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- Over 40 of the biggest names in triathlon, including world champions, Olympic medalists and rising stars take part in competition which is part of Dubai Fitness Challenge
DUBAI: With less than one month to go, the Dubai T100 Triathlon World Championship Final is set to ignite the city with a high-stakes showdown between the world’s best.
The competition, marking the culmination of the inaugural T100 World Tour, will see a strong field of male and female athletes battling for ultimate supremacy on Nov. 16 and 17.
The T100 Triathlon World Tour is a seven-race series, designed to push triathletes to their limits across a mix of iconic global destinations and a unique competition format — a 2 km swim, 80 km bike, and 18 km run.
Throughout the season, athletes have accumulated points across races in Miami, Singapore, San Francisco, London, Ibiza and Las Vegas.
The grand final in Dubai is the last chance for the top PTO World Ranked athletes to win additional points as they vie to be crowned the inaugural T100 World Champion.
The sum of each athlete’s three best point-scoring performances across the season plus their score from the Dubai T100 Triathlon World Championship Final will give each their total score.
In addition to crowning the first T100 World Champions, the final will determine the split of the record $7 million prize pot.
Sitting 19 points clear at the top of the men’s field is three-time Olympian, Marten Van Riel. The Belgian claimed his maiden T100 victory earlier this year in a dramatic three-way sprint finish with Kyle Smith and Germany’s Rico Bogen on the iconic “Escape from Alcatraz” course in San Francisco.
He followed it up with a spectacular win in Ibiza, becoming the first male two-time T100 champion. Another world-class performance in Las Vegas earlier this month saw him take silver spot on the podium, securing him pole position in the overall men’s rankings.
In his last visit to Dubai in 2022, Van Riel won the IRONMAN 70.3 Dubai. “It’s amazing to claim the top spot in the rankings after an incredible race in Vegas this weekend,” said Van Riel.
“Winning the T100 series would be a huge moment in my career, but I know there’s still a long way to go and there’s plenty of fast guys ready to push me to the limit in Dubai next month.
“I’ve had some great results racing in Dubai in the past, and I love the energy of the city so I’m excited to come back and give it everything I’ve got.”
With just five points separating the rest of the top-five athletes, it is all to race for. Second in the rankings is Danish superstar Magnus Ditlev, who has had a phenomenal season with victories at both the first leg of the 2024 T100 World Tour event in Miami and Challenge Roth.
Third in the rankings, New Zealand’s Kyle Smith will also toe the line in Dubai. A wildcard into the 2024 T100 series, Smith has proved he deserves his spot in the star-studded lineup.
This follows an incredible sprint finish in the San Francisco T100 Triathlon where he was pipped into second place by Van Riel, and another second-place finish at the London T100.
Crowd-favorite Alistair Brownlee from Great Britain will also line up in Dubai. He is the only triathlete in history to complete the grand slam of Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth titles.
The women’s field is equally star-studded, headlined by the US’ Taylor Knibb. One of the most consistent racers on the global triathlon circuit, Knibb recently won at both the Ibiza and Lake Las Vegas T100 Triathlon races, adding to her win in San Francisco in June.
Knibb will be up against second-ranked Ashleigh Gentle from Australia. Since turning her sights to long-distance racing in 2021, the two-time Olympian has proved her dominance time and time again.
Gentle has had an exceptional 2024 T100 World Tour season, securing victories in both the Singapore and London races. One of the best runners on the global triathlon circuit, the Dubai course could prove a winning formula for Gentle to finish her season in style.
Hot on her heels will be Flora Duffy — the first and only Olympic gold medalist from Bermuda — who is making her much-anticipated switch to long-course triathlon racing.
Another Olympic star heading to Dubai is Julie Derron from Switzerland. Derron has claimed the runners-up position in three of the biggest races of the 2024 triathlon season — the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the Ibiza T100 Triathlon and the Las Vegas T100 Triathlon.