Search
shop

WTCS Edmonton preview (MEN) – Big Blu or the Yee Boy for World Championship title?!

Saturday's WTCS Edmonton will determine the 2021 World Triathlon champions. Will it be Kristian Blummenfelt versus Alex Yee in Alberta?
Chief Correspondent
Last updated -
Get the ultimate guide to destination racing

This is a preview of the 2021 World Triathlon Championship Finals Edmonton – you can click here for a full report on how Kristian Blummenfelt claimed a brilliant victory.

It’s not the final World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) event of the year, and it’s no longer called the Grand Final, but Saturday’s racing over the Olympic Distance at World Triathlon Championship Finals Edmonton will determine the the 2021 World Triathlon Champions.

Assuming both have – at the very least – solid races, then all indications are that the Men’s World Champion for 2021 will be one of the Olympic Gold or Silver medallists from Tokyo, Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) or Alex Yee (GBR).

WTS Edmonton preview 2017
Photo by Wagner Araujo / ITU Media
Advertisement

Current Points Standings

Heading into Edmonton, Yee has a slight points advantage – but it is so small that, hopefully, it can effectively be ignored.

Here are the top positions in the Maurice Lacroix World Triathlon Championship Rankings:

In Edmonton, the winner will earn 1250 points, with points then reduced by 7.5% for every position. Championship Finals points will simply be added to points already earned, so there is no further small print to consider regarding number of races completed, dropping a previous race, adding a new one etc.

WTCS Yokohama 2021

Points for Edmonton will thus be:

1st – 1250
2nd – 1156
3rd – 1070
4th – 989
5th – 915
6th – 846
7th – 783
8th – 724
9th – 670
10th – 620
11th – 573
12th – 530
13th – 490
14th – 454

The points advantage that Alex currently has over Kristian (39) can therefore be totally ignored, assuming they were to both finish within the the top 13, as that would be more than overcome by Kristian finishing ahead by one position, whatever that position was, as you have to go all the way down to 13th/14th where the difference in points is smaller than the 39 point advantage in the rankings that Alex will arrive in Canada with.

AJ Bell 2021 World Triathlon Leeds / WTCS Leeds / Alex Yee

Could Marten Van Riel overtake them both?

Yes, that’s possible. A race win would take the Belgian to a total of 3688 points. That would be enough if Alex finished 5th (or lower) AND Kristian finished 4th or lower (for example).

AJ Bell 2021 World Triathlon Championship Series Leeds

Is history on the side of Alex?

Here’s an interesting one. Do date, no athlete has been Olympic Champion and World Triathlon Champion in the same year:

2000: Sydney Olympics (Simon Whitfield, Bridget McMahon), World Champs (Olivier Marceau, Nicole Hackett)
2004: Athens Olympics (Hamish Carter, Kate Allen), World Champs (Bevan Docherty, Sheila Taormina)
2008: Beijing Olympics (Jan Frodeno, Emma Snowsill), World Champs (Javier Gomez, Helen Jenkins)
2012: London Olympics (Alistair Brownlee, Nicola Spirig), World Champs (Jonathan Brownlee, Lisa Norden)
2016: Rio Olympics (Alistair Brownlee, Gwen Jorgensen), World Champs (Mario Mola, Flora Duffy)

While I love a statistic, I think that many will predict that both Kristian Blummenfelt and Flora Duffy may relegate that statement to history by Saturday evening!

Kristian Blummenfelt Mens Olympic Triathlon Tokyo 2020
World Triathlon Champion and Olympic Champion in the same year?

How to Watch

Here is the schedule of events, which all take place on Saturday (21st August 2021)

  • 0800 local time – U23 Women World Championship1500 UK-time
  • 1050 local time – Elite Women1750 UK-time
  • 1350 local time – Elite Men2050 UK-time
  • 1630 local time – U23 Men World Championship2330 UK-time

All of the races will be available to watch through World Triathlon’s subscription service, TriathlonLive.tv.

You can also watch the Elite finals on the BBC Red Button / connected TV.

Who will win?

