That really sucks for the development of the sport. This is not good news. Is there a press release?

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@brooksdoughtie
USAT-L2,Y&J; USAC-L2
http://www.aomultisport.com

that sucks a lot for the pros but also sucks for the AG who are trying to qualify as pro. I know someone who bought the all access pass this year to be able to race all the races w/ a pro prize purse so they could qualify. Not a lot of other races out there to use except for WTC races, which costs a lot more.

They must've read the ST thread about pro's being irrelevant to the sport.

Removed WV from their lineup. $ troubles?

Wonder what Sutto will try to say about this....emphasis on "try".

Wow. So that leaves Mdot/5150, a couple Challenge races, and Lifetime. I know Rev3 wasn't huge yet, but that's a big blow. Even taking out maybe 15% of the domestic prize purse hurts.

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speedySTATES

I'm not going to say this pisses me off, because Charlie and Rev3 really seemed to be a group that really valued what the pro's can bring (free entries, really helpful with home stays). I think this is more troubling than anger, because to me Rev3 WANTS this to work, and for them to pull the plug, is troubling.

I never felt like Rev3 was trying to "pull a fast one" over the pro's, like I sometimes I feel WTC does (and maybe that's entirely incorrect view to take). Sighs

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@brooksdoughtie
USAT-L2,Y&J; USAC-L2
http://www.aomultisport.com

Are they ending prize purses for the PRO's or price purses for the AG's in the "Championship?"

"After May 18th in Knoxville and the Pro and Age Group Championship race, Rev3 will discontinue a professional prize purse for the remaining races in 2014. I am incredibly sorry that this is being announced so late which wasn't my intention. I know a lot of you have planned your schedules around our races and have become loyal customers of ours. You have helped build our brand and I appreciate that more than you know. For some of you, Rev3 is an important part of your earning potential so I know this will be tough news to swallow."

Quite unfortunate as it seems they really did want this to work and are genuinely sad that it has come to this.

Triathlon is clearly a better hobby than profession. Next to pro cycling it must be the worst pain per $ job out there...

I agree. More disappointing than anything else. I wonder if they simply tried to expand too quickly. I'm not sure which races sell out - maybe just Quassy? They should have stuck with a handful of races in population centers - like Quassy - before trying to do many races (including random adventure races and crap). Too much too soon in a fairly saturated market I suspect.

It's amazing though how much the brand Ironman makes up for what has been in my experience a wholly inferior product.

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___________________
Twitter | Kancman | Blog

So sad. This sucks.

It will surely be interesting to see what happens. If Rev3 eventually folds can be we blame it on lack of prize purse?

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Hey all. Tis true, the series for 2014 is now gone. We did in fact want this to work and have wanted it to work for 5 years. In many ways, it has worked and we are grateful for those Pro's who have raced with us and committed to us. In those cases, the relationship worked great! In other cases, we were a great cherry pick option for some, which is OK as well. We looked at Quassy this year as an eye opening race. We had just 24 Pro's committed to race, with a 100k prize purse. Prize money is not the only driving factor anymore for Pro's. There are a lot of other factors to consider (sponsor bonuses, appearance fee's, travel costs, etc), outside of the prize money. Look at IM Florida last year. Over 80 Pro's racing with a 25k purse. It's a telling sign.

I am hear to answer any and all questions.

Again, let me re-iterate. We are thankful to the Pro's who have raced with us and wouldn't change a thing in how we grew. No ill will whatsoever, just time for a new direction, which include prize money for age groupers at every race this year.

Charlie
http://www.rev3tri.com

Ugghhhh, that sounds dire. I wonder what percentage of their expenses were prize purses? That they feel the need to do this does not speak well about their financial projections.

Have you teamed up with DOVE?

Sad news, but Challenge is filling the void and offering two 140.6 races in North America and others in Europe. For 140.6 development the sport is better off now than it has been for a long time. Rev3 ended money at rev3 CP in 2013. Challenge also has some 70.3 distance races too with pro money. That plus some cool independent races like Set up Inc, Savageman, and the new one in NH all offering some money.

That said what would be truly tragic is if this is the beginning of the end for rev3. I think anyone who knows the race company hopes not. Its exactly the vibe, heart and soul of the sport that the sport so badly needs in the era where the sport is controlled by a holding company that doesn't care about the sport only the profit it can gain from it.

People will debate what rev3 did and didn't do right, but in the end, I think it will also say something about the people that do the sport and the marketing hold the WTC has over them that is so powerful and to the exclusion of nearly all others. Pros showed up, threw down, and some of the races were epic and Quassy for example was a big deal. I don't think you can say that pros are or are not "worth it" based on rev3 because non pro events got slaughtered by the WTC too. Countless events came and went some never even making it from the internet to the road before dying. Maybe someone will one day say rev3 made it as long as they did because, in part, pros came, and raced and rev3 races were a buzz filled happening.

Anyways, I will miss doing the rev3 events (until I become an age group athlete again) and wish the rev3 staff and Charlie all the best as he continues to work for the betterment of the sport.

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http://www.johnhirsch.org
http://www.stronglikebulltraining.com

But I do like this.

which include prize money for age groupers at every race this year.

Thanks for the update Charlie. This is sad news that the pro purse is going away, but exciting to hear cash will be on the line for age groupers (not to be mistaken with aged grouper (which no one wants)).

I really appreciate what you and your team have done for the sport. I have great respect for the risks you have taken.

This move will have a great impact on the number of elite cards that are available every year!

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Austin Hardy -

It is upsetting to see this. Charlie and the Rev3 crew went above and beyond for the pros. The prize purses, hospitality, PR and support they provided outclassed that received at a WTC event by miles. I truly believe they wanted this to work and had the best interests of the pros at heart. It is a sad statement as to the collateral damage inflicted by the WTC points system (which I am highly suspicious was not an unintended outcome). The points system makes it very difficult for any pro aside from those finishing in the top 5 at Kona the previous year, to race more than one or two non WTC races. I myself and many other professionals I've spoken with would love to have given more support (i.e.- attendance and PR) to Rev3 however the sponsorship and financial realities professionals operate under made doing so a precarious venture.

I wish Charlie and crew the best and hope the series can prosper and continue to grow. Maybe one day purses will return. Even if not however, I thank Charlie and Rev3 for doing all you did over the past few years. You should know you personally made it possible for many athletes to continue on in the sport and make a living while doing so. Respect.

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http://ianmikelsonracing.com/2013/

Not dire. Just made business sense.

Charlie
http://www.rev3tri.com

Are you cutting the prizes because you're on the verge of bankruptcy or because you decided it was no longer a good investment?


For what it's worth, age group prize money strikes me as total nonsense.. if it's exlusively for ager's. If you're going with the $4999, then I definitely support that. I'd planned skip WTC races aside from Tremblant in Sept, and do Rev 3 Maine, Poconos, and Florida this year. I think I'll have to see what happens with this 'ag money' before making any decisions.

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___________________
Twitter | Kancman | Blog

Wow.

There are no cherry picks at pro races anymore, at least not on the male side. In fact you have the opposite, you have top guys going to smaller prize purse races because sponsorship dollars don't seem to differentiate between races except in the championship races such as (Kona and 70.3 worlds). IMFL always seems to be an abberation regardless, however with WTCs point system combined with an increase to P2000 race, along with being a good destination race for europeans, and a late race, it makes for a perfect storm of high attendance.

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