The Emerging Battleground of Global Triathlon Entities? North America

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Good morning everyone,

Lots of preparations here at Tempo HQ for my wife’s Olympic races and I’ve been spending a good amount of time helping her with her final training sessions.

And based on how sore I am after some of these workouts, I think she’ll be ready to kick some butt when race day rolls around!

• Mine’s certainly been kicked. I think its time for a massage…

In today’s edition:

• 💣 Why North America is an emerging battleground for global triathlon entities.

• 🏃‍♀️ At 50 you can be faster than you’ve ever been! Here’s 10 ways to do it.

• 🏊 And the most common swimming myths debunked!

Thanks for being here.

-Matt Sharpe, newsletter editor

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ONE BIG THING

The Emerging Battleground of Global Triathlon Entities? North America

What is it: This weekend marks the inaugural editions of Challenge Quebec, and Challenge New Jersey, which signals a renewed push from the global race organizer to reestablish itself in North America.

• It also highlights the recent trend of global triathlon entities battling for a foothold in the lucrative U.S. triathlon market.

Unique Challenge: Unlike popular North American event operator IRONMAN, which owns all of its events, The Challenge Family uses a licensing model that allows independent race operators to leverage the goodwill and prestige of the Challenge brand.

• Although Challenge Quebec is a brand new event, Challenge New Jersey is a rebrand from its previous iteration, the New Jersey State Triathlon.

• And September’s Challenge Espirit Montreal, the third event in Challenge’s portfolio of North American races, is an extension of the Triathlon Espirit de Montreal which began in 1983.

Both Challenge Quebec and Challenge Espirit Montreal feature a compelling opportunity for athletes as up to 30 lottery slots for Challenge Roth will be up for grabs.

T100 in tow: Not to be outdone by Challenge, T100 has also made a splash in the U.S. triathlon scene

• In 2022, and 2023 it hosted U.S. Open professional events.

• And 2024 has featured two U.S. races in its flagship professional Triathlon World Tour, in Miami and San Francisco.

• The third event, T100 Lake Las Vegas, will take place in September. Crucially, it will also feature stand-alone age group races.

Supertri’s saga: Of course, Supertri has had a significant head start with its own U.S. expansion, which hasn’t always been smooth sailing.

• From late 2020 through 2023 Supertri purchased three iconic and long-running triathlons in Malibu, New York City, and Chicago.

But after the race director who sold Malibu to Supertri won the only permit to host a triathlon in the city in 2024, Supertri was left with a seven-figure race that they could no longer operate.

• And in early 2024, Supertri announced that due to scheduling difficulties it would not be able to host the New York City Triathlon and the event was postponed to 2025.

However, the second half of 2024 is shaping up to be a rebound as this weekend features the Supertri/USA Triathlon partnered Long Beach Legacy Triathlon.

• And August will see Supertri’s first U.S.-based Champion Series races in Boston and Chicago.

Tempo’s take: Although we may still be facing a “vibecession,” clearly these global triathlon entities see plenty of exciting growth opportunities in the U.S. market. And when it comes to identifying where the growth will occur, it seems as though they are taking a page from the undisputed champion of the North American triathlon market, IRONMAN.

• In the past few years IRONMAN has discontinued many full-distance races including Alaska, Mt. Tremblant, Coeur d’Alene, Tulsa, and Santa Rosa.

However, its suite of 70.3 events continues to expand with the recent additions of 70.3 Happy Valley, Western Massachusetts, New York, Tri-Cities, and Rockford. As well as Mt. Tremblant and Coeur d’Alene switching to only 70.3 events.

• And what are all the race distances of those looking to expand? All 70.3, Olympic, and Sprint. IRONMAN knows there is little growth in full-distance racing, and these entities are certainly taking notes.

We should expect to see more acquisitions and resurrections of long-standing North American races like Wildflower, Memphis in May, and St. Anthony’s. I know of one high-profile race that recently experienced a site visit from a top triathlon executive.

• Time will tell if these entities can create a robust and sustainable presence, or if IRONMAN will continue to flex its monopoly muscle.

FAVORITES

🏊 Swimming myths debunked: Can you learn to swim well as an adult? Should you breathe through your nose? There are a few swimming myths out there, here are nine popular ones that have been debunked! [GTN]

🏃‍♀️ Faster after 50: Although we all may be getting older, that doesn’t mean we can’t continue to thrive. Case in point: professional triathlete Mel McQuaid who is still achieving podium performances in her 50’s! In Mel’s opinion, athletes who are 50+ must continue to incorporate speed into their training (plus nine other key tips!) [Triathlete]

💸Don’t waste your money: Triathlon can easily become an expensive sport, but you can take control of the costs and save your pennies by avoiding some of these classic money-wasting triathlon products! [Mottiv]

💉Dangerous doping: It has been revealed during this year’s Tour de France that certain teams have been using carbon monoxide to monitor biomarkers in their blood while training at altitude. But are they also risking death by inhaling it to improve their performance? [Escape Collective]

REEL TIME

I don’t remember making THAT face! 😵🤣💀

mnewton722

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YOU SAID

Here’s what you thought about whether having two competing professional triathlon series is good for the sport.

RACE WEEKEND

IRONMAN Lake Placid

The competition will be anything but placid with loads of IRONMAN Pro Series points on the line! Alice Alberts (USA) and Jackie Hering (USA) should be battling for the win in the women’s race.

And there will be plenty of action in the men’s race with athletes like Braden Currie (NZ) and Joe Skipper (GBR) looking for crucial series points.

• Oh, and Lionel Sanders (CAN) also happens to be in attendance looking for his first full-distance win since 2017!

Watch live: Watch live on ironman.proseries.com (US + Canada on Outside Watch)

Other Pro races 👇

Challenge Quebec

QUICK NEWS

Mayor swims in Seine: Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo finally took a swim in the Seine as she hoped to ally fears that the billions spent on cleaning it up weren’t for naught! [New York Times]

Magnificent Wayne: At 72 Wayne Richards may be one of the older athletes on the race course, but that isn’t stopping him from representing Team GB at the highest level of sport! [ITV]

Tri-Cities volunteers: The first IRONMAN event in the Tri-Cities is almost sold out, but the event is still on the lookout for any volunteers they can get! [KEPR]

New recruit: The Denver University Pioneers are getting a new recruit for the upcoming season. Who just so happens to be from north of the border! [Denver Pioneers]

TEMPO EXCLUSIVE ARCHIVE

• After recent high-profile deaths, how safe are triathlons?

• How this age group athlete managed incredible life changes -while going pro!

• Build it, but will they come? The crazy story of the Triterium!

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