With both athletes having three top results already from their races in Yokohama, Leeds and Tokyo, both Kristian and Alex skipped racing last weekend in Montreal. While that may help them be fresh(er) for Saturday, both will also have had huge amounts of media requests, sponsor commitments and – hopefully – some fantastic opportunities post-Tokyo, which will doubtless have had an impact on their training and preparations over the last three weeks.

From such an incredible emotional high of winning gold (Kristian) and gold plus silver (Alex) Olympic medals, how they have retained focus, motivation, training etc (or not!) is likely to be the biggest factor in impacting how Saturday’s Olympic distance events goes. Kristian knows Edmonton well (he was second there in 2018), while this will be a first race for Alex.

Prospects could have been very different, as initially Kristian was scheduled to race last weekend at IRONMAN Frankfurt, in pursuit of his IRONMAN World Championship hopes and qualification. That wasn’t required, when the Olympic champions were awarded special invitations to Kona.

And that – with head, ruling heart – is why, if I were having to bet my own money (I won’t be…), I’d make Kristian Blummenfelt favourite to add World Triathlon Champion status to his C.V.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL START LIST

John Levison
Written by
John Levison
TRI247's Chief Correspondent, John has been involved in triathlon for well over 30 years, 15 of those writing on these pages, whilst he can also be found commentating for events across the UK.
Discover more
Challenge Sardinia location
Let’s race… Challenge Forte Village Sardinia
Are calf sleeves actually worth it for triathletes? How many watts aero calf compression sleeves could save you
Laura Siddall Patagonman Xtreme Triathlon 2023
PremiumAre we in a triathlon boom, or hurtling towards burnout? Laura Siddall on the growth of the sport
Is sports nutrition bad for you? Ultra-processed foods are under siege, and athletes are caught in the cross fire – but should we be worried?
Challenge Barcelona 2023 - Photo Credit: Jose Luis Hourcade
The ultimate city break triathlon race-cations: from Challenge Barcelona to Singapore T100 these are the best city centre races to combine multisport with sightseeing
latest News
Anne Reischmann IRONMAN World Championship Kona baby onesie 2025
‘Wonderful surprise’ for Reischmann while Lawrence celebrates Kona finish line emotion
Taylor Knibb Lucy Charles Barclay run IRONMAN World Championship Kona 2025
‘No regrets’ – Taylor Knibb on when you put two RACERS together at Kona
Natalie Grabow IRONMAN World Champs Kona 2025
Remarkable 80-year-old sets WORLD RECORD as she becomes oldest to finish iconic IRONMAN World Championship
Lucy Charles Barclay run IRONMAN World Championship Kona 2025
‘We came close to a line you never want to cross’ – husband Reece on Lucy Charles-Barclay’s Kona exit
IRONMAN World Championship Kona 2025: Defending champ Laura Philipp has ‘no regrets’ after ‘crazy’ race
triathlon on your terms
Never miss out with our triathlon alerts & digest. Get a dose of adventure & inspiration with Boundless.
247 Endurance

The home of endurance sports

TRI247-LOGO_Primary-Black_RGB-1

CHOOSE YOUR MEMBERSHIP TO BECOME PART OF SOMETHING EPIC

We’re on a mission to elevate the world of endurance sport, becoming your go-to resource for expert training tips and inspiration, unbiased reporting and creating a platform for grassroots voices. But we can’t do it without you on board! Choose a TRI247+ membership option below and become part of something epic.

All plans include a 7-day free trial

£7.95/month

Unlimited access. No ads. A whole library of tips, advice and inspiration at your finger tips, and the chance to shape the future of triathlon journalism.

100+ new articles/month

You’ll also gain access to our other premium websites:

Have an account? Sign in

All plans include a 7-day free trial

£47.95/year
£95.40/year

50% Discount

100+ new articles/month

Unlimited access. No ads. A whole library of tips, advice and inspiration at your finger tips, and the chance to shape the future of triathlon journalism.

You’ll also gain access to our other premium websites:

Have an account? Sign in

Share to...