Very good. Come to think of it, I enjoy looking at others when they find themselves in situations uncomfortable to the point of being bizarre. I hope the T100 media people will be all over the interactions in Qatar!
(This is by no means an anti-Imogen post, btw!)
Does this mean Taylor won’t meet her contract terms?
That’s the way it looks. She raced SF, Vancouver and London. Needs 5.
Didn’t she not meet her contract terms by not racing Singapore? I recall PTN talking about how much she gave up.
That’s true as well, but not turning up in Singapore didn’t let her off the hook with respect to the race quota, did it?
Anyway, not sure she cares that much…
Yeah she seems to be in off-season mode during the Marbella pressers. My guess is that since she gave up money from her contract for not racing Singapore, then that counts as a race on her books.
Not a good sign for the T100 when both defending champions of the circuit from 2024 didn’t prioritise their races this year. Their lucky that Waugh and Wilde are around, but what happens when both inevitable shift their focus towards Olympic qualification?
This. Idk but expect she’ll surrender any element of her ‘marketing’ contract and a portion of the ‘appearance’ element, and maybe void any (or a % of) EoY bonus payout (#6 gets one $90k). She’ll keep her race winnings (from the three races). Racing Dubai and then Qatar would make her (my estimate) >$100k (race prize plus tour bonus) better off. But heat stroke.
In keeping with some of my unpopular views,I can’t help but think Taylor will be walking away from Triathlon sooner rather than later.
She is a great athlete and all that stuff and quirky with lots of character but almost ambivalent to the sport. There is just something a little “off” and I just cant put my finger on it.
Ambivalent to triathlon or money? She comes from a wealthy family so maybe she does t feel the need to chase every dollar and has the good fortune to make decisions that are in her long term best interests vs others who would see that $100k lost if not finishing the series as life changing.
It sure seems that way.
Maybe she’ll surprise us. It could also be something as simple as her telling herself she doesn’t “need this” as a way to assert some kind of control over an activity that she might compulsively do.
Of course, she’s still young and will very likely mature further in her views as she ages. That might see triathlon continue to be important or become less important.
Just show up and do “commentary” like all the other “injured” athletes to meet the “terms” of the contract. She probably won’t do that, but why not.
Olympic Medallist, lots of top sponsors, Ivy League Degree. Who knows. Has talked about focusing on short course for the home olympics and if you look at whose on the ITU taking starts for the US, they’ll all be over or close to 40 except her.
Knowing her personally watching her “grow up” in the sport since she was a young one, worked with her at various development camps or races for support, there seems to be sometype of “joy” that just isn’t there. Of course for her non-draft is becoming “win or you suck” with every result, now of course she rode that wave of success to what 4 70.3 WC’'s etc (undefeated in T100 for what 2 years?) etc, so there’s a yin and a yang to it. I texted a good coaching friend of mine after Kona, “I think in 6 months she may just walk away and go do I think psychology or save the world in some non-triathlon capacity”. He knows her well enough, didn’t completely disagree. Obviously that would be a massive career change, that I don’t actually think she’s going to do. Riding your bike and making $300k a year is both the “easy life” and also likely has it’s own internal demons no different than anyone else in the working world.
I also think there was this “pressure” on her since she was 15 years old that everyone knew she was going to be this non-draft beast and she wanted Kona win since basically day 1 of her entry into the sport. DL never was going to play to her strengths that non-draft LC would, that was evident on day 1 for her in triathlon.
So bringing it back to T100, I think it’s meh at this point, and almost doubly meh with the “demands” t100 is putting on the athletes outside the races (but that’s what the money is for mind you), even more so for someone who at this point could likely care less what happens w T100 result. She’s too damn good to not make a bunch of money that it’s almost seemingly turned into a “chore” instead of fun for her, seemingly.
Dragged across
@monty : . . . do we know yet if Taylor and Lucy are going to Qatar??
Really be a shame if the entire top tier of this series is MIA for the last
race, been looking forward to an any one of 5 ladies could actually win the
race scenario..
We don’t know but my guess is LCB will race Qatar (in fact I’d be amazed if she didn’t - $$$) and that Knibb won’t. The latter, having missed Dubai even though she needs (per contract and for Tour Standings) a fourth score to be up in the hunt, would also not be in the top 4 mix even if she did travel. Pretty clear Marbella was Knibb’s last race: https://www.youtube.com/live/Ow4pXlTV20s?si=RelHnlUFMpjkR9SS
T100 2025 is a three horse race, providing Derron is back to full fitness and gets on the podium tomorrow. Waugh can just about lock it up with a win (and preventing Derron getting 35 points). So we’ll see the top tier trio shooting it out in Qatar, but last year’s World Long Distance Tour Champion will not be in range of winning, either on points or geographically.
With the results finalised, as said we have a three horse race in the women’s with winner takes all after Derron gathers 35 points to put her right up there.
LCB can win overall as the tie break is the position in the Final.
"3.10. Saturday after creation of the start lists, the invitations (Wildcards) are awarded by a panel composed by PTO and World Triathlon. This panel will have the power to re-sort the waiting list for the T100 Triathlon World Tour Grand Final;
Start lists:
With half a dozen contracted not racing the Qatar final, Perterer, De Vet and Rayner have accepted wildcards. GTB has refused one. Knibb and Findlay there on the list (19 names) but I’d be surprised if either make it to the second lap of the run. McDonald may get an invite. Simmonds will be able to show if her late season training has worked after 8 traumatic months’ hiatus (dress rehearsal in Phuket).
In MPro the wildcards are Dickinson, Riddle and Schomburg - besides Funk, Nieschlag and Bergère are missing.
I know the end of series money changes for next year - but the IM Pro Series v T100 end of season bonus is a joke….the athletes are nuts not to have been better about following the contracts. 10th T100 is the same money as 4th IMPS, and 20th is the same as 8th. It’s big money - plus the savings of accomodation at the race site.
Plus the contracts. I get people didn’t like the contracts but honestly, the way the pros have been treated in the T100, with media, with mechanics, with finances, has been pretty incredible. IM isn’t showing anyone these things - and the races are really crappy prize money in comparison.
It’s just such a crazy thing to look at - seems a no brainer to take the T100 contract and fulfill it if you could have.
Maybe you have given someone credit for these images, but I couldn’t find it (1821 UTC/GMT). Pro Tri News:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DRSFGSHEYZx/
I think T100 is a too itu-ish in that basically *every race is international travel for most of the field. The IMPS seemingly is more regional allowance for majority of your race scores and then sprinkle in a few internaational races (plus WC’s which generally are considered acceptable international travel obviously). Brownlee’s, or AB used to really get pissed off at how many events they would add to the WTCS schedule and everything was international travel. I also think the low key “demands” that T100 requires on the athletes for basically every race to show up days earlier, just doesn’t work for LC athletes. ITU athletes who are getting all their travel paid for by the federation (or most of it is covered by most federations, I’m sure someone will argue it’s not all covered, yawn), cool by them. But when your telling an LC athlete they have to arrive 2 days earlier than they likely even want to or plan on it adds up with overall training demands/disruptions.
Pure gold. Well done @Kyleglass91
Wow something Kajet likes from PTN. I must be dreaming
