Saint-Raphaël-Fréjus, France: T100 series leader Hayden Wilde says he wants to “get that top step again” for this weekend’s Ekoï French Riviera T100 Triathlon on the stunning Estérel Côte d’Azur after winning the event last year.
Racing on Saturday 19 September from 0805 local time will be 20 of the best professional male triathletes in the world, with nine of the top ten in the T100 Race to Qatar standings, including leader Hayden Wilde (NZL), second place Jake Birtwhistle (AUS), and 2026 Sokin T100 San Francisco Triathlon race winner Rico Bogen (GER). Jelle Geens (BEL) returns to T100 action for the first time in 2026 following his third place finish in the T100 Race to Qatar standings in 2025.
All taking place on a picturesque course hosted in Saint-Raphaël, across a 2-lap 2km swim, a 4-lap 80km bike ride and a 6-lap 18km run course [https://t100triathlon.com/french-riviera/pro/#map].
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s race, Hayden Wilde said: “I want to try and get some early points on the board and then I can go to the race in Saudi and try and switch that third place [from the Sokin T100 San Francisco Triathlon] into a first place as well. So there’s many things that could reap the rewards after this race.“
“I want to come back here and try and get that top step again,” said the World #1, who won last year’s French Riviera T100. “I think I just have to play my cards right and just be patient again.”
The Kiwi discussed his plan for the race: “Get myself into a good position early on and, and then just play my cards throughout the race and just do enough to try and be competitive and be willing to fight for the win. Just do as much as I can to get as many points heading into the final two rounds.”
Great Britain’s Sam Dickinson is also raring to go on Saturday, having recently come back from a foot injury. The Brit came third on his debut T100 race in Saint-Raphaël last year.
“Compared with last year, I’ve gained a lot of experience. I’m a different athlete to last year. I’ve got five T100s now under the belt and with each race, you just gain more experience. I now know each athlete’s strengths and weaknesses and, and how to attack the weaknesses and make the most of my own strengths as well.”
Eyeing up the competition, Dickinson said: “You’ve got Hayden [Wilde], Jelle [Geens] and Lasse [Priester], and myself all from the top 10 in the T100 Race To Qatar rankings. Certainly those three in front will be able to run super fast, and that might be a really interesting run battle if they all come off the bike together. I’m sure Rico [Bogen] is not gonna want that to happen, so he’s going to be pushing the race on from the front on the bike like he did when he won in San Francisco.”
“If I can get the most out of my body, hopefully that puts me near the front of the race on the weekend and I’ll be happy with that – and of course just staying healthy too. Because I also wanna be back for the T100 in Saudi, and be pinging for Qatar at the end of the year where the world champion will be crowned. And if I can be in the mixer, then yeah, I’ll be buzzing.”
As well as the professional men’s Ekoï French Riviera T100 Triathlon, the region will be hosting a Youth Aquathlon supported by Airbnb on the afternoon of Saturday 19 September, and the Saint-Raphaël Triathlon by Roxim on Sunday 20 September. The Youth Aquathlon is open to children aged 6 to 15, with 1,400 amateur triathletes set to participate in the Saint-Raphaël Triathlon by Roxim. The latter is open to all levels and lets everyone experience triathlon for themselves on the legendary courses of the French Riviera. The T100 weekend is bringing together the world elite of men’s long-distance triathlon, young local talent, and amateurs from all over France.
Also talking ahead of the weekend, Frédéric Masquelier, President of the Estérel Côte d’Azur Urban Area, said: “Hosting the Ekoï French Riviera T100 for the second consecutive year in our urban area is a source of pride, both local and global. This new edition once again proves that our region is a true land of sporting performance, for the world’s best athletes as much as for tomorrow’s rising young talent.”
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Notes To Editors:
How to watch:
How the 2026 T100 Triathlon World Tour works:
- Athletes score 35 points for first place to 1 pt for 20th place at each of the races; 2nd – 29 points; and 3rd – 26 points
- The Qatar 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 Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final will count towards the women’s and men’s T100 World Championship titles
- $275,000 USD prize fund at each T100, totalling $2,750,000 across the nine races (1st place – $50,000k; 2nd – $40,000; 3rd – $30,000 at each race)
- The series winners following the Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final will be crowned T100 Triathlon World Champion and collect $100,000 USD from an additional total prize pool of $1,450,000 (2nd – $80,000; 3rd – 75,000)
- Between the T100 race prize fund and T100 Triathlon World Tour pool, the series provides $4,200,000 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 more details, visit https://t100triathlon.com/pro-racing/
For Further Information:
PTO – Frankie Draper 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. 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’. This is part of a 12-year strategic partnership with the sport’s international governing body to develop the sport and it will grow further in 2027 with the launch of the new Triathlon World Tour. 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. In 2026, the T100 Tour will deliver its 9-stop T100 Race To Qatar to: the Gold Coast (21-22 March), Singapore (25-26 April), Spain (23-24 May), San Francisco (6-7 June), Vancouver (15-16 August), French Riviera (19-20 September), Dubai (12-15 November), Saudi Arabia (November) & Qatar (11-12 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
World Triathlon
World Triathlon is the international governing body for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of triathlon and all related multisport disciplines around the world, including duathlon, aquathlon, cross triathlon and winter triathlon. Triathlon made its Olympic debut in Sydney 2000, with a third medal event, the Mixed Team Relay, added to the programme at Tokyo 2020, while para triathlon was first added to the Paralympic programme at Rio 2016. World Triathlon is proudly committed to the development of the sport worldwide, with inclusion, equality, sustainability and transparency at our core as we seek to help triathletes at all levels of the sport to be extraordinary.
