Hororové představení v Mladé Boleslavi. Středočeši rozprášili neprůstřelnost fotbalového Jablonce za pouhých osm minut. Svěřenci Luboše Kozla prohráli po nejhorším jarním výkonu ve městě automobilů 0:3. Zkázu hostů dokonal po závěrečném hvizdu Alexis Alégué, který se nechal vyloučit a čeká ho disciplinárka.

Ani po 24. kole fotbalové Chance ligy se náskok pražské Slavie v čele tabulky určitě nesníží. Svěřenci Jindřicha Trpišovského totiž trenérovi darovali k 50. narozeninám výhru na Dukle. Na Spartu mají stále sedmibodový náskok, protože Letenští přehráli Baník Ostrava 5:2. Zaváhal Jablonec, který třikrát kapituloval v Mladé Boleslavi, a nedařilo se ani Liberci, jenž prohrál doma s Hradcem Králové. Vlastní prostředí nepomohlo ani Karviné proti Slovácku. Ztráty Jablonce nevyužila Plzeň, která podlehla 0:3 ve Zlíně. V Pardubicích se body dělily za remízu s Teplicemi 1:1. 

FK Jablonec má nového ředitele akademie. Po odchodu Benjamina Vomáčky do Žiliny převzal vedení mládeže Adam Pelta, který dosud působil jako manažer B-týmu a místopředseda akademie. O svých prioritách mluvil v rozhovoru pro klubový web.

Hokejisté Pardubic vyhráli ve 49. kola extraligy v Litvínově 4:1 a v předstihu si zajistili Pohár Jaroslava Pouzara pro vítěze základní části. Na vedoucí příčce už mají nedostižný náskok 11 bodů. Východočeši získali pohár potřetí za poslední čtyři sezony. Velký obrat se podařil vítkovickým hráčům, kteří prohrávali s Českými Budějovicemi už 0:3, ale nakonec vyhráli v prodloužení. V souboji Sparty a Plzně se radovali Pražané a Kometa Brno na vlastním ledě přehrála Třinec, jinak se domácím celkům příliš nedařilo. 

Společný přebor Libereckého a Královéhradeckého kraje staršího žactva přinesl domácím atletům výrazný úspěch. Závodníci TJ LIAZ Jablonec vybojovali v konkurenci téměř tří stovek sportovců jednadvacet medailí.

Coby jeden z benjamínků české výpravy vyrazil před měsícem na své první zimní olympijské hry a z Milána/Cortiny se vrátil coby člen šesté nejlepší mužské biatlonové štafety na světě. Rodák z Jilemnice Petr Hák (22) tak navázal na oba své rodiče. Zatímco otec Zdeněk se účastnil dvou olympiád, maminka Eva stihla dokonce tři v řadě.

Šesté místo, 28 bodů a vyrovnané skóre 28:29. Rezerva Jablonce vstupuje do jarní části ČFL skupiny B z pevné pozice, nově pod vedením Josefa Justa a Jana Vošahlíka. Po odchodu Benjamina Vomáčky do MŠK Žilina však tým čeká nová etapa – bez výrazných posil, ale s jasně pojmenovanými rezervami.

Po olympijské pauze se vrací hokejová extraliga, která mělana programu 48. kolo. Bojovalo se o nejlepší čtyřku, k vidění byly tři velké šlágry. Vedoucí Pardubice v repríze finále porazily mistrovské Brno 4:2 a upevnily si první místo v tabulce. Plzeň v přímém souboji o druhé místo porazila Karlovy Vary 2:0. Sparta v dalším hitu vyhrála v Liberci 2:1 v prodloužení. V honbě za přímým postupem do play-off si pomohl Třinec, který vyhrál na ledě Kladna 3:1.

V jarní části Chance ligy zasáhl do všech odehraných zápasů. V posledních dvou odehrál celých devadesát minut a v obou případech v nich slovenský fotbalový záložník v jabloneckých službách Sebastián Nebyla vstřelil gól. V domácím duelu s Karvinou se postaral o jedinou a zároveň vítěznou trefu. Ve druhé polovině mu zatím přeje zdraví, i když v průběhu utkání se právě kvůli zdravotním problémům ocitl jednou na trávníku.

Částku 69 348 korun získal spolek Gibon Jablonec nad Nisou na podporu paralezců. Peníze poskytla společnost Montesi, která provozuje jabloneckou Makak arénu.  

Mistrovství republiky v Ostravě přineslo jablonecké atletice mimořádný úspěch. Dorostenka Klára Kaděrová vybojovala zlato na 60 metrů a hned dvakrát posunula český rekord. TJ LIAZ Jablonec navíc přidal další medaili i několik finálových umístění.

/GALERIE/ Zimní fotbalový pohár MOL Cup, který se hraje napříč Libereckým krajem, má za sebou v základních skupinách zápasy 4. kola. Pomalu se blíží osmifinálové boje. 

