London: The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) has announced a world class start list for the inaugural PTO Asian Open men’s race in Singapore on Sunday 20 August, led by PTO World #1 Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR), #2 Gustav Iden (NOR) and #3 Magnus Ditlev (DEN).
With all seven of the top PTO ranked men lining up in the elite 20-athlete field, it promises to be an ultra competitive race.
Olympic champion Kristian Blummenfelt – who will embark on a whirlwind trip of three races across two continents in ten days next month, as he competes in an Olympic test event in Paris on 18 August, followed by the PTO Asian Open in Singapore two days later before he returns to Europe for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Finland on 27 August – has been very clear that he is travelling to win:
“I want to race the best athletes, when the prize fund is high and it’s all on the line. That is exactly what it’s like in a PTO Tour race, so the PTO Asian Open is another great opportunity for me to perform and as I’ve said many times before, I love to win and I hate to lose.”
PTO World #5 Max Neumann, who won the first PTO Tour race of the season in Ibiza in May by holding off one of the strongest fields ever assembled, including Kristian Blummenfelt in a tight finish – is full of confidence going into the race, saying:
“The PTO European Open win in Ibiza was definitely the biggest of my career to date, so having another opportunity to back it up in Singapore against all the best athletes in the world is one I’m looking forward to. I think freshness is key and not over racing and not over training. It’s a very hard thing to master, but I’ve not raced since Ibiza and put in some solid training blocks in Australia, similar to what I did ahead of that win.”
The PTO Asian Open men’s confirmed automatic qualifiers start list can be found here and includes:
- Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR)
- Gustav Iden (NOR)
- Magnus Ditlev (DEN)
- Sam Laidlow (FRA)
- Max Neumann (AUS)
- Sam Long (USA)
- Ben Kanute (USA)
- Daniel Baekkegard (DEN)
- Aaron Royle (AUS)
- Pieter Heemeryck (BEL)
- Florian Angert (GER)
- Jason West (USA)
- Bradley Weiss (SA)
- Denis Chevrot (FRA)
*Auto qualifiers based on 12 June (ranked #1-10) and 10 July rankings (ranked #11-16).
Both the men’s and women’s 100km races in Singapore will take place at the Marina Bay area against the backdrop of the iconic Singapore skyline. The final 100km course details were unveiled earlier this week, including a 16km circuit for the bike leg which starts and finishes at the Bayfront Event Space and takes athletes up the famous Sheares Bridge to give awe-inspiring views of the city. For more information on the course, visit https://protriathletes.org/events/pto-tour/asian-open/age-group.
The men’s race takes place on Sunday 20 August, starting at 1515 local time (0915 CET), and will be broadcast live around the world to 195+ territories, courtesy of the PTO Tour’s partnerships with Warner Bros. Discovery. It will live on Eurosport 2 from 0900 CET as well as featured on a range of other international, regional and local broadcasters including DAZN, beIN Sports and SPOTV. In Singapore, the PTO Asian Open will also be shown ‘live’ on mewatch, Mediacorp’s digital streaming platform, alongside a preview programme and race highlights show that will also be broadcast on Channel 5, Mediacorp’s English language free-to-air channel.
The prize fund for the PTO Opens in 2023 is $600,000 USD per event split evenly between the top 20 female and male athletes – with $100,000 USD for the winner, $50,000 USD for second and $35,000 USD for third – making each event the most lucrative in the sport over this distance.
How amateurs can sign up too…
The PTO Asian Open will also be providing opportunities for amateurs to race on the same course and on the same weekend as the leading professionals. Alongside the 100km triathlon for professionals, there is also a 100km for experienced amateurs as well as two duathlon races over a standard 4.5km Run/32km Bike/4.5km Run and a longer 9km Run/64km Bike/9km Run. Plus there’s the return to Singapore of The Music Run – a signature 5km fun run that encourages everyone to have a go while listening to their favourite tunes. To sign up for the remaining few places in what promises to be a festival of multisport activity for all abilities, visit https://protriathletes.org/events for the 100km experienced amateur triathlon and duathlons or for The Music Run go to https://themusicrun.com.sg/
The 2023 PTO Asian Open women’s start list will be announced tomorrow (Thursday 20 July) and the four wildcards for each of the races will be announced on Friday 21 July.
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For Further Information
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). The PTO European Open on 6 May kicked off the 2023 PTO Tour and is followed by the PTO US Open in Milwaukee on 4-5 August and then the PTO Asian Open in Singapore on 19-20 August. The season is underpinned by the new PTO World Rankings, helping to create a compelling season-long narrative in the sport for the first time.
About 2023 PTO Tour Qualification
For PTO Asian Open:
- The Asian Open will feature 16 Female and 16 Male Automatic Qualifiers and then four wildcard selections each.
- The top 10 Automatic Qualifying positions were selected on Monday 12th June.
- The remaining 6 Automatic Qualifying positions were selected on Monday 10th July.
- Roll-downs will continue to athletes ranked within the Top-50 in the PTO World Rankings.
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