At 37, Craig Alexander can already look back on a magnificent triathlon career. The Australian, regarded as one of the nicest guys on the circuit, is one of only four men to win back-to-back Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii (2008 and 2009

The elites are different: they have to maintain their discipline during Christmas. Of course if someone brings along Guitar Hero or makes a batch of refreshing mojitos, all bets are off!Find out what your favourite triathletes get up to in the festive season in our slideshow.Pict...

at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. Almost 1,800 athletes took on the testing 140.6-mile race, with favourites Chrissie Wellington and Craig Alexander emerging as the winners. British triathlete legend Chrissie took her fourth Ironman world title

, and she was sixth off the bike, but she was not to be denied."It's the hardest-fought victory of my career and definitely the one I'm most proud of," she told BBC Radio Norfolk.The men's raceCrowie makes it three out of four Australian Craig Alexander won

to lead on a long climb. Andy Hampsten, the only American to win the Giro d'Italia, grew up in the flatlands of North Dakota. It wasn't until he moved to hilly Boulder, Colorado - where triathletes Chrissie Wellington and Craig Alexander train - that he

Craig Alexander (Aus)Two-time Ironman champion won this year's Coeur D'alene Ironman in Idaho in a course record time of 8:19:48. The 38-year-old Australian was laid low for a month by a viral infection, missing Ironman Australia, so it was a

. Alexander rode one to a 5:51 bike split in Barcelona, so they're not slow. Craig Calfee of Calfee Design, says bamboo has several advantages over carbon. "Bamboo bikes' main performance feature is vibration damping. Additionally, they're more crash

Raelert looked good too as he pushed into second place.  But where was Craig Alexander?  The Aussie won here in 2008 and 2009 and was running well but he'd left himself too much to do to catch McCormack and Raelert.  With around four miles to go, Raelert

' of long-distance triathlon (besides Tom and Chrissie, it's home to Julie Dibens, and Craig Alexander splits his time between there and his native Australia). Taking on KonaBut now his training buddies and neighbours are about to become his rivals

of the sport (including world champions Craig Alexander and Chrissie Wellington) as well as triathlon legends such as Scott Molina, Dave Scott and Mark Allen."For the first two years we made no money and now we're making some, but it's the sense of community