Nejen se stále neprůstřelnou defenzivou nebo zaskakujícím brankářem Klemenem Mihelakem může být rád trenér fotbalového Jablonce Luboš Kozel. Radost mu dělá i kamerunský záložník Alexis Alégue, jehož provází kontroverzní pověst. Kouč třetího týmu Chance ligy s ním hodně komunikuje, a když ho dostane do herní pohody, je z něj dle jeho slov nadstandardní hráč.

A wide-eyed and ambitious schoolboy when it was announced that London would host the 2012 Olympic Games, a 24-year-old man when he took the tape and the first of his two Olympic titles, Britain’s Alistair Brownlee has today announced his retirement from the sport at the age of 36.

The only athlete on the planet to have been crowned Junior World Champion, U23 World Champion, European Champion, World Champion and Olympic Champion, his incredible collection of honours marks him out as the greatest the sport has ever seen.

His two world titles in 2009 and 2011 and battles with not just Javier Gomez Noya but his own brother, Jonathan, will be remembered as part of a golden era in triathlon. That he went on to win a home Olympic gold and defend that title in Rio four years later propelled him to hero status in the UK and beyond, and was the catalyst behind the much-loved Series race in his home city of Leeds from 2016-2022.

His legacy for the sport is indelible, and will continue through the Brownlee Foundation, an altogether different outlet for the brothers’ devotion to the sport that has seen over 50,000 children introduced to the magic of swim-bike-run.

Alistair was also appointed to the IOC Athletes’ Commission in 2022, where he will continue to represent the interests of the world’s sportsmen and women on the biggest stage of them all.

Speaking to PTO after his final race at the T100 Dubai, where he won the bronze, Alistair Brownlee said; “It’s a combination of…I have been doing it for a long time and there’s so many other things in sport I want to be able to do. I want to be able to do all kinds of endurance challenges. I want to stay fit and healthy and be part of sport, hopefully into my old age. And I’m definitely aware, you know, putting the miles on the clock and wearing things down. So I want to retire fit and healthy and not be forced to retire by injury and illness or whatever.”

Alistair won 22 World Series golds across his career, more than any other athlete, and added the Commonwealth Games title to his honours in Glasgow in 2014. Golds at WTS Leeds in 2016 and 2017 will no doubt also go down among his greatest memories.

“Alistair’s contribution to the world of triathlon over more than two decades is immeasurable,” said World Triathlon President Antonio F. Arimany, “and he is a true legend who will inspire generations to come. Because when you work so hard and with such determination to reach the pinnacle of sporting achievement, it inspires millions more to see if they can do the same. His presence on triathlon’s biggest start lines will be greatly missed, but his legacy will live on for as long as the sport itself. He is a true icon of our sport and he will inspire generations to come of young triathletes from all around the world. On behalf of the World Triathlon family, I want to thank Alistair for the memories and entertainment and to wish him luck as he continues to represent our sport on the other side of the blue carpet and at the IOC as a member of the Athletes’ Commission.”

Earlier this week, we dove into the top stats of the leading performers in the 2024 men’s WTCS. Today, it is the turn of the women. The goal of this article is to survey the average performances of the best athletes in the women’s Series by looking at how they ranked in each discipline across the various WTCS stops and Paris Olympic Games. From that perspective, we can develop a picture of where the overall podium stood apart from the rest of the top-10 and, in turn, where the top-10 elevated themselves over the rest of the field.

In the above graph, the x-axis denotes each discipline within the race while the numbers on the y-axis refer to the average position each athlete achieved in each discipline throughout the season.

The champion

Olympic and world champion Cassandre Beaugrand really provided a textbook demonstration of how to excel at triathlon this year. Indeed, her average split positions show that she was close to faultless – minor navigation issues in Torremolinos aside – throughout the season.

In the swim, she earned an average position of 9.5, ensuring that she was always in the mix at the front. She combined her fast start with flawless transitions; across all of her T1s in 2024, she averaged a position of 1. She was therefore the best transitioner in the women’s Series. The same was true of Beaugrand’s T2; again she logged an average position of 1. In between, her average bike position was 14.8. This is slightly lower but is also a consequence of her standard fast starts. Short of breaking away at every race, there was minimal scope for her to have a higher bike split. To round things off, she had an average run position of 1.2 and was beaten only once all year to the fastest split: by Lisa Tertsch in Cagliari. 

Across the board, then, it is hard to say where Beaugrand could have improved while staying within the bounds of reason. Perhaps the most interesting aspect is her absolute mastery of transitions. While her swim and run have long since been clear strengths, her repeatedly excellent changeovers highlights how she nailed every aspect of her racing this year.

The overall podium

Beth Potter and Emma Lombardi took 2nd and 3rd overall in the women’s Series and what stands out is how their average performances were almost identical. In the water, Potter averaged a position of 9.2; Lombardi’s average stood at 9.4. In T1, Potter took an average of 2.4 while Lombardi’s was 3.8. The two women had the exact same average on the bike with positions of 13.2. Then in T2, Potter was on top again with an average of 2.6 to Lombardi’s 3.8. The run was actually the greatest point of difference between the two women with Potter averaging 2.8 to Lombardi’s 4.8.

