Saint Raphael-Frejus, France: New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde held off Belgium’s Jelle Geens in a hard fought but picturesque French Riviera T100 Triathlon, to complete the first part of his ‘French Double’ attempt.
Tomorrow the Olympic silver medalist will tow the line in the French Riviera World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) sprint distance race of 700m swim, 20km bike and 5km run [which starts at 1445] to see if he can achieve an unprecedented T100 / WTCS double in the same venue and on the same weekend.
All this after an incredible comeback from a horror bike crash in Japan at the start of May, in which he punctured his lung, broke six ribs and was left needing surgery on his left scapula. Just 98 days later he returned to win the London T100 Triathlon on 9 August, over the Professional Triathletes Organisation’s 100km distance (2km swim, 80km bike, 18km run).
Great Britain’s Sam Dickinson was third on his T100 debut. Cheered on by a group of his mates who are racing in the French Riviera T100 amateur events tomorrow, he was quick to give his positive verdict…”It [the T100] really did meet my expectations today. I had a bloody good time!”
Key Quotes
Winner: Hayden Wilde (NZL)
“Today was always going to be a super calculated day, I took some risks out there. I think I was the only one on the start line who didn’t wear a swim skin and it paid off super well – coming about 10th out of the water. Didn’t have to take the swim skin off and straight out of transition into fourth, which is perfect. From there, the boys really took control and I didn’t really want to see the front of the race until I got to the climb and that is where I was going to make my move, put my head down, and just pushed hard for 15 minutes. I got to the top of the climb and saw that Rico was there. We just looked at each other and I was like ‘alright, let’s do it’. We had about a 50 second gap by the top and from there I wanted to get on the downhill as well. I practiced it a lot.”
“I also made another calculated decision in the morning, where I switched my front wheel out for my road wheel as it was super windy up there. I could see some of the boys with the deeper dish wheels were struggling around the corners, you saw that Leo nearly took a bit of a crash. With the smaller dish it was a lot easier to ride. On the run, it was just keep the control.”
On tomorrow’s French Riviera WTCS race and what would be an incredible double:
“Yeah it’s a hard thing to do, but I’m fortunate that my stomach is made of steel and I’ve been stuffing my face with tortillas, and rice, and chicken. Just to get those carbs in with a little bit of juice. That was really good. I was also on the bike for about 20 minutes [immediately after finishing] to get the legs spinning. Essentially, it’s just to trick the body into thinking that it’s just another day. I’ll try and get out for a swim or an easy run and make sure I have a good sleep tonight to get ready for tomorrow.”
Third placed: Sam Dickinson (GBR)
“It’s a good day to have a good day. To have it in a T100 race alongside a World Triathlon Championship Series race as well, I had some of my mates who are racing tomorrow cheering me on – I really enjoyed it.”
“I enjoyed it, it felt normal, because it’s a World Series weekend as well. It was a nice feeling to drop into it and do a T100, which is really special, alongside a WTCS. It meant that it felt like it was basically just another day in the office.”
“I’ve really enjoyed the experience. From the outside looking in I’ve been like ‘wow, I really want to get involved in this – it looks like good fun.’ With the 20m draft zone and the 20 best athletes turning up on the day, it’s been a real pleasure to be a part of it. It really did meet my expectations today. I had a bloody good time.”
How the race unfolded:
In the 2km sea swim held in the gorgeous waters off Frejus, Morgan Pearson (USA) took to the front, leading the way through the sun-drenched water. First onto dry land in 24:47, the American was closely followed by T100 debutant Sam Dickinson (GBR) and Kyle Smith (NZL), a big group on their heels including Jelle Geens (BEL), Rico Bogen (GER), Mathis Margirier (FRA) and London T100 champion Hayden Wilde (NZL).
Dickinson was first onto two wheels for the 80km bike course and there was the de rigeur jockeying for position as the lead group established itself and shed any hangers-on. As the stunning coastal roads continued towards the foot of the route’s major 10km climb, that front pack was set as Wilde, Bogen, Margirier, Dickinson and Geens.
As the gradients increased, Wilde and Bogen pushed it hard creating a gap on the rest over the challenging climb and technical descent. That pair went on to enter T2 in close order – Bogen setting the day’s fastest bike split of 1:47:17. Margerier was in 3rd, 30 seconds behind, with another 20 seconds to Dickinson and Geens.
Wilde quickly gapped Bogen as the 18km run got underway, his lead growing with apparent ease. Geens had soon made up his deficit, flying past Bogen and into second.
At around 6km, Dickinson was next in line to overtake the German and move into the podium placings in his first T100 outing. Bogen held on gamely, not letting the Brit get more than a few steps ahead for the next couple of kilometres before dropping away and eventually being overtaken by Margirier, the highest ranked athlete on home soil.
