Taylor Knibb underlined her utter dominance at middle-distance triathlon with a quite brilliant – and gutsy – performance to win the T100 Triathlon World Tour Grand Final in Dubai and with it the first-ever T100 world title.
After three wins out of three leading into this, the American superstar was put under pressure like never before in the T100 and for long spells on the run it looked like she was going to be hunted down by arch rival Ashleigh Gentle.
An advantage of two minutes and 51 seconds was down to under a minute after 10km of the 18km run but Knibb responded in champion’s style and suddenly it was Gentle who was reduced to a walk having given it absolutely everything in the extreme heat.
Knibb knew a top-two finish would be enough for the world title but, despite the brutal conditions, she did it in the grand manner and crossed the line in 3:29:17.
Gentle’s agonising late wobble meant Olympic silver medallist Julie Derron (SUI) took second place, with the Aussie having to settle for a gallant third, though she did have the consolation of an overall second place in the series.
It was a grandstand finish to an absorbing T100 season and here’s how it all played out…
Swim – Gentle gives herself a chance
Sara Perez Sala (ESP) led the way in the swim – with water temperatures at 31 degrees Celsius – but all the main contenders were in the front pack, with arguably the biggest surprise being Gentle.
She was hanging on towards the end of the first of two loops but it was crucial she managed to do so as it was 30 seconds and more back to the rest at the Aussie exit.
And on the second lap she was able to move up a spot into seventh, exiting the water 12 seconds behind Perez Sala.
Taylor Spivey (USA) was at +3s, Knibb +5s, Derron +6s, Flora Duffy (BER) +8s, Imogen Simmonds (SUI) +11s and India Lee (GBR) +19s also in that front pack.
It was then 1:41 back to a group of three featuring Kate Curran (GBR), Paula Findlay (CAN) and Marjolaine Pierré (FRA), with the rest a further minute and more adrift.
Bike – Knibb under pressure amid penalty drama
Knibb was only seventh out of T1 and up front early on the bike it was her two biggest rivals Derron and Gentle who had moved into first and second.
But the early stage of the bike before seven technical laps played very much to Knibb’s strengths and within 10km she had powered to the front.
However she wasn’t able to put big time into Gentle, who was now in second and Derron in third in what for neutrals was developing into a dream scenario, with anxious glances over her shoulder from Knibb potentially revealing.
To further add to Knibb’s problems, she lost two of her bottles – and this was in temperatures which were now nudging the high 30s.
At the midway point of the bike it was beautifully poised, with Derron now back into second at +1:01, Gentle at +1:05 and Simmonds at +1:09.
However Simmonds was about to drop out of that group as she was hit with a littering penalty after she dropped a water bottle, make your own mind up on that one via the footage below…
Meanwhile Lee was all alone in fifth at +2:00, Duffy sixth at +2:58 and the rest struggling to make an impression.
And it wasn’t long after when Knibb suddenly looked in real danger of picking up a littering penalty herself. She appeared to jettison her bottle inside the permitted litter zone but then it rolled fractionally outside of that area.
Thankfully – in terms of the race dynamic – she wasn’t penalised and she was able to extend her advantage in the closing stages.
Reaching T2 she was 2:46 ahead of Gentle in second and Derron in third, with Simmonds having done well to rejoin that pair.
And there were some significant moves in behind too – Brits Lee and Lucy Byram were up to fifth and sixth at +4:06 and +4:14 respectively, with Findlay seventh at +5:00, IRONMAN World Championship one-two Laura Philipp and Kat Matthews next at +5:50, with former Olympic champ Duffy rounding out the top 10 at +6:38.
Run – Incredible see-saw battle
Knibb had already put her socks on at T1 before the bike but Gentle hadn’t so she lost another five seconds in transition.
And just to give Knibb’s advantage at the start of the run some context – most observers felt anything around the three-minute mark or less and she could be vulnerable.
Gentle made a statement start too as she jumped past Derron right at the start of the run.
And at the 5km checkpoint she’d taken a minute out of Knibb, with he gap down to 1:55.