Seeing as Lombardi did not beat Potter in any average this season, her finishing behind the 2023 world champion in races and in the overall standings makes sense. When comparing Potter and Lombardi to Beaugrand, it is clear that transitions and the run were the key separators between the athletes. Interestingly, as seen with the men, the three best women in the WTCS were also the three best athletes on average in T1 and T2. This reinforces the idea floated in the men’s article that mastery of transition and the small details stood as a good indicator for overall performance.

The near miss

Lisa Tertsch had the best season of her career so far as she came close to breaking onto the overall podium. She won medals in Cagliari and Hamburg while claiming a maiden Series win in Weihai. Ultimately, though, Tertsch fell just short. Her average positions provide some insight into why this was the case.

To start with her strength, Tertsch’s average run position of 2.5 was the best in the Series after Beaugrand. As already noted, she was the only woman to out-split Beaugrand this season. Her transitions were also among the best in the Series, with an average of 5.8 in both T1 and T2.

However, the swim (average of 16.5) and bike (average of 22.2) proved to be the difference for Tertsch. One thing that should be noted is that her average bike position includes when she was caught up in a crash at the Olympic Games. Nevertheless, the combination of Tertsch’s swim and bike averages left her at risk of missing the front pack, as happened in Yokohama and, even more significantly, in Torremolinos. The difference was not drastic, but it proved enough to determine making the overall podium or not.

The rest of the top-10

Flora Duffy (9th overall) was the top swimmer of the top-10 with an average position of 3.7. Duffy also had average positions of 6 and 6.3 in T1 and T2, respectively, serving a reminder of her skills.

Kate Waugh (8th overall) had an average position of 9 on the bike, making her the only woman in top-10 to average under 10 in the discipline. On the one hand, this is a sign of Waugh’s strength on two wheels. On the other, the fact that none of the rest of the top-10 had similarly strong bike splits indicates that the bike was not quite as important when it came to ranking highly. Rather, the relative lack of high-ranking bike averages appears to be a consequence of the high swim and T1 performances of the leading women.

Turning to the run, Vicky Holland (10th overall) and Leonie Periault (7th overall) were the best runners after the overall podium. Holland averaged a position of 5.5 while Periault’s average run position was 6.8. The takeaway here is that the run was an obvious separator of the top-3 from much of the top-10. 

The run also proved to be an important point of difference in terms of making the top-10 and not. Not a single woman in the top-10 overall had an average run position of over 15 (the lowest were Jeanne Lehair with 13.4 and Waugh with 12.7). Without a fast run, then, an athlete could wave their hopes of making the top-10 overall goodbye.

Consistency is key

Meanwhile, consistency was in general a hallmark of the women to make the top-10 overall. Georgia Taylor-Brown (6th overall) was the most consistent in terms of smallest difference between her worst and best average position. She had an average swim position of 14.8 and an average T1 of 8.8, giving her a difference of 6. Thereafter, her bike average position stood at 12, her T2 at 9 and her run at 10.2.

Jeanne Lehair (5th overall) ran Taylor-Brown close with a difference of 7.3. The Luxembourg athlete’s worst average came in T1 (17.5) and her best in T2 (10.2). With her swim, bike and run nestled between those two values, Lehair was clearly highly consistent in all tenets of the race.

Lehair, Taylor-Brown and Duffy matched the achievement of the overall medallists in having all of their average positions under 20. The only instance of a woman in the overall top-10 having an average above 25 was Periault’s 28.8 in the swim.

Best by discipline

Finally, we come to the best performers in terms of single discipline averages. In the water, Therese Feuersinger had the best average position of 1, albeit from only one Series appearance. Vittoria Lopes was the next best with an average of 2.3 while Duffy completed the top-3 swimmers with her average of 3.7.

On the bike, Maria Tomé was another to record an average position of 1; this came courtesy of her field-leading bike split at the Paris Olympic Games, her sole Series-level appearance of 2024. The now-retired Katie Zaferes was the next best cyclist with an average position of 5.5. Anabel Knoll rounded out the top-3 with an average bike position of 7.

As seen above, Beaugrand and Tertsch were the best runners of the women’s Series, followed by Potter. Looking ahead to 2025, it may just be the run that shapes the women’s Series as the success of the world champion, overall podium and overall top-10 largely follow average run performance. However, the lesson of the 2024 women’s Series has been that consistency across all disciplines is almost as important as a fast run. As such, those looking to break through next year might want to think twice before putting all of their eggs in the running basket.

What separates the best from the rest? With plenty of moving parts, triathlon can be a complicated sport at times and the ingredients of success hard to identify. A fast run may ostensibly seem like the most important factor. After all, as the final discipline the run is often the decisive part of any race. It might surprise you to learn that the three men on the overall podium of the 2024 WTCS were actually the three best exponents of a different part of the race. While they were very good at the run, there was another area in which they were a cut above everyone else.

In this article, we dive into the data from the men’s WTCS, covering the performances from all the stops – in Yokohama, Cagliari, Hamburg, Weihai and Torremolinos – as well as the Paris Olympic Games. What we are looking for are the average performances of each athlete. That is to say their average position, or split ranking, in each discipline across the entire season. So, what separates the best from the rest? Read on to find out where the leading men of 2024 truly excelled.

