It is almost two years to the day of the announcement from the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) that they would be launching a World Tour. That announcement keyed in on two concrete individual events in 2022 (the US Open and Canadian Open), with the anticipated launch of two additional events coming online in 2023. These, combined with the team competition Collins Cup, would be their hallmark.
In 2022, the PTO hit its goals, at least from a professional standpoint. Both the Canadian and US Open dates featured excellent racing, and solid if not unspectacular live coverage. The Collins Cup, although difficult to follow in its simultaneously occurring race format, went off without a hitch.
Their miss, however, was more on the age-group side, where the Tour was establishing new events. First was a pricing model that saw their races, in some cases, costing athletes significantly more than IRONMAN or Challenge branded events in the same regions. They notably course corrected that action, slashing prices by 50%, but that pricing seemed to slow registration and fields were, by size, more in line with those of larger regional-based events versus that of the larger name brands.
In 2023, the PTO pivoted. For the most part, PTO Tour events took place alongside larger existing age-group events, such as USA Triathlon Nationals in Milwaukee for the US Open. By doing so, it created the types of crowds and atmosphere that can be compelling on broadcast; you have a readily available set of triathlon nerds looking to get a glimpse of the world’s best middle distance racers. Ibiza, Milwaukee, and Singapore all were quality events.
And then there was reason for optimism. Almost four months ago, the PTO and World Triathlon announced a combined World Championship Tour. The plan: six races in 2024, with five Continental events to be in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. It’d see new age group racing added to these professional races. All was to be announced in October.
Two months after the self-imposed deadline, and we have two races for 2024 on the schedule — the return of the Asian Open in Singapore, and the European Open in Ibiza. Meanwhile, IRONMAN has announced an 18 race Pro Series, encompassing both IRONMAN 70.3 and full distance races, along with both of their World Championships races. There’s a bonus pool. And registration is open for age groupers and professionals alike.
It all leads us to ask: PTO, where are the other races?
Yesterday, the PTO doubled down on their commitment to the Tour concept in a release, stating that races will be announced “early in the new year.” When asked for clarification if that would mean all events would be announced at once, or each individually as finalized, a PTO spokesperson noted that they will “closely monitor how things evolve. As we did the Ibiza and Singapore.”
In the release, PTO Chief Executive Officer Sam Renouf made light of some of the issues that the PTO faces versus other race organizers. Chief among them: the requirement of entirely separate racing for professionals versus age group athletes.
Unfortunately for the PTO, the clock is ticking. Particularly for age group racers, decision making is already well under way with regard to 2024 race schedules. For example, the North American calendar is filling, with key IRONMAN events selling out and Challenge re-entering the marketplace with multiple offerings in 2024. On the professional front, it’s not much better — not only is there the new IRONMAN Pro Series on the docket, Challenge continues to put focus on key events, and it’s an Olympic Year.
Perhaps that’s why, in particular, PTO Executive Chairman Chris Kermode said, “2024 is set to be an incredible year for Professional Triathlon and we’re excited to be working with our athletes and partners to make that happen.” It may very well be an incredible year for professional triathlon. It’s simply going to be a matter of: how much of it will the PTO actually be a part of?