German ace Rico Bogen is determined to retain his T100 crown in San Francisco this Saturday, 7 June.
Speaking ahead of the Sokin T100 San Francisco, he said last year’s victory ‘was really special and emotional’ and it ‘always feels great here’.
Asked what his mindset was coming into the race as defending champion, the German smiled and said: “Stop Hayden! I think if you want to win, you have to stop Hayden.”
Twelve months ago, Bogen celebrated his first ever T100 win by getting engaged to his partner Emily, proposing in the shadow of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.
His game plan this time? “My goal is to make it a really hard bike for everybody. Then we can see if I can get away. I think the bike course suits me because it’s really high power.”
Current PTO World #1 Hayden Wilde missed last week’s World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) race in Alghero, Italy, because of a virus and although he’s getting better ‘day by day’, he said he was still feeling ‘a little average’.
He’s also a debutant on the legendary Escape From Alcatraz course so arguably faces his toughest T100 challenge yet, as he looks to maintain his winning start to this season and make it eight T100 wins from nine starts overall.
“I feel when you race these guys, you don’t really wanna come into this sort of racing at below par. But I’m looking forward to trying to get out there and give the race the respect it deserves. It’s Alcatraz and it’s pretty cool, and I haven’t done it before.”
“It’s actually a very good course for me,” he went on with a wry grin. “It’s a relatively quick swim with the currents and then it’s a pretty punchy course and really suits how I ride aggressively.”
Home favourite Morgan Pearson kicks off his T100 season and was upbeat about his chances, saying one of the biggest things he learned about himself last season was ‘just to have confidence and belief in myself’.
He’s also relished the two-hour flight versus a 14-hour flight and is desperate to give the US crowd something to cheer.
Meanwhile Olympic bronze medalist from Paris 2024 Léo Bergere is back on a startline after nine months away through injury and has been something of an athlete’s pick this week, with both Hayden Wilde and Rico Bogen saying he was the one to keep an eye on.
The full list of professional men competing in the Sokin T100 San Francisco Triathlon is here: https://stats.protriathletes.org/race/san-francisco-t100/2026/participants
How To Watch
The race starts at 0635 local time on Saturday 7 June with the live broadcast beginning at 0630. Fans in the US can watch the action live on beIN, DAZN, Triathlonlive.tv or YouTube, with highlights on Fox Sports and Fan Duel Sports Network next week. For a full breakdown of where to watch, please visit: https://t100triathlon.com/how-to-watch/
On Sunday, just under 2,000 amateurs will compete in the Sokin Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon. The legendary race will see participants from 69 different countries around the world, the oldest being 83 and the youngest 18. Just over three quarters of them have come from across the US with the other quarter from abroad. The largest contingent coming from the UK.