In the above graph, the x-axis denotes each discipline within the race while the numbers on the y-axis refer to the average position each athlete achieved in each discipline throughout the season.

The number one

The natural place to start is with the newly-crowned Olympic and world champion, Alex Yee. Across the board, Yee was fantastic this season. He averaged a position of 19.2 in the swim, which always kept him within touching distance of the lead pack. Thereafter, he was superb in transition, averaging a position of 1.5 in T1. As it happens, Yee also averaged a position of 1.5 in T2 across his races this year.

In between, he averaged the 8.5th fastest bike split, highlighting how he has become one of the strongest cyclists in the field. To round things off, Yee’s average run position was 1.2. He was only beaten to the fastest run split once, by compatriot Hugo Milner in Torremolinos.

The podium

We can compare Yee’s average performances with the rest of the overall podium. Leo Bergere had an average swim position of 12.4, whereas Hayden Wilde had an average of 23.2. In T1, Bergere’s split ranking was 5.2; Wilde’s was 2.5. As with Yee, their T2 numbers were similar to their first transitions. Bergere had an average of 4.4 while Wilde ended the year with an average of 2.8. On the bike, Bergere’s average position was 12.6. Wilde averaged the 7th fastest bike split. Then, on the run, Bergere averaged a position of 12.4 while Wilde was a notch behind Yee with an average of 2.2.

Already, we can see some notable differences between the three men. Wilde’s averages were broadly similar to Yee’s but he only managed to get the better of his rival on the bike. With a better swim, run and transitions, it is a little clearer how Yee beat Wilde this year. Meanwhile, Bergere presents a different model of athlete. He was remarkably consistent across the board. Taking his swim, bike and run, his average positions were almost identical and his approach shows how a balanced model can mix with the more run-tilted approaches of Yee and Wilde.

One of the most interesting details to note is that Yee, Bergere and Wilde were the best transitioners across the season. On paper at least, T1 and T2 would not appear to carry significant weight in determining the overall standings. Nevertheless, the three best men in 2024 were on average the three best performers in the discipline. Thus, while transition itself might not have necessarily been the point of difference, it was a clear instance of the mastery of the smaller details that elevated the podium over their peers.

The top-10

If we turn to the rest of the overall top-10 we can see further details that help to unpack the differences between the best and the rest. Matthew Hauser (8th overall) and Vincent Luis (7th overall) were the top swim performers of the cohort with average positions of 3.4 and 5, respectively. In general, though, a swimming advantage did not make a huge difference to the top performers.

By contrast, the bike seems to have been a clear point of strength for the overall podium against the rest of the top-10. After the overall medallists, Csongor Lehmann (5th overall) had the best average bike position of the top-10: 14.5. This is already a slight cut below Yee, Bergere and Wilde. Luis and Luke Willian (6th overall) were the only other men in the top-10 with an average bike position under 20, with 16.6 and 17. It therefore seems as though the overall podium were on average slightly better on the bike than the rest of the top-10, which may have contributed to the differences in final position at the end of the year.

The run was then a clear separator of the top-10 from the rest of the field. Pierre Le Corre (4th overall) had one of the best average run positions in the Series with a 4.6. Only one man, Willian, made it into the overall top-10 with an average run position of over 15 (his stood at 17.3). The conclusion, then, is that athletes could carry a slightly weaker swim or bike and still make the top-10, but they generally could not cover up a weaker run.

Consistency vs stronger disciplines

At the same time, Willian had the smallest difference across all disciplines of the men in the top-10. His average swim position of 21.8 was his lowest, while his best average was the 14.5 he achieved in T2. With a difference of 7.3 between his worst and best averages, we can see that Willian’s consistency across the different facets of the sport was one of his main advantages.

Aside from Bergere (who had a gap of 8.2), no one else in the top-10 overall men had a difference between their worst and best averages under 10. As a result, we see two models in the average performances: either an athlete must be extremely consistent across all bases if they are to make the top-10, or they need at least one point of strength, represented with an average position of under 10 in a given discipline.

Finally, Lehmann and Luis managed to keep their averages in all disciplines under 20, matching the feat of Yee and Bergere. Hauser’s average position of 31 on the bike was the only instance of a man inside the top-10 logging an average over 25.

Best by discipline

The lesson of the 2024 WTCS appears to be that consistency and running performance were the separators of the top-10 versus the rest, while the bike and transitions were important markers that showed how the top-3 stood apart from the top-10. To conclude, though, we will now turn to the all-important bragging rights of the season: the men that had the best averages of each discipline.

Starting with the swim, Miguel Tiago Silva took an average position of 1. It should be noted, however, that his average came from a solitary Series appearance where he led the swim in Torremolinos. Alessio Crociani had the next best average with 1.3 while Hauser rounds out the top-3 with his 3.4.

On the bike, Henry Graf had the top average position of 2, with Yanis Seguin close behind with his average of 4. Similarly to Silva, though, these averages only came from one Series appearance. Ricardo Batista had an average bike position of 4.3 and was therefore the best cyclist, in terms of average split position, of the men with more than one appearance.

