Sam Long leads all-star cast for Lake Las Vegas T100 Triathlon

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The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) and World Triathlon have announced the 11 contracted T100 men who will line up for the Lake Las Vegas T100 Triathlon on October 19-20, led by American favourite Sam Long.

With all to play for in the sixth and penultimate leg of the inaugural T100 Triathlon World Tour, third placed Long will be looking to cement his place at the top of the series standings heading into the Dubai T100 World Championship Final on 16-17 November, where the first T100 World Champions will be crowned.

Chasing him hard will be Belgium’s Pieter Heemeryk, Germany’s Rico Bogen and Fred Funk, France’s Mathis Margirier and Britain’s double Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee. All of whom have shown they have what it takes to win a T100 race so far this season but haven’t yet put together the complete race. Returning Paris Olympian, Marten Van Riel, has already proved he has what it takes to win, following his dramatic three-way sprint victory in San Francisco in June. The Belgian will go into the race as a heavy favourite for some, having won all five of the middle distance triathlon races he’s competed in.

The full list of contracted men competing in the Lake Las Vegas T100 Triathlon – in they order they appear in the current T100 standings – is here and includes:

Sam Long (USA)
Pieter Heemeryk (BEL)
Rico Bogen (GER)
Mathis Margirier (FRA)
Fred Funk (GER)
Alistair Brownlee (GBR)
Marten Van Riel (BEL)
Aaron Royle (AUS)
Jason West (USA)
Javier Gomez (ESP)
Max Neumann (AUS)

The 100km (2 km/1.2 mile swim; 80 km/49 mile bike; 18 km/11 mile run) pro men’s race will start at 1415 local time on Saturday 19 October, with the men’s pro race going off at 0815 the same day. The pros start with a 2km 2-lap swim in Lake Las Vegas, before a first transition in the shadow of the stunning Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa. The 80km bike course breaks down into five 11 mile laps which each start with a steep 20% gradient climb onto a rolling course which goes through Wetlands Park and Calico Ridge towards Henderson and back. The total elevation over the five laps is more than 1,400 meters – the most on any bike course in the T100 series. The course finishes with an 18km run split into six 1.8 mile laps around Reflection Bay Golf Club.

The amateur 100km triathlon over a very similar course starts from 0700 on Sunday morning. The swim in Lake Las Vegas will be just one 1.2 mile lap. The bike leg will follow the same climb out of the resort, but there will be four 12 mile laps, courtesy of an extended loop along Lake Las Vegas Parkway, before following the same rolling route out and back to Henderson. The 18km run takes place in a different section of the Reflection Bay Golf Club and will be made up of three 3.3 mile laps.

And, in keeping with the T100 ambition to offer a variety of different distances and events, there is also a 2km (1.2 mile) and 4km (2.4 mile) open water swims in Lake Las Vegas. These will take place on the Saturday afternoon between the women’s and men’s pro races. To sign up for the 100km amateur triathlon or the open water swims events, or find out more about the courses, go to https://t100triathlon.com/lake-las-vegas/participate/100km-open/