The US triathlon star welcomed the introduction of the T50 and T100 World Championship Tours, which is able to sit as the best tier of competitors below the brand new Triathlon World Tour construction from 2027, and believes the transfer will permit each codecs to develop collectively.
Speaking in regards to the WTCS London occasion, Knibb, who has competed efficiently throughout each Olympic-distance and long-distance racing, believes the introduction of the T50 and T100 codecs could make the game more accessible and commercially enticing.
“One thing about short-course racing, when you went to Ironman 70.3, was that there’s the age-group side of the sport, and there’s the relatability,” the two-time Olympic silver medallist mentioned.
“And so now, by making it T100 and T50, you’ll be able to bring different athletes into the game, which brings a industrial side, which brings more sponsors, more companions, more viewership, more all the pieces.”
Knibb, who has received each the T100 Triathlon World Tour Gold Coast and the World Triathlon Cup Edmonton this yr, continued: “I’m very excited as a result of I believe that change is critical. Actually, pondering of the trail model, F1 is best than F2 racing. So, it’s not {that a} greater quantity is best; it’s simply totally different.
“A rising tide lifts all ships. Hopefully, we can elevate the sport altogether versus everyone keeping each other down.”
The WTCS London occasion returns to the capital for the primary time since 2015.
More than 100 of the world’s main triathletes, together with Britain’s Olympic champion Alex Yee and 2023 world champion Beth Potter, will race across the ExCeL London and Royal Docks course as they battle for helpful championship factors.
The occasion types a part of the London T100 Triathlon weekend, with over 5,000 beginner athletes additionally collaborating throughout the weekend.
Knibbs’ feedback come after the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) and World Triathlon confirmed the launch of the Triathlon World Tour, which is able to unify the present T100 Triathlon World Tour and the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) below one construction.
The WTCS can be rebranded because the T50 World Championship Tour, whereas the present T100 sequence will grow to be the T100 World Championship Tour.
Both will function World Championship Finals, with further Challenger-level occasions offering a pathway for athletes.
PTO CEO Sam Renouf echoed Knibb’s view that T50 and T100 ought to be seen as complementary fairly than competing properties and rejected the concept the shorter format is a lesser model of the game.
“One of the first things when we announced this was, ‘Oh, well, T50 is below T100 because it’s half,’ and I think it couldn’t be more opposite,” mentioned Renouf.
“The ultimate pinnacle of our sport is the Olympic Games, and that’s what we want to see the journey towards. It’s also why we would like to see T100 at the Olympic Games again.”
“It is an important point to make that T50 and T100 are equally important, and if anything, our investment will go more into the short-course side of the sport, even in the short term, because it needs that lift.”
The first T50 World Championship Tour calendar will embody 9 occasions in 2027, starting in Abu Dhabi in March and the World Championship Finals in Hamburg in September. London will be a part of the sequence in August, whereas the T100 World Championship Tour will function eight races, together with its ultimate in Qatar.
Watch British stars, together with Alex Yee, Beth Potter, Georgia Taylor-Brown and Sophie Evans, race on the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) London, with Olympic qualifying factors on the road. The elite girls begin at 1430 and the elite males go at 1615, with dwell protection on Triathlonlive.tv and TNT Sports within the UK.
