Six days, more than 6,500 athletes expected, and a closed roof turning Wales' rugby cathedral into a HYROX cauldron. Two days in, here's what's happened and what's still to come.
Cardiff, the comeback
The roof shut over Westgate Street on Wednesday morning and hasn't reopened since. For six days, from 29 April to 4 May 2026, the Principality Stadium isn't the home of Welsh rugby anymore but the largest functional fitness arena in Europe for the second season in a row. The bet HYROX took in 2025 by bringing the format to Wales had delivered 6,254 finishers across three days. For 2026, the brand has doubled down: six days of racing, more than 6,500 athletes expected, and a grid covering the full division spectrum.
We're now two days in. The Wednesday and Thursday waves are done. Here's the story so far under the Welsh canopy, and what to track in the days that remain.
What the venue tells you
The Principality Stadium isn't a converted gym. It's a 74,500-seat international rugby cathedral with a retractable roof that only opens once a year for the Six Nations finals. For HYROX, the roof stays shut from start to finish. No wind, no rain, a steady 18 to 21 degrees throughout. Zero excuses on the conditions side, which is exactly why British athletes have made it their reference race.
The organisers also made a call the community noticed: spectator tickets now grant access to both the grandstands and the pitch, subject to capacity. In practice, you can follow an athlete station by station from the field, a few metres from the sled push or the wall balls. A rarity on the circuit, where most venues keep spectators and athletes strictly apart.
Volumes after two days
Cardiff's programme reads like a railway puzzle. Open and Doubles waves run from Wednesday through Monday, Pro is concentrated on Saturday, and the Relays close out Friday night. That spread allows the venue to absorb the volume without saturating the finish area. Over the first two days, the Open Men, Open Women, Doubles Men, Doubles Women and Doubles Mixed waves have already pushed several thousand athletes across the line. If you tracked the event remotely, you've already seen results stream in from Wednesday evening onwards.
For comparison, here's what Cardiff 2025 delivered across three days:
- 6,254 total finishers over 3 days (30 May to 1 June)
- Open Men: 2,031 finishers, the deepest division
- Open Women: 986 finishers
- Doubles Men: 834 finishers (417 pairs)
- Doubles Women: 778 finishers (389 pairs)
- Doubles Mixed: 741 finishers
- Pro Men: 335, Pro Women: 185, Pro Doubles: 268 across categories
With six race days in 2026 versus three in 2025, Cardiff is mechanically aiming at the symbolic 8,000-finisher mark cumulative. That would make it Europe's second-largest volume of the season behind Paris Grand Palais.
The benchmarks set in 2025
Pro Men
In 2025, Danny Rae (GBR) dominated in 57:16, ahead of Afan Humphries (58:19). The top 5 closed below 1:03:00. Cardiff is known for delivering faster times than the circuit average thanks to indoor conditions, and British competition in this division is particularly deep.
Pro Women
Imogen Amos (GBR) set the mark in 1:04:59, followed by Nikki Brammeier (1:09:41). 185 Pro Women finishers in 2025 is one of the deepest female Pro fields in Europe.
Open Men
The best Open Men time in 2025 was set by David Parkin (GBR) in 57:47, less than a minute behind the Pro winner. On Open Women, Rebecca Brown closed in 1:03:17, ahead of Kayley Price and Laura Wordley.
What's still to come
Friday 1 May: relay night
The Team Relay format (four athletes splitting the course) closes Friday's racing. Three back-to-back starts in the evening from 19:30 local: Men's Relay, Mixed Relay, Women's Relay. One of the event's most spectacular moments, with times dropping well below 1:00:00 thanks to the shared load.
Saturday 2 May: the Pro final
The connoisseur day. Pro Men at 9:50, Pro Women at 12:50. Given the depth of the British contingent on regional championships, expect several athletes flirting with 56 minutes on the men's side and 1:04 on the women's. If you're looking for a French name to track, there are unfortunately only 5 French athletes registered at Cardiff this year, British depth has won out.
Sunday 3 May: Pro Doubles, the ultimate format
Pro Doubles is two athletes at Pro loads splitting the stations. Technically the most demanding format, and the one where times go lowest. Pro Doubles Women at 17:30, Pro Doubles Men at 19:00. At Cardiff 2025, the best Pro Doubles Men time was 53:47.
Monday 4 May: the Open final
The event closes out with the last Open waves: Doubles Women in the morning, Open Women and Doubles Men in the afternoon. The roof won't reopen until 19:10, after the final transition.
How to follow Cardiff 2026 if you're not there
All results are published on ROXWALL as the waves come in. You can check them here: HYROX Cardiff 2026 results. Filter by division, by sex, or search for an athlete directly by name. Each athlete card details the 16 splits (8 runs and 8 stations) so you can see how the race was built.
Saturday's Pro Men will be available in the evening or Sunday morning depending on the official scraping speed. Friday's Relays usually within the hour after the last finish.
Cardiff is the appetiser before Lisboa
A small wink: Cardiff's Open Men waves kick off Friday 1 May at 7:30, exactly the day when 1,200 km south, the first edition of HYROX Lisboa opens its doors at the Altice Arena. Two events running simultaneously, two radically different atmospheres: a closed Welsh roof on one side, an open Parque das Nações arena facing the Tagus on the other. The 25/26 season ends with a bang.
And after the race?
Your Cardiff 2026 splits will be on ROXWALL within hours of your finish. And if you want a clean memento of your race (at home, on your wall, ready to host your HYROX Cardiff patch), we make personalised hexagonal frames with your name, your time and your colours. Create your ROXWALL HYROX Cardiff 2026 frame.
Where's your patch?
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