Yee and Wilde were the best runners of the WTCS which will come as no surprise to anyone. Clearly, the run was hugely important to their success, although as we have seen there were other factors that cannot be overlooked. Milner was the third best runner with an average position of 3.8.

Looking ahead to 2025, then, the above averages offer some insight into where the top performers in the Series were strongest and where those looking to usurp them will have to improve if they are to break through next season.

Marten Van Riel defied the intense heat and then outran the world’s best triathletes to win the inaugural T100 Triathlon World Championship Final and take the first-ever T100 Triathlon World Championship Title in commanding fashion this afternoon in Dubai.

Van Riel chalked up his 3rd T100 win from 4 T100 starts and make history – following victories in San Francisco, Ibiza and now Dubai – earning $301,000 in prize money along the way.

Rico Bogen’s 2nd place finish in Dubai saw him jump 7 places in the T100 Standings up to 3rd overall and earn an extra $90,000, while a huge performance put 2-time Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee on a T100 podium for the first time, earning 5th in the series overall and $60,000.

Kyle Smith, who finished the day in 4th nevertheless ended his year on the T100 podium – the only Wildcard athlete to do so – securing 2nd place and a cheque for $140,000.

Speaking after the race, Van Riel spoke about the tactics employed to become T100 Triathlon World Champion: “I was definitely not in total control, but I could feel that I had a couple of surges in me. Rico is really good at keeping the pace high but when I put my first surge in and we dropped Kyle, I could see that he was already suffering a bit, so I knew that with a couple of kilometres to go I was going to put in a big surge.”

When his victory was met by approval from 2 world champions in attendance, Jan Frodeno and Sam Laidlow, Van Riel quipped, “I finally feel like I’m part of a gang here!”

But the Belgian didn’t play down the difficulty of having a target on his back as the series leader: “It was honestly really tough, especially wearing that number 1, because in my head I knew that a podium place was good enough and if you have that in your head, it’s actually really hard to go for the win. So, I was trying to think not too much of the title and just try to perform as I could on the day.”

Speaking about the importance the T100 Triathlon World Tour has had alongside the Olympics in the 2024 season, Van Riel added: “I think it was very good to have this goal…to do well in the T100 series this year. And to be able to do that has been kind of what has kept me on and not make me doubt too much for the Olympic Games, because I knew my shape was way, way, way, way better than what I showed there. Unfortunately, you have one day to show it.. but it was really good to not have the time to think about it too much and go straight into the T100 series and it’s definitely made for a great season.”

“It’s all the difficult movements that make the beautiful ones even more beautiful. This makes it all worth it. 2022 and 2023 were really hard seasons for me. I think I had 9 months off running – and running is still my insecurity of not being fast enough. But I think that long-distance just suits me better because it doesn’t come down to 100 percent a run as short distance does these days and it’s more that the 3 disciplines are important. So I think that I’m finally playing with my best cards.”

Second place on the day, Rico Bogen reflected on the quelling the voices of naysayers who claimed he couldn’t perform in the heat.

“I’m so proud,” said the German. “So many people said I can’t handle the heat and it really challenged me and I thought, ‘How can I handle it?’… I trained for it and the team with me worked it out and now I can say, ‘Yes, I can do it!’”

“I wanted to prove it to the others, we trained it… we did heat training – I did indoor sessions with long sleeves… Now I proved it to the world. The Mystery Pro said I am the first one and so many comments said ‘f*cking hell, Rico will not win’ and then I’m running until 2km to the finish line with Marten, so it’s so, so great.”

Speaking of the team behind his fabulous performance, Bogen added: “We are a team, we call us the 3 musketeers and so the manager, coach and me are really working strongly together. We built a plan on how to handle the heat, we focused on this day in Dubai, where there are more points, and in the end, it finally worked out.”

“It’s really crazy… I was 10th before the race and I thought maybe I’d be 8th… the main goal was to stay in the top 10 and now I’m 3rd, it’s crazy.”

With upsets, penalties and niggles along the way, Alistair Brownlee’s 3rd place in Dubai seemed a long time in the making with the British star committing totally to the T100 Triathlon World Tour this year.

“I needed some stars to align and thankfully they aligned for me today,” said Brownlee, then reflecting on the moment he was brought down onto the Tarmac during the run, he added: “It was just when I caught him [Smith] as well, it couldn’t have been any worse timing. I was running down the hill there as quickly as I could and I was pushing it around some gravel on the corner. But in terms of the things that could’ve gone wrong that’s a minor one!”

Speaking about the difficulties in remaining at the top of the sport, Brownlee said: “You know very rarely things are going to go perfect and you have to train and prepare and try and deal with the stuff that goes wrong. Most of the time, unfortunately I can’t and I‘m too much near the edge and yeah, I need the stars to align.”

