We’re just three weeks out from the 2018 CrossFit Games in Madison, Wisconsin, which means the fittest athletes on Earth are putting the final touches on a year’s worth of preparation to get to this point. Most of the work has already been completed — the hay is in the barn, if you will — as the 40 men and 40 women in the individual competition, plus the team and masters/teen competitors, will taper so that their bodies are ready for the grueling five-day test that awaits. 

A $2.2 million prize purse is on the line in Madison, so you best believe every athlete will do everything possible to arrive August 1 in the best shape of their lives.

While the nearly two months between regionals and the Games can feel like a drag — especially now during the taper portion — there’s still plenty of gold to be mined from athlete’s social media channels as they prepare for the big event. As we all know, most of the top fitness superstars are eager to share their workouts on Instagram, a way for us to read the tea leaves of what could transpire next month in Wisconsin. So while we wait 20 more days, let’s head to the IG machine to see what the big names of CrossFit are up to!

I want to ride my bicycle (in Madison) 

As far as Dave Castro hints go, this one wasn’t so subtle:

The bike played a role in day one of the 2017 CrossFit Games, and being that we’re back in Madison again, it was only logical to expect there to be more of it this time around. Last year was a cyclocross event, but with a road bike shown in Castro’s cryptic post, perhaps a different test awaits on two wheels.

Ever since Dave Castro posted this last week, I’ve noticed bikes have been popping up everywhere on Games’ athlete feeds. Two-time reigning Fittest Man on Earth Mat Fraser can either see into the future or was already predicting some cycling action this year, as he shared this pic back on June 26:

Just a few days later, there Fraser was, taking third in a sprint triathlon in Vermont, which of course meant more bike:

Not to be outdone in the triathlon game, Sara Sigmundsdottir — who also may have a clairvoyant streak — completed a quarter triathlon on July 1 and shared a post-race photo of, you guessed it, herself with a bike:

Noah Ohlsen wasn’t reading Castro’s mind as this post is from earlier this week, but nonetheless, here is 2017’s Fourth Fittest Man on Earth doing his part:

And here are the Panchik brothers, Scott and Saxon — two more Dave Castro mind readers — from a couple weeks back:

I think you get the picture. Games’ athletes should probably bring their helmets to Madison.

Ready to run fast

No Castro hints so far about any running, but we all know it will surely play a role in the Games in some form. Because of that, our resident fitness stars have been taking to their local tracks recently like they’re world-class sprinters preparing for the Olympics:

With so much running and biking, and even athletes taking on triathlons, it’s safe to say that Castro will be upping the intensity of his endurance events compared to 2017. Last year’s first day featured a grueling combination of cyclocross and the run-swim-run, but that may not be quite enough for the fittest athletes on Earth this time around. Expect an even longer endurance event now that we’re seeing so many pros training like they’re about to take on an Ironman.