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Even With Mega T100 Contracts Offers, Athletes May Still Skip Series

T100 offers big contracts, your protein needs, and is the treadmill worth the risk?

Author

Matthew Sharpe
November 26, 2024

TOGETHER WITH TRIHARD

Good morning everyone,

Well, I had planned on finishing out my 2024 season at IRONMAN 70.3 Indian Wells in a couple of weeks, but for the first time in many years I’ve had to pull out due to an injury - an aggravation of an old hip labral tear. It’s the first significant overuse injury I’ve had in over nine years, so I was probably due for one!

  • I’ve been fortunate to avoid them as well as I have, so I’m not too down about having to pull the plug on this one.

  • And the recovery is looking fairly straightforward, so I’m still planning on competing at one of my favorite races in January - IRONMAN 70.3 Pucon!

In today’s edition:

  • 💸 Athletes are being offered lucrative T100 contracts, but some might still turn them down!

  • 🍳 How much protein do you actually need?

  • ☣️ And is your injury risk higher running on a treadmill?

Thanks for being here.

-Matt Sharpe, newsletter editor

Headshot of Matt Sharpe

Have a triathlete in your life who can't stop swimming, biking, or running? Fire this off to them. Forwarded from a friend? Sign-up for free.

ONE BIG THING

Even With Mega T100 Contracts Offers, Athletes May Still Skip Series

T100

What is it: After wrapping up the inaugural T100 Triathlon World Tour last week in Dubai, the startup series announced the top ten men and top 1ten women who would be receiving automatic contract offers for the 2025 season.

Men’s selections: Newly crowned men’s champion, Martin Van Riel (BEL) should be a mainstay on tour next year. Kyle Smith (NZ), who started the series as a wildcard selection and ended up finishing second overall in the series should also feature in 2025 alongside fellow competitors including:

  • Rico Bogen (GER)

  • Magnus Ditlev (DEN)

  • Sam Long (USA)

Women’s selections: The most dominant athlete in T100 history, Taylor Knibb (USA), will no doubt be the first athlete to receive a generous contract from the T100. And not far behind her will be a perennial T100 podium performer, Ashleigh Gentle (AUS). Joining them should be an impressive roster of women including:

  • Julie Derron (SUI)

  • Kat Matthews (GBR)

  • Flora Duffy (BER)

Contract conundrum: With his retirement announcement last week, Alistair Brownlee (GBR) was confirmed to be the first athlete not to accept a contract for next season. But will he be the only athlete to decline? Although the T100 offers many athletes up to six figures for signing with them, several key athletes could leave a juicy contract on the table.

  • Taylor Knibb - Ironically, the T100 Champion pocketed over $350,000 from this year’s series, and could be watching from the sidelines in 2025. With the women’s IRONMAN World Championships heading back to Kona next year, a big island win - and the increasingly lucrative IRONMAN Pro Series could be enough of a draw for the champion to say Ciao!

  • Kat Matthews - The Brit, 4th overall in this year’s series has been World Class in balancing the T100 Tour and the IRONMAN Pro Series (currently 2nd overall). But, like Knibb, she could be another athlete with visions of victory in Kona. And with a second place at the women’s IMWC in Nice this year, it is certainly realistic!

  • Sam Long - One of the best personalities in the T100 Tour, Long had a mixed bag of results in 2024. But one thing was consistent, his swim level was lacking compared to the other athletes. And Long himself admitted that it was mentally exhausting always being last out of the water and having to chase. Unless the T100 brings in athletes with Long’s skillset, expect the American to head for the IRONMAN Pro Series in 2025.

The other ten slots: So how will the remaining ten T100 slots be offered? From what the T100 has said, six athletes will be selected based on the PTO rankings and “standout 2024 performances.”

  • The final four, similar to this year will be “hotshot picks” who will immediately influence the race dynamics and bring increased intrigue.

Tempo’s take: The T100 transfer season is here and we’ll certainly be watching which athletes sign on the dotted line, and which ones decide to skip out. If everyone stays, it’s a signal to the industry that the athletes truly believe in the T100 vision.

  • But if certain star athletes skip out, it will be a massive blow to the T100’s goals of growth.

In a recent poll, over two-thirds of Tempo readers said they watched T100 races to see star athletes compete. And many said that if certain athletes were gone they wouldn’t even tune in. Now that the T100 has pivoted to events, it needs to do as much as possible to entice age group athletes to choose its race offerings over others.

  • A steady exit of star athletes certainly won’t help with that.

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FAVORITES

🍳 Your protein needs: Dialing in your protein consumption can help you stay healthier and put you on the right track to achieving your goals. But do you know how much you actually need? Find out in this insightful protein guide for athletes. [irunfar]

🏊‍♀️ Don’t miss this deal: Are you looking for the best deal of the year on world-class wetsuits? Get 25% off all wetsuits, and up to 50% off on certain models! But hurry, the Blueseventy Black Friday sale won’t last long! [Blueseventy]*

☣️ Treadmill risk: For many, treadmill season is here. But can skipping out on snow and ice actually increase your risk of injury? Sort of! This article explains why, and how you can avoid a treadmill-induced injury. [Run]

💡 Executive athlete: Marc Randolph is the co-founder of Netflix and an avid endurance athlete. And his triathlon experience mirrored the experience he had early in his working career, including the “shit show” of the open water mass start! [Newsbreak]

👏 Class act: Fresh off a win in Dubai and the T100 World Championship title, Martin Van Riel (BEL) decided it would be a good idea to try his hand at his first IRONMAN in Cozumel. And although it didn’t go exactly to plan, the incredible story of how he responded to a tough situation is worth the read! [Martin Van Riel/Instagram]

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REEL TIME

We all know this right?!?! 🍩🍩🍩

QUICK NEWS

Norwegians nominate: Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden have confirmed they are focusing on next year’s IRONMAN Pro Series.

Texas tradition: The extremly popular IRONMAN Texas - hosted in The Woodlands - has been extended through 2030. [Community Impact]

Tinman throwdown: Record participation and an Olympic silver medalist highlight successful 2024 edition of the Tinman Triathlon. [TriNZ]

Yee decree: Olympic gold medalist Alex Yee (GBR) was left speechless after his hometown running track was named in his honor. [Standard]

Documentary donations: A recently released documentary, “Beyond Triathlon,” raised over $30,000 to help fund University scholarships. [Ponte Vedra Recorder]

RACE WEEKEND

IRONMAN Cozumel

Bart Aernouts (BEL) and Anne Reischman (GER) came out on top in the heavy Cozumel heat.

TEMPO EXCLUSIVE ARCHIVE
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