This is a preview of the race – click on the names to read about sensational wins for Julie Derron and Rico Bogen.
The Professional Triathletes Organisation’s (PTO) flagship series, the T100 Triathlon World Tour, moves on to San Francisco this weekend as as the world’s best short and middle-distance triathletes battle it out on the legendary Escape From Alcatraz course.
Both the men’s and women’s race take place on Saturday 31 May, just 45 minutes apart.
The women’s race features a stellar field with US phenom Taylor Knibb finally starting the defence of her T100 World Championship crown after missing the series opener in Singapore.
She will renew her rivalry with Australian Ashleigh Gentle who was not at her best in Singapore, where Britain’s Kate Waugh dominated in the heat of South East Asia to win on April 5.
On the men’s side, T100 Singapore race winner Hayden Wilde will not be competing as he is currently recovering from a bike crash in Japan.
And Sam Long has also pulled out, explaining here why he will focus on renewing his rivalry with Lionel Sanders at IRONMAN 70.3 Eagleman on June 8 instead.
That leaves defending champion Marten Van Riel as the big ticket draw, with Youri Keulen of the Netherlands the only other T100 Singapore top-five finisher set to appear.
Start times and how to watch live
The San Francisco T100 men’s race starts at 06:00 local time, with the women race beginning 06:45. That equates to 14:00/14:45 in the UK and 15:00/15:45 CET. The broadcast starts 15 minutes before the men’s race.
You can tune in live for free globally on PTO+, or watch on partner channels such as TNT Sports 2 in the UK, Max or Discovery+ in Europe, or beIN in North America. You can catch the highlights on FanDuel Sports Network in the US.
We’ve dropped the embed below – for those where it’s not geo-restricted – so you don’t have to leave this page.
Who’s in contention for the men?
It’s hard to look far past 2024 T100 World Champion Marten Van Riel. He finished a creditable third in Singapore – just one week after completing a full-distance IRONMAN in South Africa – and should be firing on all cylinders here.
The Belgian won a trio of 100km events during the 2024 season – including a scintillating sprint finish victory over New Zealand’s Kyle Smith in San Francisco.
Fellow Belgian Jelle Geens may have had a toiugh time in Singapore but can’t be discounted. He boasts three wins from his last four middle-distance races: T100 Las Vegas, the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in 2024 and a 2025 triumph at 70.3 Geelong.
Youri Keulen was just 32 seconds behind Van Riel in Singapore and will be looking to do even better here, while Antonio Benito Lopez (7th), Mika Noodt (9th) and Rico Bogen (10th) will all be keen to improve in the standings.
Who’s in contention for the women?
Former Olympic champion Flora Duffy has been ruled out of T100 San Francisco due to injury.
But there’s a wildcard for the 2016 70.3 World Champion Holly Lawrence, who returns to action less than eight months after giving birth to her first child.
All eyes though will be on Taylor Knibb, who says she left a piece of her soul in 2024 after an exhausting schedule, and is targeting the IRONMAN World Championships in Kona in October.
The American superstar lost out to Kat Matthews at IRONMAN Texas last month and won’t want to do so again to Aussie , having beaten her in four of five meetings over 100km.
Both Knibb and Gentle will be wary of Britain’s T100 Singapore victor Kate Waugh, while Canadian Paula Findlay makes her seasonal bow on the T100 Tour having already shown strong form by winning at IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside.
Prize Money and Points
Racing for a total prize purse of $250,000, plus valuable T100 Tour points, 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.
| POSITION | PRIZE MONEY | POINTS |
| 1 | $25,000 | 35 |
| 2 | $16,000 | 28 |
| 3 | $12,000 | 25 |
| 4 | $9,000 | 22 |
| 5 | $8,000 | 20 |
| 6 | $7,000 | 18 |
| 7 | $6,500 | 16 |
| 8 | $6,000 | 14 |
| 9 | $5,500 | 12 |
| 10 | $5,000 | 11 |
| 11 | $2,500 | 10 |
| 12 | $2,500 | 9 |
| 13 | $2,500 | 8 |
| 14 | $2,500 | 7 |
| 15 | $2,500 | 6 |
| 16 | $2,500 | 5 |
| 17 | $2,500 | 4 |
| 18 | $2,500 | 3 |
| 19 | $2,500 | 2 |
| 20 | $2,500 | 1 |
San Francisco course
The 100km (2km swim, 80km bike, 18km run) course starts with an iconic swim as the athletes jump off a boat and into San Francisco Bay before heading back to shore.
The 80km bike is six 13.3km laps along the shore line while the 18km run are four loops from Marina Boulevard to Chrissy Field.
Laura Siddall: 10 things I’ve learned from my professional triathlon career