A last ditch acceleration from Geens forced Wilde to up his pace to the line but the Kiwi remained in cool control, finishing in 3:12:23 after a 58:12 run to take his 3rd T100 victory from 3 races this year. Putting a 3rd score on the board saw Wilde jump up 3 spots to 2nd in the T100 Race To Qatar standings.
Geens came home 22 seconds later to claim 2nd, adding a 4th race to his 2025 tally and retaining his top-spot in the T100 Race To Qatar standings.
Dickinson finished strongly to make the T100 podium on his first time of asking with Margirier coming 4th and Bogen 5th – the German retaining 3rd in the T100 Race To Qatar standings.
Meanwhile Morgan Pearson – who, along with Hayden Wilde, is set to race the World Triathlon Championship Series event tomorrow – came home in 6th with the day’s fastest run split of 57:10.
| Position | Athlete | Finish | T100 Race To Qatar Points | Prize Money |
| 1 | H Wilde | 3:12:23 | 35 | $25,000 |
| 2 | J Geens | 3:12:45 | 29 | $17,000 |
| 3 | S Dickinson | 3:14:07 | 26 | $13,000 |
| 4 | M Margirier | 3:14:55 | 23 | $10,500 |
| 5 | R Bogen | 3:15:15 | 20 | $9,000 |
| 6 | M Pearson | 3:17:16 | 18 | $8,000 |
| 7 | G Barnaby | 3:18:27 | 16 | $7,000 |
| 8 | W Hirsch | 3:18:30 | 14 | $6,000 |
| 9 | A Benito Lopez | 3:19:02 | 12 | $5,000 |
| 10 | M Koolhaas | 3:19:54 | 11 | $4,500 |
| 11 | L Bergere | 3:20:23 | 10 | $4,000 |
| 12 | K Smith | 3:22:29 | 9 | $3,500 |
| 13 | N Mann | 3:23:02 | 8 | $3,000 |
| 14 | D Magnien | 3:23:16 | 7 | $2,500 |
| 15 | S Long | 3:23:36 | 6 | $2,000 |
| 16 | C Szuch | 3:26:02 | 5 | $1,500 |
| 17 | J Nieschlag | 3:32:02 | 4 | $1,250 |
| 18 | H Palmer | 3:32:59 | 3 | $1,000 |
| 19 | P Heemeryck | 3:36:19 | 2 | 750 |
-ends-
Notes To Editors
How the 2025 T100 Triathlon World Tour works:
- Athletes score 35 points for first place to 1 pt for 20th place at each of the nine races, with increased points for 2nd (up from 28 to 29 points); 3rd (up from 25 to 26); and 4th (up from 22 to 23), to encourage more competitive racing
- The Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final has increased points to up the ante (55 pts down to 4 pts) as well as a similar upweight of points from 2nd (now 46 points from 45) to 13th position.
- Each athlete’s best four T100 race scores plus the Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final will count towards the women’s and men’s T100 World Championship titles
- $250,000 USD prize fund at each T100, totalling $2,250,000 across the nine races (1st place – $25,000k; 2nd – $17,000; 3rd – $13,000 at each race)
- The series winners following the Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final will be crowned T100 Triathlon World Champion and collect $200,000 USD from an additional total prize pool of $2,940,000
- The T100 Contenders Rankings will pay 1st to 40th place from a total prize pool of $560,000 (1st place – $16,000; 2nd place – $15,000; 3rd place – $14,000 down to 40th place – $3,000)
- Between the athlete contracts, T100 race prize fund, T100 Triathlon World Tour pool and the T100 Contenders Rankings, the series provides more than $8,000,000 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 and a pathway that feeds into the T100 series
For Further Information:
Anthony Scammell E: [email protected]
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. Its T100 Triathlon World Tour was introduced in January 2024 and is designated by World Triathlon as the ‘official World Championship for long distance triathlon’, which is part of a 12-year strategic partnership with the sport’s international governing body. The T100 Triathlon World Tour is a season-long schedule of World Championship level races competed over 100km (2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run), where the world’s best triathletes go head-to-head in iconic locations on a global broadcast showing 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. So far in 2025 these have included: Singapore (5-6 April), San Francisco (31 May-1 June), Vancouver (13-15 June) and London (9-10 August). Following the French Riviera T100 will be the Spain T100 in Oropesa de Mar (20 September), the Wollongong T100 (18 October) and the Dubai T100 (13-16 November). The first Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final will take place on 12-13 December. T100 weekends are ‘festivals of multisport’ and feature a range of opportunities for amateur athletes of all levels to get involved. From experienced amateurs tackling the 100km distance to first-time swim, bike and run participants taking on single discipline, untimed events. For more information visit www.t100triathlon.com
