I can’t argue that point. What I am saying - Sam with nobody is going to have a hell of a time keeping up with a front group of 4-5-6.
What I AM saying - it might be a good idea to give Sam someone to compete with - and truly the only two in the world would be Lionel or Trevor Foley - not based on merit per se…based upon making the racing more interesting.
ETA - it’s important that american fans follow T100 - to get them to races, to follow the best - have you noticed how many WTCS races we have in the US?
i totally agree once you go over 4 , 5 races , a series that creates a world champs becomes to long and not a series so a pre sereis would be great in my mind .
i think ironman has it better to have world champs and a series
so i would like 1 quali race a series and a one day world champ
and the world champ race should not be the season final .
in this way you get 3 really cool races in the year where a lot is on stake.
quali overall series and world champ.
Besides identifying Frejus as the French venue (mid May) and the T100 race which is yet to be announced for Vancouver in mid June, the actual dates for T100 Dubai have been stated (was previously just ‘November’) as 15-16 November.
When the PTO announced the 2025 calendar they said: “Additional races to be announced in October/November” and “More races to be announced”.
And I think Renouf said at Las Vegas in the PTN interview: “after Dubai”.
I’m expecting that the World Championships Final will be revealed this week, giving one year’s notice: 28-29 November 2025; location tbc. This would meet the “nine or ten” stated aspiration.
Implication: This would allow those athletes who wish to, and have raced (and scored in) all but one of the other T100s before that, to skip Dubai and race Marbella (70.3WC - great bike course).
Initial announcement back when:
For Moritz fanboys like @TheStroBro world round, “working on ideas that emerge from the cradle”:
Luis (1:06) and GTB (1:14) have anchored their 2025 ‘hot shot’ World Tour status and Pohle will surely get a contract after that. Let’s hope she and Margirier haven’t taken too much out of themselves before Taupo.
This is some incredible arrogance, but I’m unsurprised given that he was a journalist that made it big on investments and then turned those investments into a personal fortune while then leading a huge VC firm. Wildly successful man, so some arrogance is of course allowed. But this is a really stupid and arrogant quote:
“And I thought that perhaps we would be at the beginning of what potentially could be a sport that was very little known, that we would bring to a much bigger audience and have a far greater number of participants."
That’s like saying Rugby is very little known.
What is interesting here is that they are doing funding rounds, which tells me that not every previous investor is on board with a capital call structure. They’re willing to dilute their shareholding so they don’t have to keep funding the company. Odd for sports, but not so much in tech. Moritz has participated and “led” every funding round, so he’s not willing to dilute his shareholding.
Good luck to him, but in the realm of sports, as I work in this industry that their funding structure aligns more with a tech company rather than owners. Again, I get that it is a league for individuals and not reams. But if you own something and you want it to exist you keep pumping in cash.
Not to split hairs, as they both ran like the clappers ((c) Tim Ford), but the course was 1k short. A sub 1:10 and a 1:17 respectively would still have been impressive.
Thank you for saying.
Strava stalking Tanya Neubert (#2, who I assume at 24yo is going to stay SC, but who knows) suggests only 200m short.
Strava = 21.4km in a time of 1:16:17 implies a half marathon time of 1:15:05, Strava says, and her 70.3 run time split was 1:14:56 (implies pretty accurate half marathon, T2 to fnish). 28 secs slower than GTB.
If you look at Neubert’s lap times, her GPS must’ve had a bad day. GTB registered 3:39 per km pace, which would’ve been consistent with 1:17 for 21 km. (Her Strava time is almost 2 minutes over official time and the distance is 20.8 km - I assume it was started early). Jack Hutchens’ Strava has 20 km.
LCB’s latest T100 Dubai vlog is yet another reminder of just how lucky we are to have her in the sport. It’s not just her impressive racing CV (Kona, Roth, 70.3 WC). It’s her unparalleled ability to connect with fans, sponsors, and the broader community, especially through her social media platforms.
It does beg the question: what do sponsors value most about Lucy? Is it her performance on the racecourse, cementing her place as one of the most popular triathletes of her era? Or is it her extraordinary social media presence, which is leagues ahead of her peers in the triathlon space?
Her influence isn’t just limited to race-day performances. She’s a marketing dream: world champion status and by far the leading role model and influencer in the sport. Few, if any, come close to her ability to engage with fans and inspire the next generation of triathletes and performer at the highest level. She captures hearts even more frequently than she claims podiums (and her podium record is one of the best, even with injuries!)
Looking ahead, it’ll be interesting to see how both T100 and IRONMAN position themselves in this equation. Her commercial value is undeniable, but does her unmatched presence outside of racing outweigh her recent results on the course? One thing is certain: LCB is a unique asset who brings a lot more to the table than just racing and occasionally winning.
