WATCH AGAIN as Van Riel and Knibb lead the Ibiza party on T100 Triathlon World Tour

This is a preview of the event – click on the names to read how Marten Van Riel and Taylor Knibb extended their perfect T100 records this season.

As has been the case all season, the stars are out in force in the fifth stop on the T100 Triathlon World Tour as we return to Ibiza after two fantastic races there last season.

Both defending champions Max Neumann and Anne Haug return as do a host of other big names, though there are some key changes to the women’s field given the close proximity to last Sunday’s IRONMAN World Championship. Read on to find out more.

In our preview of the race below, you can find all the information you need including start times, streaming information and a preview of both professional fields.

Start times and how to watch live

In Ibiza, both races take place on Saturday September 28, with the professional men kicking things off at 08:00 local time (CET). This corresponds to 07:00 in the UK, 02:00 on the East Coast, 23:00 (Friday) on the West Coast and if you are watching in Australia the time to earmark is 16:00 AEST.

Starting two-and-a-half hours later, the women will begin at 10:30 local time (CET). This corresponds to 09:30 in the UK, 04:30 on the East Coast, 01:30 on the West Coast and 18:30 AEST.

The live broadcast will begin at 07:45 local time and is available globally on PTO+, on Eurosport and Discovery+ in Europe, on YouTube (outside Europe) or via regional broadcasters (see the full list on the T100 website).

Pro Men – Who is racing?

The legendary Alistair Brownlee / Javier Gomez rivalry should have been one of the headlines around the men’s field.

But Wednesday’s big announcement from Gomez – he’s retiring at the end of the year and won’t be taking part in any top-level races before then – means that showdown won’t now happen.

But two-time Olympic champion Brownlee will be racing. He’s focused exclusively on the T100 so far this season and feels he is getting closer and closer to the podium.

We’ve had four different winners in the T100 races so far and three of them – Sam Laidlow in London, Marten Van Riel in San Francisco and Youri Keulen in Singapore – will look to double up.

Also in action is Aussie Neumann, who saw off Brownlee, Jan Frodeno, Kristian Blummenfelt and others in the PTO European Open here in June 2023.

The top three in the T100 standings – Magnus Ditlev, Kyle Smith and Sam Long – are missing so it’s a big chance for those just behind them to take advantage, with all the rest of the top 10 lining up.

Pro Women – Who is racing?

It will come as no surprise that there have been some significant changes to the women’s field, just six days on from the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice.

From the original Ibiza start list were are now missing the first, third and fourth from the IMWC – Laura Philipp, Chelsea Sodaro and Marjolaine Pierré. Lucy Charles-Barclay, who withdrew on the eve of the Nice event due to a muscle strain, is also absent.

But it is still a stellar field for Saturday’s race and it includes IMWC runner-up Kat Matthews as well as Anne Haug, who made such an unlucky exit early on the bike on the French Riviera and was the brilliant winner here last year.

It’s headed by the top two in the T100 standings – Ashleigh Gentle, twice a T100 winner this season, and Miami T100 victor India Lee, with a point to prove after an uncharacteristic sub-par display in Nice last weekend.

The remarkable Taylor Knibb, who won Mixed Relay silver at the Olympics with Team USA, makes her first T100 appearance since slaying the field at the San Francisco T100 in early June.

All of which means that the winners of all this season’s women’s T100 races are on the start line.

Further interest is added by 2021 Olympic champion Flora Duffy and Taylor Spivey – a Paris Olympic Mixed Relay silver medal winner alongside Knibb – who will both be making their T100 Triathlon World Tour debuts.

Throw in Julie Derron, the individual silver medal winner in Paris, Paula Findlay, fresh from a top 20 at pro cycling’s World Time Trial Championships, and uber runners Tamara Jewett and Emma Pallant-Browne, and it’s clear it should be one of the races of the season.

The Ibiza course

The 100km event (2km swim, 80km bike, 18km run) will start with a Mediterranean swim off Figueretas Beach.

That’s followed by three bike laps taking athletes across to Santa Eulalia City and back with a combination of testing climbs, technical parts and head-down TT sections.

Then things conclude with a flat seven-lap run course around the historic Ibiza Old Town.

Prize Money and Points

Racing for a total prize purse of $250,000, plus valuable T100 Tour points in Ibiza, there is plenty at stake. On race day, the winners will take home $25,000 and 35 points, with the prize money and points for each position outlined below.