Saudi Arabia T100, Jeddah World Cup Postponed to April 2027
The T100 race set to take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, along with the World Triathlon Cup slated for the same weekend, have been postponed from November 27-28, 2026 to April 16-17, 2027.
According to a press release from the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) and World Triathlon, “The decision follows a joint review of the organizational and technical requirements and preparations for the inaugural edition in the Kingdom.” According to the PTO, a professional men’s race will now be added to the T100 race in Dubai on November 14. That will ensure the men competing in the T100 World Tour would have a fourth race heading into the Grand Final in Qatar in December.
According to reports, shrapnel from ballistic missiles intercepted by Saudi forces fell in Jeddah in late October. On October 19 the US Embassy required government employees working in Saudi Arabia to get special authorization to use any airport in the country, and the US State Department has declared a level 3 travel advisory for the country, which encourages people to “reconsider travel” to the country. The Canadian government advises people to “avoid non-essential travel to Saudi Arabia,” while the Australian Smartraveller site makes it very clear: “Do Not Travel.”
In August we wrote about the potential challenges for events slated for the Middle East this fall:
Today’s announcement includes news that registration is now open for the amateur races at T100 Saudi Arabia next year.
Multisport World Championships
The same day that the pros will be heading off at T100 Dubai, the 2026 World Triathlon Multisport Championships Abu Dhabi will kick off. Those championships include a total of seven world championship events: Duathlon sprint and standard distance, Cross Triathlong and Duathlon, Aquathlon, Long Distance Triathlon and Long Distance Aquabike. Currently the United States has declared a level 3 travel advisory for Abu Dhabi, while the Governments of Canada and Australia suggest people “exercise a high degree of caution” traveling to the United Arab Emirates, which would cover both Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
We’ll have more details on both the pro men’s and women’s races set for Dubai as they become available.
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Participants
With the Saudi T100 pushed to April 2027, Hayden Wilde has a scheduling problem worth unpacking.
What changed
Today announced that the Saudi Arabia T100 and the Jeddah World Cup move from Nov 27–28 to Apr 16–17, 2027. Saudi was meant to be the last men’s tour stop of 2026 before Qatar Grand Final. Dubai was a women-only, but the World Triathlon event page now lists an Elite Men program for Dubai on Nov 14, alongside the women. The T100 site hasn’t caught up yet and still shows only the women’s race.
Wilde is entered in both WTCS Abu Dhabi (sprint, Fri Nov 13, 16:00 local) and T100 Dubai the next day.
T100 standings math
The season counts the best 3 tour races plus the Qatar Final (Dec 11), which always counts.
Tour race: 35 / 29 / 26 for the podium.
Final: 55 / 46 / 41.
Wilde has 96 points: wins in Singapore and on the French Riviera, plus 3rd in San Francisco. He already has three scores, so Dubai can only replace his worst one. A win adds 9 points, 2nd adds 3.
The real threat is Lasse Nygaard Priester. He has 49 points from only two races, so a Dubai result counts in full; a win takes him to 84. Jake Birtwhistle is 2nd overall on 59, but that’s already from three races, so his ceiling after Dubai is 76.
In Qatar, 2nd place clinches the title for Wilde no matter what: 96 + 46 = 142, and LNP’s maximum is 139. 3rd place (137) is only not enough if LNP wins both Dubai and Qatar.
Money
T100 Dubai: $50k / $40k / $30k.
WTCS Abu Dhabi: regular series purse, $19k for the win and $4,100 for 6th. The boosted $28.5k purse was announced for the original March date; the July reschedule notice says regular WTCS prize money.
T100 season bonus: $100k for 1st, $80k for 2nd.
Where he’s stronger
On our favourites model Wilde is the clear #1 in Dubai but only 6th in Abu Dhabi, behind Hauser, Batista, Hidalgo, Studer and Cantero del Campo. Short course hasn’t been kind this year: 27th in Hamburg, 5th at the Pontevedra final.
Dubai isn’t a lock either. A year ago (Nov 15, 2025) he was only 8th there; Morgan Pearson won. He did win WTCS Abu Dhabi in Feb 2025, though.
The case for Abu Dhabi is Olympic points. LA28 qualification has been open since May 18, 2026. Wilde is 60th on the Olympic ranking and the second Kiwi behind Dylan McCullough (22nd). On our projection both are currently in, but the margin is thin.
Back-to-backs: his track record
He’s done this twice, with the same result both times:
French Riviera 2025: won the T100 on Aug 30, 11th at WTCS on Aug 31.
Wollongong 2025: won the T100 on Oct 18, DNF at the WTCS final on Oct 19.
Both times the long race came first. This time it’s reversed: the sprint comes first, and the fatigue lands on the race where the money and the standings are.
The counterpoint is recent. He won the 70.3 Worlds on Sep 13, the T100 Riviera six days later, and was 5th at the WTCS final eight days after that. That’s not a same-weekend double, but the durability is clearly there.
He’s not the only one. Batista and Hidalgo, the #2 and #3 favourites for Abu Dhabi, are also entered in both races.
Bottom line
Skipping Dubai costs him at most 9 points and up to $50k, and the title gets decided in Qatar regardless. Abu Dhabi offers Olympic points, but he isn’t the favourite there.
Which one would you race if you were him?
Excellent breakdown, @EvilBruce ! While I think it’s a no-brainer that he skip the T100 to go after WTCS points, he did say the real Olympic focus would start next year, so I might be off base there. The other thing to remember - that 8th at last year’s Dubai came after he rode an extra lap on the bike - my guess is he likely would have won had he pulled into T2 at the right time.
sprit for show* t100 for doe …
oly ranking points.
Thanks @ironmandad. Given that the T100 Dubai schedule for Saturday won’t allow for a men’s race (following the women’s race), the organizers will most likely hold the men’s race on Sunday after the AG sprint. So, technically, Hayden could compete in both races, with a rest day on November 14.
According to the PTO, the men’s race will be on the 14th, so I don’t think Hayden will get that day off in between.
In that case World Triathlon rule 2.5 m) bars starting two races within 24 hours (start to start) when one of them is standard distance or longer, and it covers T100. Abu Dhabi goes off at 16:00 on Nov 13. The women’s Dubai T100 starts at 13:15 on Nov 14; the men’s start time isn’t published yet. If the men also start before 16:00, Wilde can’t do both and has to pick one. Interesting…
I think the opposite of you, he will go for the $50k and be there for the title too. The points he is missing are insignificant, he is making the NZ team regardless of a few lost points. And likely he doesn’t win that race too, so little money to lose vs the pretty sure bet of the former…
It about 90K NZ dollars just for the win, likely a lot more in bonus money too. Its not a small thing..
Yep, excellent point, @monty. I guess it will come down to the timing he feels is important for beginning that Olympic build. As you say, there’s a lot of money to be made focussing on T100 through the end of the year, and he doesn’t have to be at the top of the Olympic rankings to get to LA. It will be fun to see what he finally decides to do.
Let’s get real here. He was winning comfortably without the extra lap on the bike.
I imagine he’ll just do both. The T100 would be purely for money, he doesn’t really need the points.