Lucy Charles-Barclay has made some headlines this week by deciding not to try and combine the new T100 Triathlon World Tour and defending her IRONMAN World Championship title.
But one person who is currently intending to juggle both the PTO’s shiny new series and the IMWC, which is still seen as long-distance triathlon’s crown jewel, is Alistair Brownlee.
The double Olympic champion endured a frustrating injury-hit 2023 but describes himself as “fit and healthy” and looking forward to a much busier 2024.
First up likely to be Miami
He’s signed up the eight-race T100, with the minimum stipulation being five races in the series plus the Grand Final at the end of November.
Asked if he had his race calendar locked in for 2024, he said “not yet” but that “hopefully I’m going to race the first T100 event in Miami in March.
“I’m spending the next few weeks training in Spain and will then make a final decision.
“My aim for this season is to be healthy and fit and race consistently over the first half of the year. And then push on to be a bit more competitive over the second half.”
An ‘interesting tightrope to walk’
Asked if Kona is on the radar for the men’s IRONMAN World Championship in October, he replied: “Yes, ideally it is at this point. But as I said, it’s about getting a few months of consistent training now before making a final decision on my calendar.”
To book his spot for Kona, Brownlee will require a high position at a full IRONMAN race. That will add to the workload – and he’s keenly aware that it’s a balancing act.
He said of the T100 World Tour as a whole, which will feature eight races this year but has the stated ambition of 10 in the future: “I think there’s always going to be this slightly interesting tightrope to walk between having as many races as you can to engage fans and provide media value in a range of locations across the world – and how many races a year that athletes can race at that level.”
