Having yesterday revealed which contracted athletes would lineup for the maiden T100 Triathlon World Tour event in Miami, the PTO announced today the wildcards that would also be toeing the start line.
On the women’s side, two top class British athletes get the nod, with Team BMC pro Lucy Buckingham joining former Commonwealth Games champion Jodie Stimpson in the Sunshine State.
On the men’s side, Dutch athlete Youri Keulen, who is the PTO World #18 and just missed out on a contract in January, gets the opportunity to demonstrate why he should never have been overlooked in the first place.
Miami T100 Pro Women
In addition to Buckingham and Stimpson, the PTO have handed out wildcards to six other women, with two going to American athletes Haley Chura and Jackie Hering.
Last season, Chura finished ninth at the PTO Tour US Open and was fifth at Clash Miami, whilst Hering was a little further down the field in Milwaukee, finishing 17th.
Alongside Skye Moench, Chura and Hering make up a small trio of American athletes who will be hoping to rely on the support of the home crowd to lift them to a solid performance next weekend.
The other wildcards in the women’s race are Spaniards Sara Perez Sala and Marta Sanchez, who are both strong swimmers, plus Dutch athlete Diede Diederiks and Estonian Olympian Kaidi Kivioja.
Full women’s line up for Miami T100:
- Anne Haug (GER)
- Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR)
- Kat Matthews (GBR)
- Paula Findlay (CAN)
- Daniela Ryf (SUI)
- Imogen Simmonds (SUI)
- Emma Pallant-Browne (GBR)
- Skye Moench (USA)
- Tamara Jewett (CAN)
- India Lee (GBR)
- Holly Lawrence (GBR)
- Lucy Byram (GBR)
- Sara Perez Sala (ESP)
- Haley Chura (USA)
- Lucy Buckingham (GBR)
- Jackie Hering (USA)
- Kaidi Kivioja (EST)
- Diede Diederiks (NED)
- Marta Sanchez (ESP)
- Jodie Stimpson (GBR)
Miami T100 Pro Men
On the men’s side, the wildcards went to the next best athletes in the rankings, with Keulen and Dutch compatriot Menno Koolhaas plus Italian Gregory Barnaby rolling on to the start list.
Keulen, who finished 13th at the PTO European Open last year, has improved dramatically over the middle distance since 2022, with a sixth place finish ahead of the likes of Sam Long at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship last season.
Koolhaas also finished in the Top 10 in Lahti, but unlike Keulen has no previous experience racing over the 100km distance or on the PTO Tour. With a lightning quick run, it will be fascinating to see how he goes in Miami.
Finally, PTO World #20 Barnaby, who finished a strong ninth in Milwaukee last season, was also a Top 10 finisher at the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice. Good across the board, the Italian is a solid addition to the start list.
Full men’s line up for Miami T100:
- Magnus Ditlev (DEN)
- Jason West (USA)
- Sam Long (USA)
- Pieter Heemeryck (BEL)
- Ben Kanute (USA)
- Sam Laidlow (FRA)
- Daniel Baekkegard (DEN)
- Mathis Margirier (FRA)
- Rudy Von Berg (USA)
- Leon Chevalier (FRA)
- Bradley Weiss (RSA)
- Clement Mignon (FRA)
- Aaron Royle (AUS)
- David McNamee (GBR)
- Youri Keulen (NED)
- Menno Koolhaas (NED)
- Gregory Barnaby (ITA)
- Alistair Brownlee (GBR)
- Javier Gomez (ESP)
- Rico Bogen (GER)
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