PTO unveils athletes, prize purse and points for freshly launched T100 Triathlon World Tour

Having just announced the launch of their highly anticipated T100 Triathlon World Tour calendar, the PTO have also revealed the athletes who will be taking to the start lines.

With an exciting mixture of Olympic and World Champions, rising stars and short course legends, the contracted athletes for 2024 are amongst the best in the world across all disciplines.

With contracts stipulating that most of the athletes will compete in five regular season races and the Grand Final, the tour looks set to host a number of incredible matchups throughout the year.

Who will battle it out for the World Championship title?

With a world championship title on the line and a significant prize purse, the PTO have managed to secure some of the best athletes in the world to the series.

The women’s line up has all the top PTO World Ranked athletes, including: current #1 Anne Haug (GER),  #2 Ashleigh Gentle (AUS), #3 Taylor Knibb (USA), #4 Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR), #5 Laura Philipp (GER), #6 Kat Matthews (GBR), #7 Paula Findlay (CAN), #8 Daniela Ryf (SUI), #9 Imogen Simmonds (SUI), #10 Emma Pallant-Browne (GBR), #11 Chelsea Sodaro (USA), #12 Marjolaine Pierré (FRA), #13 Skye Moench (USA), #14 Tamara Jewett (CAN), #15 India Lee (GBR), #17 Amelia Watkinson (NZL) #22 Holly Lawrence (GBR), #25 Lucy Byram (GBR), Taylor Spivey (USA) and Flora Duffy (BER).

The men’s also features the very best athletes, including current #2 Magnus Ditlev (DEN), #3 Jason West (USA), #5 Pieter Heemeryck (BEL), #6 Mathis Margirier (FRA), #7 Rudy Von Berg (USA), #8 Leon Chevalier (FRA), #9 Sam Long (USA), #11 Daniel Baekkegard (DEN), #12 Bradley Weiss (RSA), #13 Sam Laidlow (FRA), #14 Frederic Funk (GER), #15 Clement Mignon (FRA), #16 Aaron Royle (AUS), #17 David McNamee (GBR), #23 Ben Kanute (USA), #26 Rico Bogen (GER), #31 Alistair Brownlee (GBR), #174 Max Neumann (AUS), #205 Marten Van Riel (BEL) and #267 Javier Gomez (ESP). 

PTO Chief Executive Chris Kermode said that the calibre of athletes set to race the series was a big step towards the company’s goal of elevating the sport.

“This is a significant step forward for the sport of triathlon and our ambition to elevate professional triathlon on a global sporting stage and is the culmination of what we’ve been working hard to achieve over the last 12 months.

“But, as I’ve said to the athletes and the PTO team over the last few weeks, in triathlon terms the PTO is only just emerging from the water and there is still an awfully long way to go to the finish line.

“But to have the calibre of these athletes announced today sign up and commit to the new T100 Triathlon World Tour is a huge endorsement of what we’re both building.”

Points and Prize Purse

The athletes will receive up to a maximum of 35 points per regular season race, with first place receiving the maximum amount and 20th place receiving one point at each race.

At the Grand Final, which is set to be in the Middle East at a yet to be confirmed date, the points available across the board will increase, with the winner receiving 55 points and 20th receiving four points.

For each T100, there will be a prize purse of $250,000 as part of a $2,000,000 purse across the eight races, with the winners of each event earning $25,000. The Grand Final winners will receive $210,000 from an additional prize pool of $2,000,000.

Across the regular season prize pool, Grand Final bonus purse and the athletes’ contracts, the PTO will provide more than $7,000,000 in athlete compensation and will recognise the significant achievement of racing at this level.

What the pros had to say

Speaking after the announcement was made, British stars Lucy Charles-Barclay and Alistair Brownlee were full of praise for the series, with Charles-Barclay excited to see how far she can go over the format.

“For me, the T100 Triathlon World Tour is where our sport is heading. Having done four of the PTO 100km races now, I love the atmosphere, rivalry and challenge they bring.

“I have tried the Olympic distance and loved the fast pace excitement of flat out racing, and on the other side of the spectrum I have raced and performed really well at the Ironman distance which is all about pacing and endurance.

“But actually putting something in the middle and bringing in athletes from the long course and from the Olympic distance, it’s just a melting pot of talent and the level of racing is higher than we’ve ever seen in the sport.

“I believe in what the PTO and World Triathlon are doing and how exciting and big it could become and that’s what I want to be a part of. So my personal goal this year is the T100 tour. I’ve never focused on the 100km distance entirely before and I just want to see how far I can go over the format.”

Brownlee echoed the IRONMAN World Champion’s sentiments, stating that he was sure that despite the challenges the tour will inevitably face, its inception will benefit the sport tremendously.

“I want to see more people watching top level long distance triathlon, being inspired by seeing the top athletes racing. It’s crucial that the PTO succeeds and I’m convinced that the T100 Triathlon World Tour’s success will be triathlon’s success.

“It’s tough to create something new but ultimately it will benefit every triathlete, so having the PTO work closely with World Triathlon to put on these great races in great locations that allow athletes to flourish and race to the best of their ability – and broadcasting it around the world in the right manner – has got to be the way to go to bring in new fans and people who want to engage in the sport in a new way.”