PTO/ World Triathlon Partnership Expands with T100 and World Cup Race in Valencia
Ever since the Professional Triathletes Organisation and World Triathlon signed a partnership deal (August, 2023 – here’s Ryan’s story on the announcement), triathlon fans have wondered when we might see the two organizations co-host an event. That question got answered today – welcome to the Valencia T100.
The new event, which replaces the T100 race in Ibiza, will be held at the same venue and on the same weekend as the World Triathlon Cup Valencia.
“By merging our efforts with PTO and the Spanish Federation, and delivering the T100 and the World Cup events in Valencia on the same weekend, we are proving once again the greatness of the partnership, and it also offers numerous benefits, including amplifying the excitement surrounding the races,” said Antonio F. Arimany, World Triathlon Elected President. “It allows participants, spectators, and local communities to experience a vibrant celebration of triathlon, creating a more inclusive environment where fans can witness world-class performances and participate in mass participation events. Additionally, the collaboration enhances logistical efficiencies and maximizes resources, ensuring a seamless and high-quality experience for everyone involved.”
The Valencia event won’t host an age-group 100 km race, but “there will be a number of mass participation events throughout the weekend, including sprint and super sprint distances,” according to today’s release.
Earlier this year we learned that the PTO had partnered with the Lievin Triathlon World Cup. While much of the focus on the PTO side of things is “to elevate the event on a broadcast perspective,” according to PTO CEO Sam Renouf, the PTO will have staff on the ground to help run the race in France at the end of the month.
Today’s announcement almost fills out the dates and venues for this year’s T100 Series – the Lake Las Vegas date remains up in the air (one assumes it’ll be some time in October). Here’s the schedule so far:
- Singapore – April 5/6
- San Francisco – May 31/ June 1
- Vancouver – June 13-15
- France (French Riviera) – June 27-29
- London – August 9/10
- Valencia – Sept. 20
- Lake Las Vegas – TBD
- Dubai – November 15/16
- Qatar (Championship final) – December 12/13
I am glad that they are starting the season in April rather than March unless they add something else later
March is way too early especially since quite a few of will be ending their season in Dec and really doubt anyone wants to train through winter for a March race. At least they won’t start off with 15 wild cards
Is it still the case that the last race is worth 1.5x points (whether they call it a grand finale or not)
This is great to see. Nice improvement over this seasons schedule. Hopefully there are many more seasons to follow.
So where will the new race take place? Are they using an existing race in the region? There were rumors that they were in negotiations with the town of Frejus earlier this year? The photo from the website and annoucement media pieces is the little town of Villlefranche s/mer near Monaco.
So, like what happened to their “Grand Final” for 2024?
I know you are trolling, but for the uninformed that pop in here the venue wasn’t ready so it was cancelled.
It’ll be interesting to see who fronts up and who doesn’t for both French + San Fran races. Pretty short turn around including fairly decent travel for some athletes.
I believe the French race is south of Nice around Fréjus.
The timings are interesting. Ibiza around the same time as Nice and Las Vegas around the same time as Kona.
“More races to be announced”
That’s embarrassing after 2024
So 7 for 2025 then
You left out the part where they also said they hadn’t gotten permitting done. Emphasis added below.
“While we originally planned for an eight-race series in 2024 and had been exploring some exciting potential venues, a combination of lining up all the approvals and those locations not being quite ready to hold an event befitting the T100 Triathlon World Championship Final made the decision to move the final to Dubai an easy one in the end.”
They actually said they have 5-6 more to be announced in Oct-Nov
Assuming they have 10 races in total, I wonder what the minimum number of events the contracted athletes will be required to race? I doubt if it will be more than 5 plus the grand final. The more races there are, the less likely that each race will have a full lineup which defeats the purpose of the season-long narrative they continue to harp about. I’ve watched all the T100 races this year but can barely recall who’s leading without checking their IG page. I would rather have 4 races in a year plus a grand final and require everyone to be there.
I agree with this. You either do what IM is doing and have many events over the season for people to try and qualify for the world champs, or you have a small number of races and make a big deal out of all of them.
If contracted athletes are required to attend all 4 events, then each one will be basically a world championship caliber event.
Where have they announced this, seriously?
Venue is also not the issue, the issue is PTO. This is the same group of people who rumored Marrakesh as the next location for the Collins Cup and that is now dead. I’m just a cynic.
If they are going to put on 10 races this year, I’m curious what approach they’ll take. More racers and allow a diverse mix of high quality pros or lock those athletes down ever tighter so they can only at best make one or two appearances at IM events.
I think if T100 becomes a walled garden, they risk becoming irrelevant. I think the T100 actually benefits from having their athletes jump around between events as the T100 is still an unknown. The more exposure their racers get at other races just brings that exposure back to the T100 when they line up to race.