At 7.5km it was down to 1:20 but remember that for Gentle to take the title she not only needed to win but also Knibb to finish third or lower – and Derron at this point was at +2:00 and not closing anything like as rapidly.
Knibb meanwhile was doing little wrong and showing that she’s a very fine runner as well as an uber swim-biker. But the gap went under a minute at the 10km mark, so with 8km remaining everything was on the line.
However Knibb showed us once again just what a great champion she is – first she started to match Gentle’s pace and then she put the issue beyond doubt as both clearly suffered in the heat.
So much so for Gentle that rather than catching Knibb, it was her who was overhauled for second spot by Derron.
No one paced it better than Duffy who clocked the fastest run of the day to take fourth, with Matthews in fifth – and the top five also filled the same positions, albeit not in exactly the same order, in the overall T100 standings.
Knibb takes home $210,000 for finishing top of those rankings, in addition to $100,000 for four individual race wins.
T100 Dubai Grand Final 2024 Results
Saturday November 16, 2024 – 2km swim, 80km bike, 18km run
Pro Women
- 1. Taylor Knibb (USA) – 3:29:17 (26:36 / 1:54:18* / 1:06:26)
- 2. Julie Derron (SUI) – 3:31:08 (26:37 / 1:57:29 / 1:05:35)
- 3. Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) – 3:31:42 (26:43 / 1:57:15 / 1:06:00)
- 4. Flora Duffy (BER) – 3:33:05 (26:39 / 2:01:03 / 1:03:32*)
- 5. Kat Matthews (GBR) – 3:34:18 (29:18 / 1:57:23 / 1:05:28)
- 6. Lucy Byram (GBR) – 3:34:56 (29:12 / 1:56:14 / 1:07:47)
- 7. Laura Philipp (GER) – 3:36:01 (29:43 / 1:57:04 / 1:07:17)
- 8. Taylor Spivey (USA) – 3:36:23 (26:34 / 2:03:15 / 1:04:56)
- 9. Imogen Simmonds (SUI) – 3:36:41 (26:42 / 1:57:13 / 1:10:55)
- 10. Anne Haug (GER) – 3:37:29 (29:16 / 2:00:27 / 1:05:36)
- 11. Paula Findlay (CAN) – 3:38:42 (28:13 / 1:57:55 / 1:10:36)
- 12. India Lee (GBR) – 3:40:34 (26:50 / 1:58:21 / 1:13:22)
- 13. Kaidi Kivioja (EST) – 3:41:55 (29:16 / 1:59:12 / 1:11:33)
- 14. Laura Madsen (DEN) – 3:42:05 (29:17 / 2:00:47 / 1:10:10)
- 15. Marlene De Boer (NED) – 3:43:33 (29:40 / 2:02:39 / 1:08:57)
- 16. Sara Perez Sala (ESP) – 3:43:53 (26:31* / 2:02:35 / 1:12:46)
- 17. Kate Curran (GBR) – 3:46:11 (28:11 / 2:07:08 / 1:08:38)
- 18. Marjolaine Pierré (FRA) – 3:49:11 (28:14 / 2:03:28 / 1:15:25)
- 19. Diede Diederiks (NED) – 3:52:25 (33:24 / 2:03:23 / 1:13:33)
- DNF Tamara Jewett (CAN)
(*fastest of the day)
T100 overall standings
- 1. Taylor Knibb (USA) – 160 points / $210,000
- 2. Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) – 132 points / $140,000
- 3. Julie Derron (SUI) – 101 points / $90,000
- 4. Kat Matthews (GBR) – 91 points / $75,000
- 5. Flora Duffy (BER) – 90 points / $60,000
- 6. Lucy Byram (GBR) – 87 points / $55,000
- 7. Laura Philipp (GER) – 87 points / $50,000
- 8. India Lee (GBR) – 86 points / $45,000
- 9. Imogen Simmonds (SUI) – 84 points / $40,000
- 10. Paula Findlay (CAN) – 74 points / $35,000
(the top 10 overall are all offered contracts for the 2025 T100 season)
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