2.) As a self-proclaimed golf nut, all I think about with that T100 name – Titleist irons.
I thought PTO World Tour was a better name.
2.) As a self-proclaimed golf nut, all I think about with that T100 name – Titleist irons.
I thought PTO World Tour was a better name.
I would guess world triathlon butchered that.
I don’t hate the rebrand because, if you’re going to play aggressively in the age group space (which they have to with the World Triathlon alignment)…PTO doesn’t work.
Tri100 might have worked. (Also an easy tie in to some first-timer programs you might work). But someone in the UK already owns that for their “100 Olympic distance tris in 100 days” thing.
I remember some folks talking like Nice was going to be the crown jewel in the Grand Final series, guess we can put that to bed now. Virtually all of the women here were/are the contenders for that championship, and they have now chosen to either not do it, or make it just another race. in their year.
I love the fields they have put together, gonna be some very exciting racing for sure. Sam Laidlow is a tiny bit of a surprise, but perhaps not really. He is going for the guarantee and now just has to do the shorter 100k races. He has not shown consistency in the past, so he probably is making the right decision here. Still gets to pitch up for Kona, one race that can make your whole season.
Love the addition of the ITU ladies, seems the protests of the lack of money in ITU is finally taking hold. Can’t wait to see how Spivey translates her superior bike power into a TT. All those ladies will be in the front of any race for quite sometime, maybe until the end. Several that can swim on Lucy’s feet, so no more solo off the front type races.
And I really hope Ali and Javi can get back to their old form, both those guys could be there at the end too still I believe. IF Jan can win one of these against the best at 42, then age shouldn’t be a factor(besides the obvious getting injured more easily)
So is the CA race going to be in Malibu? One would think they didnt pony up that $300k for nothing. That would be fun to watch, perhaps a few more loops that normal, but with such small fields and the new draft tracker, should be fine…If it were not an olympic year, I would say this is the top series on the circuit. Certainly on par even with the games happening…
2.) As a self-proclaimed golf nut, all I think about with that T100 name – Titleist irons.
I thought PTO World Tour was a better name.
I would guess world triathlon butchered that.
Sam said that there were some things about PTO that don’t work - like in the States, it means paid time off for almost everyone. I think it was a Formula 1 type rebrand - trying to make it special and while it’s not perfect, it will shortly become part of “the narrative” I think and we won’t think much about it.
We all hate change. haha
I’m happy this is a BIG F U to Ironman for their ridiculous money grab that is their World Championships in France… Good on Ryf & Lucy Charles
So is the CA race going to be in Malibu? One would think they didnt pony up that $300k for nothing. That would be fun to watch, perhaps a few more loops that normal, but with such small fields and the new draft tracker, should be fine…If it were not an olympic year, I would say this is the top series on the circuit. Certainly on par even with the games happening…
He was asked that in the PTN podcast.
No, it’s not in the short term future plans (meaning the first couple of years) for Malibu to be a location but never say never
He made up some reason for the donation to be preserving the celebrity race aspect of Malibu as celebrities being eyeballs.
It’s a very good program, PTO did a great job with so much flexibility, only need to commit to 5 races (including grand finals) which gives athletes a chance to do an IM or Roth, and qualify for WC. I disagree. For one its 6 races (5+GF) so little flexibility other than athletes participating in the Olympics also (3+GF). But my major gripe is that the California race has no location & no date and the Grand Finale has no location. It literally could be anywhere in the world…Gripe ye not oh negative one!
The calendar shows that the Grand Final will be 28/29 Nov (earnestly recommend you cut “literally” from your vernacular: it adds literally nothing, and debit points when plain wrong).
https://t100triathlon.com/pro-racing/ and pointer over “Grand Final”
As far as its venue, in the PTN pod Renouf said " grand final . . . the final stage in the Middle East". Dubai early November, then . . . and it isn’t going to be in Israel or on the Red Sea. Neom? (not a venue to visit!) Wordle? A proven venue and a city with water?
“With 8 races in the 2024 T100 season, the sum of each athlete’s 4 best point-scoring performances over the T100 season will be crowned the first-ever T100 World Champion. For those athletes who are also racing the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the minimum number of races required is 3 plus the T100 Grand Final.”
Contract for 5 plus the GF unless racing in Paris in which case 3+GF.
Purse for each race is $250k.
Besides the T100 World Championship crown there’s a $2M end-of-series payout on the line and a relatively closely aligned $2M EoY PTO ranking bonus.