What do you think? Are her sponsors investing in her champion status, or is it her role as triathlon’s most influential ambassador that’s driving the bids?
No, Lionel still wears the crown as the king of Triathlon across socials. However, Lucy is certainly a marketers dream as she is a phenomenal athlete and personality as well as being conventionally attractive.
Welcome back to ST!
We chatted in May about Knibb’s likely dominance in 2024 and beyond, and LCB’s chances of challenging her, just as LCB decided to go and validate for Nice.
As an LCB aficionado, do you expect her to sign a T100 contract for 2025?
Is committing to that many races in one season prudent?
Or does she go all in on a focus on the IMWC in October. She’d have to validate of course.
I guess, with her SM profile which you describe eloquently, she could even get IRONMAN to pay her to race an IM Pro Series rather than signing a PTO contract.
Image from the OP has Singapore 12-13 Apr. T100 website (for participation, not pros - but there is no pro schedule there as far as I can tell) says Singapore 5-6 Apr. Hmmm…
Sanchez’s win at Busselton today has edged her into the top 20 in the PTO World Rankings, which will be close to getting an offer of a T100 contract. Don’t think she’ll take it though as her focus is full distance: she won IM Barcelona last month. Strong shout for an IM Pro Series campaign in 2025.
Your memory serves you well, Knibb’s dominance has certainly lived up to the billing so far!
A T100 contract for 2025 could go either way. On the one hand, it guarantees LCB exposure across multiple start lines, leverages her social media clout, and keeps her front and center in the PTO’s media machine. But is that really her motivation? The risk of stretching herself thin looms large. She’s never been one for middle-of-the-pack finishes, and committing to a heavy race schedule risks a repeat of this year’s struggles.
Going all-in on the IMWC feels more aligned with her “all or nothing” approach. But validation is a tricky game. Does she burn a match early at a regional championship, knowing she’ll have to peak again for Kona? Or does she play it safer and tick the box at a less contested race?
As for IRONMAN paying her to headline the Pro Series, it’s plausible, but that likely means racing three full distance IRONMANs to have a shot at the series win. Would LCB take that on in a Kona year? I’m not so sure.
Well of course LCB is so good she rarely has been at risk of “middle-of-the-pack finishes”.
If she goes ‘all in on the IMWC’ then she can validate anywhere and avoid other top class competitors. Trouble with the sole objective strategy is that it is risky (although you could say that a double objective strategy carries both the same and different risks). I guess Marbella could be 2025 Obj B and she’d be favourite to win. All the best athletes will be revving up for the T100 Grand Final so a victory would have a hollow ring.
Pre-COVID LCB routinely raced three full distance races a year, partly because validation was required and because she wanted to race Roth, as well.
Taking on the IM Pro Series would force at least 3 competitive (for her) races and risk “middle-of-the-pack finishes” as well as requiring robustness.
On balance I expect LCB to be offered a contract and sign (though maybe that contract is a gilded one with IRONMAN!)
Here’s a table ordered by PTO Ranking (as at 3 December) to inform contract offers for 2025, obviously hot shots not included. First 10 in T100 are ‘AQ’. Then 6 by PTO Ranking shaded by ‘standout performances in 2024’.
I looked up the rules (well, the press release) to make sure they don’t have to offer any of the 6 contracts based on the PTO ranking. Indeed they can pick up or ignore whoever they want, and the ranking and the standout performances are just a guideline. cough Haug cough (This is not really contrary to anything you’ve written, albeit with the emphasis slightly shifted.)
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.
The top 10 on that list will definitely take up the contract. 7 of them are pure middle distance athletes so turning it down will not make sense.
KM, LP and TK will probably skip the max allowed in the contract. Think LP didn’t completely fulfilled her contract this year as well and I expect her to be at Roth again next year
I do expect Haug, LCB, TJ and CS to skip the series next year
Yes - some interesting dates there (participation) and not there: 5-6 April Singapore
16-19 May Frejus
2-3 August London “September” Ibiza “2025” Las Vegas
15-16 November Dubai
So is the PTO running the amateur and other races in Singapore the weekend before the T100 races? If the T100 is moved a week earlier this will impact anyone (even Long) from racing Oceanside (IM Pro Series event). Also opens a 6 week window before French Riviera (so a T100 as yet to be announced could be fitted in there).
31 May - 1 June: https://www.escapealcatraztri.com/
Guess the actual w/e for Ibiza is not settled. If (27th/28th as announced, same w/e as in 2024) it’s a fortnight after the IMWC Men. But only 2 weeks before IMWC Women (and every full distance WPro will give it a miss (Knibb, Haug, Philipp, Matthews, LCB, Lee?)). LLV was “October” but now it’s just “2025” (compare this with the other races where the date is declared). Vancouver still not announced. Participate In T100 Age-Group Triathlon Events | T100 Triathlon