Those stars aligning seemed all the more unlikely due to Brownlee having hardly trained since the Ibiza T100: “In terms of my physical ability I’ve been fitter in some other races this year and I just had to do what I could do today…I try to take a positive attitude into every race and really not take things that go well or badly… just be really level headed. But yeah, the last 2 months have actually been horrific. I’ve hardly done any sessions. I’ve done 1 bike session since Ibiza, 2 run sessions, 1 hard swim session. It’s been so bad.”

“I did a bike session last Sunday and that’s the first decent anything I’ve done on the bike since Ibiza and I thought it’s kind of good I’ve still got it because it’s not been there for about 5 weeks!”

Summing up the first T100 Triathlon World Tour season, he added: “It’s a lot of travel that’s true, it’s spread out over the year and to be honest I haven’t done any other triathlons, I’ve just focused on this. My thinking was… I can’t put all my eggs in a few baskets these days, there are too many uncontrollables. I have to spin the dice, turn up to the races with whatever form I’ve got and see what happens.”

How The Race Unfolded

Under even hotter conditions than those faced in the women’s Dubai T100 Triathlon World Championship Final yesterday, series leader Marten Van Riel began his bid to become the first-ever T100 Triathlon World Champion by hitting the front of the 2km swim in the stunning waters off Dubai’s Sunrise Beach.

Swim-star Aaron Royle was quickly onto the Belgian’s feet along with Youri Keulen, Alistair Brownlee and Rico Bogen, the latter stuffing ice down his suit at the halfway 1000m Aussie exit. While Kyle Smith, 3rd in the T100 standings and another potential champion, was also within the front group, 2nd-place Magnus Ditlev was 33 seconds behind while Sam Long (5th in the standings) was just over 2 minutes in arrears.

Royle moved into the lead on the second lap, the Aussie making landfall first at the head of a 13-strong group with the main contenders with the exception of Ditlev at 1:16 and Sam Long, who was last out of the water at 4:17.

Onto the 80km bike course, Matthis Margirier was first to push on and take pole position at the head of a group including Van Riel, Brownlee, Fred Funk and Bogen with Smith doing his best to hold on to the group.

Behind, Ditlev rode with typical strength, slashing his deficit down to 45 seconds by halfway, moving into the top 10 before the Dane had to swerve into the pits for the mechanics to take care of a slipped seatpost. That lost him just over 1 minute, taking him back to over 2 minutes behind the leaders.

As the front group of 6 made their way towards the bike-to-run transition, Ditlev was best of the rest, 1:35 behind while Funk, Brownlee, Bogen, Margirier, Van Riel and Smith readied themselves for the 18km run. Bogen was first into T2 while Brownlee was forced to backtrack and grab a bike shoe that had fallen as he entered transition to avoid a penalty.

As the run got underway, Bogen was quickly joined by Van Riel and Smith in a replay of the three-way battle that led to such an iconic finish at the San Francisco T100 earlier this year. Behind, Brownlee was trying to keep the trio in his sights but was losing time.

With 10km to go, Van Riel put in a big surge that Kyle Smith couldn’t follow, while Bogen not only matched the Belgian, but gritted his teeth and asserted himself at the front of the race, the pair inseparable. Behind, Brownlee entered the final 6km in 4th place, slowly reeling in Smith with Margirier in 5th.

At 2.2km to the finish, Van Riel dug in with a decisive move to stretch the elastic to Bogen and then break away completely, the Belgian looking resplendent in his pink and yellow kit under the Dubai sun. Meanwhile, Brownlee moved up onto Smith’s shoulder before a slip on gravel saw him hit the Tarmac. Back on his feet, the Brit re-caught the Kiwi before pushing ahead into 3rd.

Up front, Van Riel was clear. The 2-time T100 winner made it 3 wins as he crossed the line in 1st place to write his name into the history books as the first men’s T100 Triathlon World Champion, securing $210,000 in additional series prize money.

Bogen held tough for 2nd, moving the young German up a whopping 7 places in the T100 Standings into 3rd and a $90,000 cheque.

Fulfilling the dreams of many a die-hard triathlon fan, Alistair Brownlee took his first T100 Triathlon podium on this biggest stage and in doing so, moved himself up 6 places in the T100 Standings to 5th and earned an additional $60,000.

Kyle Smith crossed the line in 4th, enough for the Kiwi to bump himself up one spot in the T100 Standings and take 2nd overall for a $140,000 bonus.

Margirier rounded out the top 5, to finish the series in 7th for $50,000 and secure a T100 contract offer for 2025. Meanwhile Ditlev, 8th on the day despite his mechanical woes, ended the series in 4th place, worth an extra $75,000.

Check the full results HERE

T100 Triathlon World Tour series prize money breakdown

With the first-ever men’s T100 Triathlon World Champion now crowned, Marten Van Riel secures $210,000 from the $2m prize pot. Along with his 3 victories along the way to that historic World Champion title, the Belgian star takes away $301,000 in prize money from the series, plus his contractual payments.

