How Big is the PTO and World Triathlon Partnership?

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In today’s edition:

• 🤝 World Triathlon and the PTO announce game-changing partnership.

• 🥇 A recap of the exhilarating women’s Olympic test event.

• 🤫 And could taping your mouth shut help your endurance? (what?!?)

Thanks for being here.

-Matt Sharpe, newsletter editor

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ONE BIG THING

PTO and World Triathlon Announce Game-Changing Partnership

What happened: The Professional Triathletes Organization and World Triathlon made the massive announcement that they will be partnering on a global long-course series for 2024, with the goal of further harmonizing a fractured triathlon landscape.

The details aren’t fully confirmed, but a number of highlights include:

• Six to 10 races, five of which would be regional championships (Asia, America’s, etc.) and a series finale where a World Champion would be decided.

• A points-based competition focusing on a season-long narrative (hello F1!).

• Age-group races at each series leg, contested over the 100km distance.

• A World Triathlon-endorsed age-group World Championship over the 100km distance.

Who’s paying: The PTO will be entirely self-funding this initiative, but World Triathlon will be contributing services such as anti-doping, technical delegates, and marketing support.

An uneasy throuple: This isn’t the first splashy partnership with a high-flying triathlon startup. World Triathlon has also partnered with Super League Triathlon to help develop and support the Arena Games Triathlon.

But with a new partnership with the PTO, what does that mean for Super League? Both entities are fighting to capture attention for their triathlon products.

• Previously, the PTO stated that it wasn’t interested in delivering age-group events but now looks to have six to 10 of them coming through the pipeline.

• Meanwhile, Super League is trying to develop its own age group events through its recent purchases of the Malibu, Chicago, and New York City triathlons.

• If World Triathlon will be marketing PTO events, does it make sense for Super League to continue to work with them?

Tempo’s take: There is so much to unpack from all of this, and we haven’t even mentioned what this could mean for Ironman?!? With this announcement, there’s clearly a seismic shift happening in the triathlon landscape. The PTO thinks there is an opportunity to make money and build incredible experiences through joint professional and age group weekends.

• With Ironman seeing a slowdown in full-distance participation but continued robustness in its 70.3 events, the middle-distance athlete is clearly where the growth opportunity lies for these two entities.

Will the power of the Ironman brand allow it fight off the upstart PTO? If our experience at the PTO x USA Triathlon weekend in Milwaukee is any indication, Ironman should be worried.

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TEMPO GIVEAWAY

History, Beauty, and Triathlon - Together in Dubrovnik

On October 14 you’re invited to compete at the EARTH, SEA, & FIRE Triathlon in beautiful Dubrovnik, Croatia.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Dubrovnik has a rich history steeped with conflict and conquest. As a renowned Mediterranean tourist mecca, you are guaranteed to be met with incredible culture, cuisine, and a flat and fast race course!

The EARTH, SEA, & FIRE Triathlon would like to offer two free race entries for their event to Tempo News subscribers.

So if you want a beautiful fall race experience, just respond to this email and you’ll be entered to win!

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QUICK NEWS

🤮 Sickness solved: Remember everyone who got sick at the triathlon in Sunderland, UK? While they can’t say for sure, 60 percent of people tested had Norovirus. Health officials also said they couldn’t say if it was because of the event. [BBC]

🏃 Malaga mania: World Triathlon announced the addition of a new race, the World Triathlon Para Cup Malaga on Oct. 21, which will serve as the final race for Paralympic qualification this year. They also announced the cancellation of the Montevideo World Cup that was scheduled for November. [World Triathlon]

🚴‍♂️ Mourning Kyle: Some sad news for our triathlon family. Ironman World Championship cyclist and triathlete Kyle Brown has died after battling ALS. His journey with ALS was featured in an Emmy award-nominated documentary. You can read more about his story here. [Ironman Triathlon]

❤️ Stepping up to help: Ironman is working hard to pull together supplies for the devastated region of Hawaii. If you wish to help, you can donate to Maui Strong Fund, Council For Native Hawaiian Advancement and the Maui Food Bank.

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OLYMPICS

Olympic Test Event Lives Up to the Hype

What happened: The women’s Olympic test event held up to expectations on the iconic Paris course (and what a start line) with Beth Potter (GB) pulling off the win against hometown favourite Cassandre Beaugrand (FR).

