman 70.3 Victoria, before he capped his amateur career by winning the overall age-group title at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship.