How I just became a World Champion in HYROX

Not just training HYROX may have been the missing piece of the puzzle.

June 24, 2026

Last weekend in Stockholm, Sweden, I won the 45-49 age group at the HYROX World Championships!

I knew it was possible, but I don’t think I had fully visualized it. What crossing the finish line would feel like. What hearing my name and country announced would sound like.

It’s still a little surreal.

My first HYROX race was in 2021. I finished in 1:06 and placed 3rd overall in Dallas. There were only about 600 athletes there. The sport was still young. I loved the race, but my focus at the time was CrossFit. From 2021 through 2024, I trained almost exclusively for CrossFit competitions. I didn’t run much. Instead, I focused on hitting lifetime PRs in my back squat, front squat, snatch, and clean. I also continued biking, especially during the summer months (my favorite).

In late 2024, I raced HYROX doubles with my friend Jack Espy. The race humbled me. I hadn’t been running, and I felt it. But it also reignited something. I missed endurance training.

Throughout 2025, I started racing HYROX more consistently. My time improved from 1:04 in January to 59 minutes in May at HYROX New York. The improvement came fairly quickly because I already had a deep endurance background from completing five Ironmans and more than fifteen Half Ironmans.

After New York, I thought I had a real shot to win my age group at HYROX Chicago. I visualized it. I believed it. I finished in 1:10.

A sled that simply wouldn’t move sent my heart rate through the roof and destroyed my legs. My race was effectively over after that station. I was incredibly disappointed because I had sacrificed a lot preparing for that event, including time spent doing things I genuinely love like cycling and still CrossFit.

Honestly, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to continue training for HYROX after Chicago.

But then I raced Toronto later that year and finished in 1:04 despite doing very little HYROX-specific training. I hadn’t been running much. I hadn’t spent much time on sleds. What I had done was bike. A lot.

Maybe cycling could build the engine and muscular endurance I needed without forcing me to spend all my training time doing things I didn’t enjoy.

I qualified for Worlds in Toronto but missed the registration email, so I had to qualify again. In Phoenix, I went 1:02 and once again my training was heavily cycling-focused.

My training looked something like this:

• Bike 10-15+ hours per week
• Lift 3-4 times per week
• Run 2-4 times per week
• Very little speed work
• Very little HYROX-specific work

Throughout the spring of 2026, I continued increasing cycling volume. Some weeks exceeded 15 hours. I was doing five-hour rides with threshold intervals and VO2 max efforts. My power output on the bike reached all-time highs.

Meanwhile, my HYROX-specific training was almost nonexistent.

I hadn’t pushed or pulled a sled since Phoenix. I barely rowed. I barely skied. I did very few lunges and wall balls. Running remained consistent, usually 20-30 miles per week, much of it at Zone 2 and Zone 3 intensity.

The weekend before Worlds, I raced World’s Toughest Mile and set a PR. That race gave me confidence. My HYROX-specific muscle endurance was still there, and my aerobic engine felt stronger than ever.

Then it was time for the championship in Stockholm. June was packed with commitments. I was hosting events and wellness retreats right up until race week. I flew into Sweden the day before the race. That became my rest day.

Race day arrived. My start time was 3 PM.

I fueled well and felt ready. I entered the sled push in 15th place. By the time I exited, I was in 2nd. It felt like redemption after Chicago.

I received a 15-second penalty during the sled pull for touching the line with my toe, which made me extremely cautious for the remainder of the race. I wasn’t taking any more chances.

When I reached the wall balls, I was sitting in 3rd place and more than a minute behind the leaders.

I completed 60 wall balls unbroken.

Dropped the ball for a second.

Then completed another 40 unbroken.

At rep 80, I started believing I could win.

At rep 90, I heard the announcer say I was going to win.

There was absolutely no chance I was dropping that ball.

A few moments later, I crossed the finish line as the 45-49 HYROX World Champion.

I got to ring the bell. I got to hear my name and my country announced.

It was one of those moments I’ll never forget.

The biggest lesson from this experience is that there are many paths to success. Training is an art. As athletes, we get to paint every day. Sometimes we know exactly where the painting is headed. Sometimes we don’t.

For me, cycling ended up being the missing piece of the puzzle.

Could I have gone even faster with more HYROX-specific training? Probably.

But winning a race is a single moment.

The process is forever and I’m obsessed with the process.

I care far more about enjoying the daily process than I do about any single outcome.

A lot of you asked exactly what I used for fuel before the race:

• One KetoneIQ with caffeine 45 minutes before
• Sodium bicarbonate split into three servings at 3 hours, 2.5 hours, and 2 hours before
• One Amacx gel 60 minutes before and 30 minutes before
• One packet of Magna Electrolytes 2 hours before

You can get all of these products at The Feed.

Get 40% off your first order using my link: www.thefeed.com/eric

Appreciate all the kind messages and support. It means a lot.

Eric

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