Dubai, UAE: At a press conference held at the Dubai Sports Council headquarters in heart of the city earlier today, Belgian flier Marten Van Riel revealed what it would mean to him if he could convert his strong position in the T100 series standing into a first World Championship title this weekend in Dubai [16-17 November].
“It would mean a lot to me. I feel I’ve been a lot of times, the just-not-winning-guy. I’ve had a lot of seconds, thirds and fourth places. So to win the T100 World Title would be incredible and I’m going to do everything I can to do that,” the 31-year old Olympian explained. Who goes on Sunday in the men’s Dubai T100 Triathlon World Championship Final at 1330 local time, with a 19-point lead over Denmark’s Magnus Ditlev and 22-points over New Zealand’s Kyle Smith.
But with 55 points on offer for the winner of this race and only 41 separating the top athletes, is still all to play for.
“If I perform a really good race, I think I can do that. But first of all, I’ll have to perform a good race. I’ve been here for nine days already getting adapted to the conditions. It looks like it’s going to be another brutal race with the heat and the humidity, but I’m feeling good.”
“The first couple of days I really struggled with the conditions and I actually had some training sessions that didn’t go how I wanted. I DNF-ed in some training sessions. So I hope I don’t have to do that again in the race.”
American Olympian Taylor Knibb, who leads the women’s T100 standings going into the last race by just 13 points from Australian Ashleigh Gentle, joined Van Riel at the pre-final press conference. Already with two silver medals to her name, she is also looking forward to Saturday’s showdown in the women’s race which also starts at 1330.
“I’ve been here [in Dubai] for 41 hours and it’s been great,” she said. Asked what it would mean to her if she won the title, she simply said. “It would be very special.”
Both athletes were joined by His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Hareb, Secretary General, Dubai Sports Council; Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE); Sam Renouf, CEO of the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO), World Triathlon’s Head of Commercial and Marketing Kris Gemmell – given the T100 series has been recognised by the international sports body as the official World Championship tour of long distance triathlon – and local Emirati athletes Hana AlNabulsi and Khalifa Aldarmaki, who have represented Team UAE.
Speaking ahead of this exciting Dubai-hosted major sporting event, His Excellency Saeed Hareb, Secretary General, Dubai Sports Council, said: “We are pleased to host the finals of the T100 Triathlon World Tour, which is being held for the first time, with the participation also of more than 3,000 male and female amateur triathletes from different countries from around the world. This championship brings together the elite of Olympic athletes and world champions, to live their best experience at the final station where the champions are crowned in Dubai. Dubai has become a global center for triathlons, where races are organized annually for men, women, professionals and amateurs, with all the success factors available for it, including infrastructure and national expertise capable of organizing the largest international championships.”
“Our annual agenda is full of many diverse sporting events, as we are always keen to support diversity in organizing events, to provide the opportunity for all members of society, professional athletes and amateurs, to practice and follow various sports, to establish an active healthy lifestyle, and enhance the quality of life in Dubai,” Saeed Hareb said.
The Dubai T100 Triathlon World Championship Final falls under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Sports Council and in partnership with Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism – and is also part of the country’s 30×30 Dubai Fitness Challenge (DFC).
Speaking about the importance of such events, Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE) at DET, said: “With the T100 Triathlon World Championship Final, Dubai proudly joins iconic destinations like London and Singapore, reinforcing its position as a premier global destination for sports. This championship, taking place during Dubai Fitness Challenge, aligns perfectly with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, to transform our city into one of the world’s most active. By bringing the T100 Triathlon World Championship Final to Dubai, we not only enhance our dynamic events calendar but also inspire our community to adopt healthier, more active lifestyles, while fostering an inclusive environment that encourages all to participate and celebrate fitness.”
As well as the top 20 women and top 20 men competing head-to-head over the weekend, there will also be 8,500 amateur participants competing across an equivalent 100km triathlon (2km swim, 80km bike, 18km run) a Sprint triathlon (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run) and a 5km Music run. The Music Run is making its debut in Dubai and is a 5km un-timed, energy filled fun-run that finishes with a party. Perfect for participants of all ages and abilities to fulfil their 30 minutes exercise per day during November.
World Triathlon’s Kris Gemmell told the conference that he would be pulling on his trainers and doing the 5km music run with the PTO’s Sam Renouf. “Who’s going to win?”’ asked Van Riel. A legitimate question to two former professional triathletes. To which there were smiles and some laughter, but no answer. To find out more on The Music Run visit https://themusicrun.ae
The women’s T100 broadcast will begin at 1315 local time on Saturday 16 November. The men’s T100 broadcast will start at the same time on Sunday 17 November. With the athletes all starting at 1330 and both races shown live locally on beIN Sports across the Middle East as well as North Africa and the US. In Europe it will be live and exclusive on Eurosport. Fans around the world will also be able to watch for free on PTO+ as well as locally and regionally through a range of other deals that will see the final broadcast in 195+ territories.
-ends-
Notes To Editors:
A reminder of how the T100 Triathlon World Tour works:
- Athletes score 35 points for first place to 1 pt for 20th place at each race
- The Dubai T100 Triathlon World Championship Final has increased points to up the ante (55 pts down to 4 pts)
- Each athlete’s best three T100 race scores plus the Final will count towards the inaugural women’s and men’s T100 World Champions
- $250,000 USD prize fund at each T100, totalling $1,750,000 across the seven races (1st place – $25,000k; 2nd – $16,000; 3rd – $12,000 at each race)
- The series winners following the Dubai T100 Triathlon World Championship Final will be crowned T100 Triathlon World Champion and collect $210,000 USD from an additional total prize pool of $2,000,000
- Between the athlete contracts, T100 race prize fund and T100 Triathlon World Tour pool, the series provides more than $7,000,000 in athlete compensation, and is distributed in a way that not only rewards the winners, but also recognises the significant achievement of racing at this level
For Further Information:
Anthony Scammell E: [email protected]
About Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO)
The PTO is a sports body that is co-owned by its professional athletes, seeking to elevate and grow the sport of triathlon and take it to the next level. The T100 Triathlon World Tour is the new name for the PTO Tour and has been designated by World Triathlon as the ‘official World Championship for long distance triathlon’. It is a season-long schedule of T100 races during 2024 that are competed over 100km (2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run) and features the world’s best triathletes going head-to-head in Miami (9 March), Singapore (13-14 April), San Francisco (8-9 June), London (27-28 July), Ibiza (28-29 September), Lake Las Vegas (19-20 October) and then the Dubai T100 Triathlon World Championship Final (16-17 November). There have also been racing opportunities for amateurs at all the events, including the new 100km distance at five stages, including: Singapore, London, Ibiza, Lake Las Vegas and Dubai. The global broadcast shows the races live around the world in 195+ territories, courtesy of the PTO’s partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery as well as a range of other international, regional and local broadcasters.
