With the start lists recently released for the second stop of the T100 Triathlon World Tour in Singapore, fans of the sport couldn’t help but notice that there were a number of major names missing.
As more than half of the women’s field will be absent, the PTO have had to call upon more than 15 wildcards across both races to step up to the plate in South East Asia.
Three weeks out from the race, we examine the start lists and look at the biggest names who have opted to skip the second race of the series.
Young guns skip the heat
Whilst Belgium’s Marten Van Riel was always unlikely to start due to his focus on the Olympic distance during the first half of the season, it was a surprise to see two other prominent European names opt to miss the race.
Mathis Margirier, who picked up his first podium on the T100 Tour in Miami, will avoid a strong dose of the Singaporean heat and humidity, with IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Rico Bogen also not racing.
The pair, who are amongst the favourites for the overall podium at the end of the season, will be sorely missed, especially Margirier, who was a constant factor throughout the race in Florida.
Max Neumann, who was originally slated to start, seems to have also withdrawn from the event. The PTO Tour European Open winner has now not raced for almost twelve months since his famous victory in Ibiza.
Big names absent in the women’s ranks
On the women’s side, a whole host of top names will be missing, such as PTO World #1 Anne Haug, who is seemingly still not quite 100% after having to withdraw from Miami, with the former IRONMAN World Champion absent in Singapore.
Haug’s German compatriot Laura Philipp is another athlete to miss the first two races, as she chases her slot (via validation) for the IRONMAN World Championship this year, which will be held in Nice.
A number of top level Brits, including Miami podium finisher Holly Lawrence, will not race Singapore. Kat Matthews and Emma Pallant-Browne, also missing, will instead race events in the IRONMAN Pro Series in April.
Finally, Short course stars Taylor Knibb, Flora Duffy and Taylor Spivey won’t be lining up in Singapore. Neither will Canadians Paula Findlay and Tamara Jewett, with American Skye Moench the last contracted athlete to not take their place.