1. Beth Potter (GBR) – 1:51:40

2. Cassandre Beaugrand (FRA) – 1:51:46

3. Laura Lindemann (GER) – 1:51:59

4. Emma Lombardi (FRA) – 1:52:00

5. Taylor Knibb (USA) – 1:52:04

Said the winner Potter about the race, according to 220Triathlon, “I just really committed on the first two laps of the bike, and people were actually really motivated to work. I tried not to do too much, maybe I was too far towards the back – I’ll probably get shouted at for that!”

Zoom out: Outside of the Olympics, the race had implications for the World Championship title. Beaugrand and Potter are one and two in the rankings, meaning that whoever wins the finale in Pontevedra will be crowned the champion, according to Tri247.

In other news: Taylor Knibb (USA) booked her spot to Paris with her 5th place finish and Flora Duffy (USA) withdrew before the event, due to her torn knee which she is still recovering from, according to the Royal Gazette.

• A full race breakdown can be found here.

Tempo’s take: The ferocity of the race was equally matched by the jaw-dropping beauty of the course. And after many years of a Flora Duffy-dominated front pack, it appears as though there is a changing of the guard towards those who are fleet-footed.

• But, at next year’s games, there will be fewer athletes on the start line, which means better odds for the front pack to get away.

• So if Duffy can return to her Tokyo form for next year, she could yet be the first female double gold-medalist.

Watch now: You can check out the highlights of the race below.

The men’s race takes today at at 8 am Central European Time, which depending on when you receive this may already be happening, or done!

REEL TIME

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FAVOURITES

🌅 Early win: Sometimes pulling yourself out of bed for a morning workout can be brutal. But according to this tweet from organization psychologist Adam Grant, an early morning workout, and the associated “psychological win”, can boost energy, efficacy and be a catalyst for an incredibly successful day. [Adam Grant]

🔥 Codyman: As a kid, YouTuber Cody Ko remembers watching his parents race Ironman and thinking, “it was the coolest thing ever.” But when his sister did one before him, the competitive fires began, which led to his own incredible triathlon journey. Check out his build-up to Ironman Australia, which turned out to be anything but easy! [Cody Ko/YouTube]

😮‍💨 Tale of the tape: When tennis world #1 ranked Iga Swiatek was spotted training with tape over her mouth, she explained that it helped her with her endurance. It’s a trend that is taking over Tik Tok, but is it something you should be doing? Honestly, probably not. This article sums up the thought-provoking benefits, drawbacks, and literature on nose breathing. [Washington Post]

RACE WEEKEND

Singapore Showdown: A Preview of the PTO Asian Open

Klemen Suligoj takes us through the final 2023 PTO Tour Event - The Asian Open

It seems like it was only yesterday that we saw the best triathletes put on a show in the PTO US Open and the dust definitely hasn’t settled down completely yet. However, the next battle is nearly upon us as a star studded field of triathletes is ready to perform in Singapore for the PTO Asian Open.

PTO Asian Open is the third and last PTO Tour race this season, following the European Open in Ibiza on May 6 and PTO US Open on August 4-5

When: The women’s race starts on Saturday, August 19 at 15.00 local time (8:00 UK time, 9:00 CET or 3:00 EST) and men's race starts on Sunday, August 20 at 15.00 local time (8:00 UK time, 9:00 CET or 3:00 EST).

How to watch: For viewers in Europe, the race will be broadcasted on Eurosport, Discovery+ and GCN+. For spectators from the rest of the world, there will be a live stream available on PTO+ and on YouTube.

Distance: PTO Open races are raced over 100 km with a 2 km swim, 80 km bike and 18 km run.

Big prize: The prize fund has been changed for the 2023 season and is now $600,000 USD per event with $100,000 for the winner, $50,000 for second and $35,000 for third place. From there, prize money drops quite quickly and is capped at $2,000 for athletes placed 26th-30th. There is equal prize money for men and women.

Men’s favorites: Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR), Gustav Iden (NOR), Sam Laidlow (FRA), Jason West (USA).

Women’s favorites: Ashleigh Gentle (Aus), Anne Haug (GER), Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR), Chelsea Sodaro (USA).

Check out Klemen’s full preview for full athlete breakdowns and intriguing under the radar picks!

WHAT YOU SAID

Here are some of our incredible reader’s thoughts on the state of IRONMAN and long-distance races.

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