This is a preview of the event – click here to find out how the pro races panned out.
Challenge Peguera-Mallorca is the next event on the Challenge Family calendar, taking place on Saturday, October 19, and boasts strong PRO and age-group fields for the popular late season middle-distance triathlon on the West Coast of the Balearic Island of Mallorca.
The 2024 race will mark the tenth edition of Challenge Peguera-Mallorca began. Starting with a two-loop swim in Playa de Torá couple, the bike leg then takes competitors through the internationally famous UNESCO World Heritage site Serra de la Tramuntana mountains, before a four-lap run along the sea front completes the course.
Switzerland’s Imogen Simmonds and Dutch triathlete Youri Keulen took top honours last year in a race that also featured Great Britain’s Alistair Brownlee, who finished third. Lisa Norden tops the women’s roster for 2024, with Challenge Almere-Amsterdam winner Alanis Siffert looking to continue her podium form to further secure her top spot in Challenge Family World Bonus rankings. With Jonny Brownlee an unfortunate DNS after his crash before supertri Toulouse, it’s likely to be a battle of the Toms – with Tom Bishop and Tom Hug both likely contenders, and both sitting neck and neck in the World Bonus standings.
Start time and how to watch
Challenge Peguera-Mallorca is set to start at 9.00am local time (CET) on Saturday 19 October – 8.00am BST and 3.00am EST. The PRO Men’s event will begin proceedings at 9.00am, with the PRO Women’s event heading off three minutes later at 9.03am. Age-group racing will start at 9:07am (18-34M), with the groups staggered every three minutes until 9.22am. The final starters will be the mixed-relay competitors at 9.25am.
While there is no live broadcast of Challenge Peguera-Mallorca 2024, you can follow the race with live timing updates via the Challenge Family website. The race organiser has also partnered with local German-speaking radio station Das Insel Radio Mallorca (Mallorca FM 106.1) who will be providing live updates during race day.
Men’s start list
2023 victor Youri Keulen is not on the start list to defend his Challenge Peguera-Mallorca crown. However 2022 winner Jonathan Wayaffe (BEL) – who finished ninth last year – will be in attendance, as will 2022 runner-up Tom Bishop (GBR).
Wayaffe hasn’t tasted success on the Challenge Family tour since that victory in October 2022 in Peguera, with a third-place finish at Challenge San Remo in September 2023 his best performance since. He finished a creditable 16th at The Championship in May 2024, but his best form came last year.
Britain’s Bishop, meanwhile, has enjoyed a fruitful few years as he’s risen up the Professional Triathletes’ Organisation (PTO) rankings. The PTO world number 54 enjoyed a pair of Challenge Family victories in 2023 – at Challenge Puerto Varas and Challenge Wales. In four races in 2024 he has three podiums, including a second-place finish at Challenge Roth in July.
Another name to mention is PTO World number 40 Tom Hug (GER) who remains in contention for a share of the $100,000 Challenge Family World Bonus purse. The German, a two-time Challenge winner at St Polten in both 2023 and 2024, was also on the podium at Challenge Walchsee in June. Bishop and Hug currently both have 500 points to their name in the World Bonus standings, so Mallorca could prove pivotal.
A much-anticipated return to middle distance racing for Jonny Brownlee sadly won’t come to fruition this weekend, after the short course star was forced to take his name off the start sheet following an unfortunate crash during the bike familiarisation before supertri Toulouse earlier this month.
Women’s start list
There will be a new name at the top of the women’s podium as two-time defending champion Imogen Simmonds won’t be racing. Simmonds also finished second to compatriot Nicola Spirig in 2021. PTO World number 34 Lisa Norden (SWE) and number 35 Alanis Siffert (SWI) will likely contend at the front of the field, with the latter in contention for the $100,000 Challenge Family World Bonus purse.
Siffert has been in sensational form in 2024 competing in six races – winning two and finishing second in the other four. She’ll be eager to go one better than her performances at Challenge Taiwan, Challenge Walchsee and Challenge Almere-Amsterdam, finishing runner-up on each occasion. A victory in Peguera would maintain Switzerland’s stranglehold on the podium at this event.
Norden, meanwhile, will be competing on the Challenge Family circuit for the first time since June 2023 when she finished fifth at Challenge Roth. A 2021 Challenge Salou triumph sits on her resumé, although she has not tasted a race victory over the middle distance since that October day.
Rebecca Robisch is also in contention for World Bonus. The German has enjoyed a strong 2024 campaign with victory at Challenge Israman in March coupled with podium finishes at Challenge Mogan-Gran Canaria and Challenge San Remo. A seventh-place finish at The Championship in Samorin also boosts her credentials.
Challenge Peguera-Mallorca course
A two-lap jaunt in the beautiful bay of Playa de Torá, both laps 950m in length, await the triathletes to open the event. Competitors will circumnavigate a pair of buoys on each lap. Wetsuits will likely not be necessary with the water expected to be a balmy 23°C / 73°F.
The Serra de la Tramuntana UNESCO World Heritage plays host to two 45km loops on the bike leg with an impressive elevation of around 500m. Spectacular views await competitions in the mountains which boast very steep uphills and some high-speed downhills, testing all competitors embarking on the race.
Finally, a four-lap, 21km run closes proceedings against the backdrop of the Serra de la Tramuntana mountains. A run a long the boardwalk adjacent to the coast is a feature of the run in the centre of Peguera, with the finishing line on the boulevard by the plaza.
Discover more about Challenge Peguera-Mallorca in our race guide.
