London: The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) has announced a stacked start list for the inaugural PTO European Open men’s race in Ibiza on Saturday 6 May, led by PTO World #1 Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR).

“Finishing top of the 2022 PTO World Rankings was something I was very proud of and I’ll be trying to repeat in 2023. But having missed out on winning a PTO Open last year, that is something I definitely want to add to my resume,” said the twenty-nine year old Norwegian.

But Blummenfelt will have it far from his own way, with young pretenders to his crown, PTO World #3 Magnus Ditlev (DEN) and PTO World #4 Sam Laidlow (FRA), chasing him down in Ibiza. Both the Dane and the Frenchman are fast emerging talents in the sport and each are looking to go one step further in 2023.

“After finishing fourth in both PTO Opens last year I’m confident I can make it onto the podium and play with the big guns of the sport even on a shorter distance. Either way, Ibiza will be a real test to see where I’m at with my run form, after all that’s where the race has been lost for me in the past,” said the twenty-three year old Laidlow.

“I may not talk as much as some of the other athletes, but that doesn’t mean I’m not driven. I want to take my racing to the next level this season and see the PTO European Open in Ibiza as my chance to land the first blow,” explained the twenty-five year old Dane.

The full PTO European Open men’s automatically qualified start list includes 16 of the top 30 PTO Ranked athletes covering 11 different countries. It can be found here and includes:

• Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR)
• Magnus Ditlev (DEN)
• Sam Laidlow (FRA)
• Max Neumann (AUS)
• Leon Chevalier (FRA)
• Florian Angert (GER)
• Frederic Funk (GER)
• Aaron Royle (AUS)
• Patrick Lange (GER)
• Daniel Baekkegard (DEN)
• Ben Kanute (USA)
• Miki Moerck Taagholt (DEN)
• Bradley Weiss (USA)
• Jason West (USA)
• Pieter Heemeryck (BEL)
• Kristian Hogenhaug (DEN)
• Thomas Bishop (GBR)
• Gregory Barnaby (ITA)
• Rudy Von Berg (USA)
• Kyle Smith (NZL)
• Mathias Lyngsoe Peterson (DEN)
• Ben Hoffman (USA)
• David McNamee (GBR)
• Filipe Azevedo (POR)

Commenting on the field announcement, PTO CEO Sam Renouf said:

“With the much anticipated wildcards still to come – this is set to be one of the most talked about events of the year, a battle of ‘Olympic’ proportion.”

The PTO European Open will feature a women’s and men’s 100km race (2km swim; 80km bike; 18km run) in Ibiza Town, set against the island’s idyllic Balearic backdrop and co-hosted alongside the 2023 World Triathlon Multisport Championships. The two PTO races take place on Saturday 6 May, with the men starting at 0815 CET and the women at 0945 CET. Both will be broadcast live around the world to 170+ territories, courtesy of the PTO Tour’s partnerships with Warner Bros. Discovery (you can watch the action live on Eurosport 2 from 0800 CET) as well as a range of other international, regional and local broadcasters including DAZN, beIN Sports and SPOTV.

The 2023 PTO European Open women’s start list was announced yesterday and the four wildcards for each of the races will be announced tomorrow (Thursday 13 April).

The 2023 PTO Tour starts in Ibiza on 6 May before going to Milwaukee on 4-5 August for the PTO US Open and then to Singapore for the first-ever PTO Asian Open on 19-20 August.

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For Further Information

Professional Triathletes Organisation

Anthony Scammell E: [email protected]

About the Professional Triathletes Organisation

The PTO is a new body, co-owned by the professional athletes, seeking to elevate and grow the sport of Triathlon and take it to the next level. Each PTO Open is raced over 100km (2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run). 2023 PTO Tour races announced include: the PTO European Open in Ibiza on 6 May, the PTO US Open in Milwaukee on 4-5 August and the PTO Asian Open in Singapore on 19-20 August. The season will be underpinned by the PTO World Rankings, helping to create a compelling season-long narrative in the sport for the first time.