Grassroots to Team GB

Self-funded, locally backed and racing for Team GB – Roanna and Megan are taking grassroots triathlon to the European stage on their own terms

When local triathlete Roanna Warren first entered a middle-distance race with her friend Megan Casebow, they didn’t exactly expect to end up wearing the Team GB tri-suit.
But this May, the pair will represent Great Britain at the European Triathlon Championships in northern Spain – Roanna racing in the aquabike event, and Megan taking on the full middle-distance triathlon.
It started with a casual post-race comment. ‘After the event, Megan said, “You know, you can use your time to try and qualify for GB,”’ says Roanna. ‘I had no idea. There are rules, obviously – the race has to have over 1,000 competitors, and you have to finish within the top 20% of your age group winner to be eligible. But once you’ve got a time that fits, you can register your intent to qualify on the European Championships website, submit your application … and then wait for the email.’
Roanna submitted her times for the aquabike – a swim-bike format that drops the run – while Megan went for the full middle-distance triathlon: a 2km swim, 90km bike, and a half marathon to finish. The aquabike event covers the same swim and bike course, but without the punishing final leg.
‘I’d been struggling with my running due to injury, so the aquabike was a better fit for me,’ Roanna says. ‘We train together, and it made sense to enter an event where we’d actually be racing at the same time – we start the swim together, bike the same route, and then I’m done while she heads out for the half marathon!’
This year’s European Championship takes place just outside the city of Pamplona, at the Alloz Reservoir – a mountainous, scenic location that promises not just competitive racing but also challenging terrain. ‘It’s a lake start, with a hilly bike course that ends in Pamplona,’ Roanna says. ‘Megan’s run then loops around and through the city: It’s going to be an incredible experience – and exhausting!’

The tide is turning
It’s an extraordinary achievement. But unlike most elite sports, qualifying for Team GB in amateur triathlon doesn’t come with sponsorship deals or national funding – it’s entirely self-funded.
‘There’s no pot of Team GB money for us,’ Roanna says. ‘You qualify, you wait, you get the email … and then you pay for your own kit, your flights, your accommodation, your race fees, your bike transport – it’s all down to you.’
And it’s not cheap. ‘Even the official GB tri suits are, frankly, silly money,’ she says. ‘But we found last year’s kit on sale for £30 – you can wear previous season’s kit for up to two years. This year’s is £150, so we grabbed the bargain. You’ve got to get creative!’
They’ve also had support from local businesses helping them get to the start line. ‘Offcamber, the Blandford bike shop, have been just brilliant – they’ve sponsored both of us. They gave us jerseys and offered cost-price on anything we needed. They even offered cost-price bikes, which is just a bit too tempting!’
Roanna’s also been supported by local firm Chat-Com, two-way radio specialists, who contributed towards her kit – and Megan by estate agents Woolley & Wallis.
‘It’s really meant a lot,’ Roanna says. ‘To have local businesses want to back women in the sport – it’s powerful. Cycling and triathlon are still very male-dominated, and sponsorship often reflects that. Even in big sponsorship teams, there’ll be a photo of six men and two women – that kind of tokenism is everywhere.’
But the tide is slowly turning. ‘There are brilliant things happening – like the Bristol Rally, which is run by a woman who makes sure her events are 50/50 men and women. She holds back half the tickets to keep it balanced – and the events always sell out. It proves there’s demand, there’s no reason for it to stay so male-dominated.

‘I believe in the power of bikes to build confidence, resilience and community. Seeing more women out riding, adventuring and supporting each other is what it is all about for me.’
Training for the European Championships is, of course, relentless – and juggling it alongside running a business and raising two kids? As Ro puts it: the struggle is real. But the pair have had the support of their local cycling community – ‘The North Dorset Tri Club are lending us aero helmets. One of the guys at the cycling club even wrote me a full training plan,’ says Roanna. ‘It’s things like that – people giving their time and expertise – that have made this feel possible.’
And with eyes tentatively on the World Championships, it’s clear that Pamplona might not be the end of the road.
‘To be honest, I’ve just been focusing on this race,’ Roanna says. ‘But I’ve managed to pull together a team of 12 women to ride Chase the Sun in June – it’s 205 miles in one day, from Minster-on-Sea to Weston-super-Mare. You start at sunrise and race the sun to the other side. I’m so excited to have a group of women taking it on together.
‘But right now, I just want to give it my all, represent GB, and show what women in grassroots triathlon can do.’

Roanna is also behind this summer’s GTRB Wild Weekender – a women’s MTB and gravel cycling festival with camping, yoga, wild swimming and more. 29th–31st August, tickets start at £22.
Follow Ro on @girlsthatridebikes