Challenge Wānaka 100 leads the way with RaceRanger technology for every athlete in 2027
Gallagher Insurance Challenge Wānaka 100 continues to lead innovation in athlete experience for 2027, becoming one of the first events in the world to roll out RaceRanger technology across the entire field — delivering greater fairness, live athlete tracking, and an important new level of safety for every competitor on course.
Following a successful 275-athlete age-group trial at Challenge Wānaka in 2025, every entrant in the 2027 event — professionals, age group athletes, team cyclists and aquabikers — will race with RaceRanger fitted to their bike.
This makes Challenge Wānaka and the Tauranga Half the first two events in the world to commit to full-field age-group use of the technology, marking RaceRanger’s first major expansion beyond professional-only racing.
RaceRanger is the world’s first electronic drafting detection system for triathlon and has been used at more than 100 professional events globally since 2023, including the IRONMAN Pro Series, the T100 World Tour, the Paris Paralympics, and Challenge Roth.
For athletes, the benefits go beyond drafting detection. RaceRanger also provides live tracking, allowing family and supporters to follow athletes around the bike course in real time, creating a stronger race-day experience for everyone involved.
For event organisers, it adds an important new safety layer. With Challenge Wānaka’s long, remote and spectacular bike course, race control will have live visibility of every athlete’s location throughout the ride. If an athlete stops, crashes, or requires assistance, organisers can respond much faster.
Challenge Wānaka Race Director Jane Sharman says the decision was a natural progression following the successful age-group trial.
“Our age-group trial with RaceRanger in 2025 showed us quickly that athletes were ready for this. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, particularly around fairness, confidence, and the overall race experience.
At Challenge Wānaka, delivering a world-class athlete experience is key. With our bike course, the ability to track every athlete in real time also adds an important safety dimension.
We’re proud to be one of the first events globally to deliver RaceRanger across the whole field.”
RaceRanger CEO and Co-founder James Elvery says the move represents a major milestone for the New Zealand technology company.
“We’re really pleased to be here — this is what we’ve been working towards for a long time.
With experience gained operating at more than 100 pro events now, we’ve learnt a huge amount about what transfers, and what needs to be different to operate at the scale of large age-group fields.”
For 2027, all athletes will use the full two-device system currently used by professionals, with one front unit and one rear unit fitted to each bike.
Devices will be distributed in athlete race packs at registration, with RaceRanger staff available across race week to assist with fitting and answer questions.
The addition of RaceRanger is another major evolution for Challenge Wānaka 100 as the event moves into its exciting new era with a refreshed 100km format of:
• 2km Swim
• 80km Bike
• 18km Run
The same legendary challenge.
The same breathtaking backdrop.
The same unforgettable finish-line feeling.
Entries for Challenge Wānaka 100 open this month on 15 May
