Isle of Man triathlete Will Draper finished fourth in the Challenge Forte Village event in Sardinia over the weekend.

The 25-year-old has enjoyed a brilliant 2025 season, notably clinching the European Long Course Championship title in the Netherlands recently and being the best Briton in the T100 London event during the summer.

His busy campaign continued with another strong showing in the Mediterranean island at the weekend.

Speaking about the event, Draper said: ‘I came into this race ranked number one, something that still feels pretty surreal as I still remember looking up to those top ranked guys at the Challenge races a few years ago when I desperately tried to make a top 10 or 15.

‘Like most triathlons there were obstacles to overcome but everyone deals with them in races so I’ll avoid making a list of excuses.

‘In sport you can decide if you are happy or disappointed with your result. But when [partner and fellow triathlete] Chloe [Sparrow] is there to support me after managing a super tough Epstein-Barr Virus the past few months, plus training partner Joost Friderichs crashing out of T1 with a flat tyre, I am reminded just to be happy to make a pro finish line and for an 11th time this season.

‘Fourth place is great, the field here was super strong - especially the podium. I did my best on the day and also had the fastest bike split riding from P20 out the swim to P3 off the bike.

‘I am even somehow still learning lessons about 35+ half-distance races into my career! Thanks everyone in my corner this season - it’s been a good one but maybe isn’t over yet…’