The breakdown of the $2m prize money for the final T100 Triathlon World Tour standings is as follows:

1st – $210,000
2nd – $140,000
3rd – $90,000
4th – $75,000
5th – $60,000
6th – $55,000
7th – $50,000
8th – $45,000
9th – $40,000
10th – $35,000
11th – $30,000
12th – $26,000
13th – $24,000
14th – $22,000
15th – $20,000
16th – $18,000
17th – $15,000
18th – $15,000
19th – $15,000
20th – $15,000

Who’s Secured Contracts for 2025?

As well as the first T100 crown, there were also vital T100 contracts on offer in Dubai today, with the top 10 men all guaranteed an offer to stamp their ticket for the 2025 T100 Triathlon World Tour series which has already announced seven of its destinations.

They include: Marten Van Riel, Kyle Smith, Rico Bogen, Magnus Ditlev, Alistair Brownlee, Sam Long, Mathis Margirier, Pieter Heemeryck, Youri Keulen and Frederic Funk.

Outside the top 10 from this year’s T100 standings, the next 6 contracted athletes for 2025 will be decided through analysis of PTO World Rankings and those who’ve shone with standout performances in the 2024 season. The final 4 contracts will go to Hotshot athletes – those with the x-factor to shake up the racing regardless of their PTO World Ranking position or recent long-distance triathlon performances. That could be a former all-star coming back from injury or an Olympian making the move to long-distance racing.

Alongside the T100 professional races over the weekend, there were nearly 10,000 amateur participants signed up to take part across an equivalent 100km triathlon (2km swim, 80km bike, 18km run), a Sprint triathlon (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run) and a 5km Music run. The Music Run was making its debut in Dubai and is a 5km un-timed, energy filled fun-run that finishes with a party. Perfect for participants of all ages and abilities to fullil their Dubai Fitness Challenge of doing 30 minutes exercise for 30 days during November.

Taylor Knibb delivered a flawless swim, bike and run performance to win the inaugural T100 Triathlon World Championship Final and take the first-ever T100 Triathlon World Championship Title in dominant fashion, despite the sweltering heat in Dubai today.

Knibb has notched up four wins from four T100 starts in the inaugural T100 Triathlon World Tour and stamp her name in the record books, following victories in San Francisco, Ibiza, Lake Las Vegas and now Dubai, earning $310,000 in prize money along the way.

The American star wasn’t firing on all cylinders pre-race, but a monumental effort saw her stride to victory in Dubai. “I woke up and messaged my coach that I just feel rough, and I’m like, ‘Oh, this is going to be a bad day,’” said Knibb.

“So, I was kind of shocked! It only came together in the last 3km when everyone else fell apart, but it was very step-by-step. That was brutal out there, so have fun men!” she added to the male competitors racing tomorrow.

Speaking about her support across the T100 series, Knibb said: “I think my dad was more nervous today than me… I was like, ‘Oh wow, you’re really nervous, like it’s kind of spreading…’ But I have a fantastic team of individuals and then I have a lot of sponsors and so it’s just a huge team effort and I’m very grateful for everyone who supports me and believes in me.”

Ashleigh Gentle went all-in for the win and pushed herself deep into the red, ending the day 2nd in the T100 Standings with her 3rd place in Dubai, earning $140,000.

“It’s still pretty fresh, but I went for the win and it was so painful!” said Gentle. “I gave it everything and got 3rd in the end but I’m proud of my effort… It is pretty brutal… when I wasn’t feeling too good and Derron just flew past me on the run, it was super soul-crushing, but I did what I could.”

“All the athletes that I’ve been racing this year have been motivating me and inspiring me in training. I feel like I’ve been applying myself more, better than I ever have, because the level of the women’s field is just getting better and better and just trying to keep up is pretty difficult.”

“Taylor has just been dominating and when you’re racing an athlete like that, it is sometimes really difficult to truly believe that you can beat them. But I had this little fire in my belly… I have no reason to believe that I can beat her, but I’m on the start line and that means I have got a chance, so I just had to believe that and I don’t know how I did…. I didn’t beat her but feel like I was a step closer today and did everything I could to try and get there.”

Julie Derron, who joined the T100 Triathlon World Tour in Ibiza came 2nd in Dubai to claim 3rd overall in the series with just 3 race results. The Olympic silver medallist earned $90,000 for her efforts.

“I’m super pleased with my swim today,” said Derron. “I had a perfect start getting onto Flora’s feet and I thought, ‘That’s incredible, I just need to stay here!’”

“On the bike, I rode with Ashleigh. I think the technical nature of the course really suited me. Then on the run, I seem to have lost my run legs a little bit since Ibiza. But I saw Ashleigh coming back to me on the last lap and thought, ‘Even if it’s second, I have to get another second place!’”

“I’m super pleased… this whole season, being part of it, coming in on the podium, it’s just been incredible, so much fun and, yeah, it makes me really happy to finish off like this!”

Kat Matthews’ 5th place finish meant 4th in the T100 standings and an extra $75,000 while Flora Duffy, 4th on the day, took the 5th spot in the standings, ensuring the offer of a T100 contract for 2025 by finishing in that all-important top-10.