Lucrative months to be a pro. Look after your bodies, people: need to be ‘still’ racing in November.
Sam mentioned on the Pro Tri News pod they are still working through the commentating crews and it likely won’t be the same folks for every race. He said they are interested in trying out some recently or soon to be retired pros so I imagine we’ll be hearing from Seb and Jan this year, which is great news.
Renouf interview available (30 Jan, 1100 CST):
https://podcasts.apple.com/...ri-news/id1559781865
“The majority of the venues are 3 to 5 year deals”
Dallas was a three year deal and they didn’t fulfill the second and third year. So term length ends up not being THAT relevant. This will be a huge test for them.
The women’s field is amazing. By my count, the only woman in the top 16 that is not doing the T100 is Sarah True (16). Maybe True is too busy with school and kids.
One question I have is how will someone who was left off the original list work their way onto it next year? Presumably someone like Ellie Salthouse, Sarah Perez Sala, or Jackie Hering could have a good year and crack the top 20, but can they earn enough points if they’re not doing PTO events?
Every time I hear “TBA”
.
Its my understanding that Ironman events are ranked with a couple others. So they would have to do very well in those I suppose, maybe a wild card here and there too…
But really, who on that list would they beat anyway at the 100k distance? The odd woman out for sure, but they will do much better in the ironman series financially. And as long as it continues, why would they even care much about PTO rankings, as long as they are crushing the ironman series? This is a blessing to ladies like that, carves out virtually all the top competition in a lot of the races they will be doing. Probably make more money than many on that list too, and that is what the pro scorecard is at the end of the year anyway…
Not a lot of big names missing. On the men’s side, the Norway boys and Lange. Any other surprises?
Sanders is off the list - though he was expected to lean IM. Ditto with Skipper.
The one that strikes me as odd is Sam Long - he’s never really excelled at this distance/format, so I would have expected him to go for the IM purse.
The new IM CEO has certainly got his work cut out.
I feel a bit sorry for Nice….this years ladies race could be a flop, they don’t deserve that.
There’s obviously a question mark over the long term sustainability of PTO but for now it’s a great time to be a fan (and obviously fantastic for the athletes).
The new IM CEO has certainly got his work cut out.
I feel a bit sorry for Nice….this years ladies race could be a flop, they don’t deserve that.
There’s obviously a question mark over the long term sustainability of PTO but for now it’s a great time to be a fan (and obviously fantastic for the athletes).
I still think most of the women will show up at Nice, probably do 6 T100 races and 2 IM. It will be a long season for many of them and really depends if they can go through 10 months without any injuries as any minor niggles could mean sitting out one race and that would mean no WC
this has probably been clarified elsewhere, but if someone could just help me understand -
are these listed athletes for T100 contractually prohibited from participating in IM branded events? Or, rather, is it that they just have to fulfill the 5 out of 6 + grand final requirement for T100 tour, and the implicit aspect of that is these athletes probably won’t choose to race any additional events since their calendar is full?
asianzone wrote:
It’s a very good program, PTO did a great job with so much flexibility, only need to commit to 5 races (including grand finals) which gives athletes a chance to do an IM or Roth, and qualify for W.
I disagree. For one its 6 races (5+GF) so little flexibility other than athletes participating in the Olympics also (3+GF). But my major gripe is that the California race has no location & no date and the Grand Finale has no location. It literally could be anywhere in the world…
I think it’s manageable if one doesn’t get injured and gets a WC slot on their first attempt (so no flats)
Somewhat agree with you now, little flexibility especially if there are injuries or something goes wrong in a (IM) race that ruins WC qualifications
I dunno about Sam Long, 13 wins in 70.3s (IM - mostly - and Challenge branded), #2 in 70.3 WC St. George plus a #2 and two #5s in the 100k isn’t so bad? Hasn’t won a 140.6 since 2021. Just 2 wins and #3 in those, and not for lack of trying.
So is the CA race going to be in Malibu? One would think they didnt pony up that $300k for nothing. That would be fun to watch, perhaps a few more loops that normal, but with such small fields and the new draft tracker, should be fine…If it were not an olympic year, I would say this is the top series on the circuit. Certainly on par even with the games happening…
I originally asked …So what did I miss in the story? How do PTO and Epstein’s co. relate? Then went and googled. Had no idea PTO was the $$ behind Zuma Foundation. And here I thought it was being returned to a local race.
Given the council’s reaction to the course, elimination of the Oly, etc. i find it hard that they’d approve an even longer race at that venue