The inaugural Collins Cup honors were earned by Team Europe, led by performances from Lucy Charles-Barclay, Emma Pallant-Browne, Katrina Matthews, Jan Frodeno, Gustav Iden and Daniel Baekkegard, whose six match wins and additional contributions by Daniela Ryf, Anne Haug, Sebastian Kienle and Joe Skipper added up to an unofficial 42.5 points, according to Collins Cup website.

Thanks to a dominant performance by Taylor Knibb of the U.S., who defeated heavy favorite Daniela Ryf by 16 minutes, and consistent strong performances by Jackie Hering (win), Katie Zaferes (2nd), Skye Moench (2nd) Chelsea Sodaro (2nd), Jocelyn McCauley (2nd), the U.S. helped hold an early lead in the points. Thanks to second place scores by US Men Collin Chartier, Matt Hanson and Ben Kanute, the red white and blue took runner-up honors with 31.5 points.

Team Internationals scored Match wins by Ellie Salthouse of Australia, Lionel Sanders of Canada, Braden Currie of New Zealand and Jackson Laundry of Canada which brought honor but only 25.5 points, not enough to escape the basement.

As a reminder, points were awarded first to finishing order: three points for first, two points for second, and one point for third. Additional points were then awarded to the winner of each race depending upon their margin of victory, as well as to second place depending on their gap to third. On the women's side, Taylor Knibb's 16:43 margin helped earn her the maximum of six points. For the men, Gustav Iden took top honors with a 7:13 gap to last-minute substitution Collin Chartier of the United States.

While there were no photo finishes, there were a handful of fierce battles. In the tightest overall battle on the day, Lionel Sanders topped Sebastian Kienle by 1:08 and Andrew Starykowicz by 1:51 in the eagerly anticipated uberbiker race of Match 9. Elsewhere, Jackson Laundry edged Joe Skipper by 38 seconds in Match 12, and Emma Pallant-Browne outpaced Chelsea Sodaro by 1:13 on Match 5.

Collins Cup
Samorin, Slovakia
August 28, 2021
S 2k / B 80k / R 18k.

Individual Match Results

Match 1
Taylor Knibb USA 3:30:11 – 6 points
Daniela Ryf EUR +16:43 - 3.5 points
Teresa Adam INT +22:58 – 1 point

Match 2
Lucy Charles-Barclay EUR 3:33:46 – 5 points
Katie Zaferes USA +4:16 – 2 points
Paula Findlay INT +4:53 – 1 point

Match 3
Jackie Hering USA 3:35:19 – 4 points
Anne Haug EUR +2:23 – 2 points
Jeanni Metzler INT +3:24 – 1 point

Match 4
Ellie Salthouse INT 3:38:36 – 4.5 points
Skye Moench USA +2:01 – 2.5 points
Holly Lawrence EUR +5:29 – 1 point

Match 5
Emma Pallant-Browne EUR 3:34:45 – 4.5 points
Chelsea Sodaro USA +1:13 – 3.5 points
Sarah Crowley INT +8:27 – 1 point

Match 6
Katrina Matthews EUR 3:35:12 – 5.5 points
Jocelyn McCauley USA +5:42 – 3 points
Carrie Lester INT +10:42 – 1 point

Match 7
Jan Frodeno EUR 3:20:22 – 5 points
Sam Appleton INT +4:38 – 2 points
Sam Long USA +5:09 – 1 point

Match 8
Gustav Iden EUR 3:13:28 – 6 points
Collin Chartier USA +7:13 – 2 points
Kyle Smith INT + 7:16 – 1 point

Match 9
Lionel Sanders INT 3:19:13 – 3 points
Sebastian Kienle EUR +1:06 – 2 points
Andrew Starykowicz USA +1:51 – 1 point

Match 10
Daniel Baekkegard EUR 3:15:27 – 4.5 points
Ben Kanute USA +1:23 – 3.5 points
Max Neumann INT +10:58 – 1 point

Match 11
Braden Currie INT 3:27:13 – 5.5 points
Matt Hanson USA +5:16 – 2 points
Patrick Lange EUR +6:44 – 1 point

Match 12
Jackson Laundry INT 3:18:28 - 3.5 points
Joe Skipper EUR +00:38 – 2.5 points
Justin Metzler USA +3:45 – 1 point

Team Standings

Team Europe – 42.5 points
Team US - 31.5 points
Team Internationals – 25.5 points

Prize money

The Collins Cup is a team competition with Team Europe, Team U.S. and Team Internationals vying for gold and silver cups - with the last place team earning the dubious honor of receiving the Broken Spoke Award. So, like golf’s Ryder Cup, no performance-based prize money is awarded. On the other hand, the PTO awards $1.5 million based on the highest to lowest PTO Qualifying Points – starting with $90,000 for men’s and women’s highest points for first, $80,000 for 2nd, $70,000 for 3rd and down to $20,000 for the lowest.

Jan Frodeno $90,000
Daniela Ryf $90,000
Teresa Adam $80,000
Lionel Sanders $80,000
Anne Haug $70,000
Gustav Iden $70,000
Lucy Charles-Barclay $60,000
Sam Long $60,000
Holly Lawrence $55,000
Joe Skipper $55,000
Paula Findlay $50,000
Braden Currie $50,000
Patrick Lange $45,000
Emma Pallant-Browne $45,000
Carrie Lester $40,000
Rudy Von Berg $40,000 SCRATCH
Katrina Matthews $35,000
Matt Hanson $35,000
Skye Moench $32,000
Daniel Baekkegard $32,000
Katie Zaferes: No PTO Points, $20,000.