“Taylor has been phenomenal this year and thoroughly deserves today’s race victory and T100 series triumph,” said PTO CEO Sam Renouf. “It has always been our ambition to get the best athletes racing each other more consistently across the season and I think, as a result, fans have been treated to some spectacular racing. We also wanted to crown our first T100 Triathlon World Champions in a spectacular race at an iconic location and just looking at Taylor, Ashleigh and Julie coming across the line with the Dubai skyline in the background, I think we achieved that.”

How The Race Unfolded

In steamy waters off Dubai’s Sunrise Beach, the 2km swim set the stage for a classic final act to the inaugural T100 Triathlon World Tour. While series leader Taylor Knibb was present and correct near the head of affairs in the water, Ashleigh Gentle and Julie Derron also held firm in the top 7 to dent Knibb’s chance of an easy escape on two wheels.

After losing a few spots in the swim-to-bike transition, Knibb got to work hunting down the early leaders to take pole position. With a technical course and soaring temperatures, we didn’t see the typical dominance from the American on the bike. With Gentle and Derron working together and chasing hard behind, by 65km into the 80km course, Knibb’s lead was just 1:37. Meanwhile, Imogen Simmonds managed to stay in 4th place with Gentle and Derron despite a 30-second littering penalty.

Towards the end of the bike, the momentum edged into Knibb’s favour as she put the hammer down to take more time out of the chasers, coming into T2 with a lead of 2:46 to Gentle, Derron and Simmonds – a figure that was Knibb’s slimmest advantage at a T100 Triathlon race this year. Meanwhile, Lucy Byram was 5th off the bike along with Miami T100 Triathlon winner, India Lee – both over 4 minutes behind.

Derron flew through transition – opting to forego socks and steal a march on Gentle, but the Aussie star overtook less than 1.5km into the 18km run with a decisive surge. By 6km, Gentle had brought her deficit time down to 1:35 and down to just over 1 minute by half way, the Australian looking on track to take the lead before the finish.

Behind the bid for victory, Imogen Simmonds held strong in 4th place behind Derron, pushing above 90% maximum heart rate to try and keep herself in series podium contention. But perhaps the effort was too much for the Swiss athlete as Flora Duffy’s swift running pace, bested only by Gentle’s, saw the 2020 Olympic Champion move up the order from 10th place off the bike and past Simmonds as the race wore on. Kat Matthews and Lucy Byram were also both running strongly in the second half of the run. They too, overtook Simmonds to sit in 5th and 6th place.

Back at the front, just as Gentle got her first glimpse of Knibb at around 5km to go, the Aussie’s relentless pursuit seemed to stall, the gap holding around 50 seconds before starting to edge back out to 1 minute and beyond. Before long, Gentle was reduced to a walk, holding her stomach and doggedly trying to run on, her usually perfect form and pace crumbling.

That ensured a clear runway for Taylor Knibb to close out the run and take victory in the Dubai T100 Triathlon World Championship Final and claim the first-ever T100 Triathlon World Championship title, earning an extra $210,000 for the series win.

With Gentle struggling, Julie Derron surged past to take another 2nd place finish to Knibb – her 3rd this year – and move up to 3rd in the T100 Standings, netting an extra $90,000.

Gentle’s courageous 3rd place finish secured 2nd in the T100 Standings and $140,000.

Duffy’s 4th place earned her 5th in the T100 Standings and an extra $60,000 while Kat Matthews rounded out the top-5 for 4th in the T100 Standings, earning her $75,000.

Full results HERE

T100 Triathlon World Tour series prize money breakdown

With the first-ever T100 Triathlon World Champion now crowned, Taylor Knibb secures $210,000 from the $2m prize pot. Along with her four victories along the way to that historic World Champion title, the American star takes away $310,000 in prize money from the series, plus her contractual payments.

The breakdown of the $2m prize money for the final T100 Triathlon World Tour standings is as follows:

1st – $210,000
2nd – $140,000
3rd – $90,000
4th – $75,000
5th – $60,000
6th – $55,000
7th – $50,000
8th – $45,000
9th – $40,000
10th – $35,000
11th – $30,000
12th – $26,000
13th – $24,000
14th – $22,000
15th – $20,000
16th – $18,000
17th – $15,000
18th – $15,000
19th – $15,000
20th – $15,000

Who’s Secured Contracts for 2025?

As well as the first T100 crown, there were also vital T100 contracts on offer in Dubai today, with the top 10 women all guaranteed an offer to stamp their ticket for the 2025 T100 Triathlon World Tour series which has already announced seven of its destinations.

Along with Taylor Knibb, Ashleigh Gentle, Julie Derron, Kat Matthews, Flora Duffy, Lucy Byram, Laura Philipp, India Lee, Imogen Simmonds and Paula Findlay all finished in the top 10 overall.

Outside the top 10 from this year’s T100 standings, the next 6 contracted athletes for 2025 will be decided through analysis of PTO World Rankings and those who’ve shone with standout performances in the 2024 season. The final 4 contracts will go to Hotshot athletes – those with the x-factor to shake up the racing regardless of their PTO World Ranking position or recent long-distance triathlon performances. That could be a former all-star coming back from injury or an Olympian making the move to long-distance racing.