PTO World Rankings: How high did Sam Laidlow go after IRONMAN World Championship win?

News Director

The latest PTO Rankings are OUT, and now we know just what Sunday’s IRONMAN World Championship meant for the latest list of professional triathlon superstars.

Frenchman Sam Laidlow produced a stunning performance on the Cote d’Azur to become the youngest ever winner of the biggest prize the sport has to offer. He was followed home by two-time champ Patrick Lange and Danish giant Magnus Ditlev.

Let’s look at how a dramatic race on an epic course affected those rankings…


Laidlow on the rise after Nice romp

So the big question was how that super show on the Promenade des Anglais would help Laidlow surge up the latest rankings, and now we have the answer. He goes all the way up to #3 from #10 after posting a score of 97.98 for that spectacular display.

Above Laidlow, Kristian Blummenfelt and the aforementioned Ditlev remain at #1 and #2, while Lange moves up from #12 to #5 on the back of that excellent run into second place in Nice.

Other notable risers after Nice are fifth-place finisher Leon Chevalier (up from #17 to #11), fourth-place man Rudy von Berg (#47 to #20) and sixth-place Arthur Horseau (#58 to #26).

The women’s rankings for the top 20 remain unchanged with their IRONMAN World Championship showpiece of course set for Kona next month. Expect that to cause a major shake-up to the list.

Current PTO Rankings – Women

The leading women – as of September 11, 2023 – are as follows:

  • 1. Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) 97.89
  • 2. Taylor Knibb (USA) 97.24
  • 3. Anne Haug (GER) 96.40
  • 4. Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) 94.02
  • 5. Paula Findlay (CAN) 92.02
  • 6. Chelsea Sodaro (USA) – 91.76
  • 7. Kat Matthews (GBR) – 91.26
  • 8. Emma Pallant-Browne (GBR) 90.81
  • 9. Laura Philipp (GER) 90.65
  • 10. Imogen Simmonds (SUI) 90.55
  • 11. Daniela Ryf (SUI) 88.16
  • 12. Holly Lawrence (GBR) 87.93
  • 13. Tamara Jewett (CAN) 87.12
  • 14. Lisa Norden (SWE) – 86.25
  • 15. Marjolaine Pierre (FRA) – 86.11
  • 16. Fenella Langridge (GBR) – 85.97
  • 17. Skye Moench (USA) – 85.05
  • 18. Sarah True (USA) – 84.72
  • 19. Amelia Watkinson (NZL) – 84.58
  • 20. India Lee (GBR) – 84.57
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Current PTO Rankings – Men

The leading men – as of September 11, 2023 – are as follows:

  • 1. Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) 96.95
  • 2. Magnus Ditlev (DEN) 95.21
  • 3. Sam Laidlow (FRA) 94.97
  • 4. Jason West (USA) 94.42
  • 5. Patrick Lange (GER) 92.78
  • 6. Jan Frodeno (GER) 92.14
  • 7. Max Neumann (AUS) 91.81
  • 8. Sam Long (USA) 91.66
  • 9. Pieter Heemeryck (BEL) 91.19
  • 10. Mathis Margirier (FRA) 91.19
  • 11. Leon Chevalier (FRA) 90.89
  • 12. Ben Kanute (USA) 90.80
  • 13. Daniel Bækkegård (DEN) 89.07
  • 14. Frederic Funk (GER) 88.68
  • 15. Bradley Weiss (RSA) 88.54
  • 16. Joe Skipper (GBR) 88.13
  • 17. Denis Chevrot (FRA) 87.75
  • 18. Clement Mignon (FRA) 87.13
  • 19. Aaron Royle (AUS) 86.55
  • 20. Rudy von Berg (USA) 86.25

How do the PTO Rankings work?

This is not just about kudos – the top 50 athletes are fighting it out for a bonus pool worth a cool $2million in the ‘Race For The Rankings’. This will be dished out based on rankings at the end of 2023.

Each athlete has a points total which is an average of their three best races during the ranking period and all aspects of the process are covered here.

Final PTO Rankings for 2020

2020 was the first year that PTO implemented their Year End Annual Bonus Programme, to be based upon the PTO Rankings, eligible for the top-100 ranked athletes. Initially set at $2million, the impact of the COVID pandemic saw that paid out early – and with the total topped up to $2.5million.

That first year saw Jan Frodeno and Daniela Ryf top the pandemic-impacted rankings – Men | Women.

Final PTO Rankings for 2021

The final rankings for 2021 saw Lucy Charles-Barclay and Gustav Iden top their respective lists, both claiming a bumper $100k bonus in the process.

You can check out the final 2021 PTO Rankings by clicking here.

Final PTO Rankings for 2022

While Gustav Iden (second) and Lucy Charles-Barclays (fifth) still featured strongly in the 2022 points roundup – winning $90k and 60k, respectively – it was Kristian Blummenfelt and Anne Haug that took the tops spots and $100k bonuses.

You can check out the final 2022 PTO Rankings by clicking here.

Jonathan Turner
Written by
Jonathan Turner
Jonathan Turner is News Director for both TRI247 and RUN247, and is accustomed to big-name interviews, breaking news stories and providing unrivalled coverage for endurance sports.  
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