Hayden Wilde, Jelle Geens, Lasse Priester and Sam Dickinson reunite at the French Riviera T100 Triathlon on Saturday, September 19

Just over 60 kilometres separate Nice in the Alpes-Maritimes from Fréjus-Saint-Raphaël in the Var. So, barely a week after the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Nice, it was hard to resist the short trip into the heart of the Esterel for the third stop of the T100 Triathlon World Tour, a men-only series.

Several athletes from Nice’s top 10 will therefore be fighting once again for the win, a podium place or a top-five finish, just six days after that ferocious battle on the Côte d’Azur. Most will be hoping supercompensation can help them perform at their best, with the past week largely devoted to recovery.

New Zealander Hayden Wilde, the reigning IRONMAN 70.3 world champion is currently leading the 2026 T100 standings. He won this T100 Fréjus race last year and will line up on Saturday with the same ambition.

The plan is to put myself in a good position from the start, then manage my race over the laps to stay competitive and be ready to fight for the win. I want to do everything I can to bank as many points as possible before the final two rounds.

He will face Belgian Jelle Geens, who finished third in Nice, as well as German Lasse Nygaard Priester, fifth on the Promenade des Anglais, and Briton Sam Dickinson, ninth at the 2026 Worlds and also third at last year’s T100 Fréjus, in his first appearance on the T100 circuit. The Briton would be more than happy to repeat that performance.

Compared with last year, I’ve gained a lot of experience. I’m not the same athlete anymore. I now have five T100 races under my belt and you learn even more at every event. I know the strengths and weaknesses of each competitor now, I know how to target their weak points and make the most of my own strengths. Hayden Wilde, Jelle Geens and Lasse Priester are going to run extremely fast. It could make for a really interesting battle on the run if they all come off the bike together. I’m sure Rico Bogen won’t want that to happen, so he’ll try to blow the race apart at the front on the bike, just as he did when he won in San Francisco. If I can get the most out of my body, I hope that puts me near the front and I’ll be delighted, while of course making sure I stay healthy. I also want to be on the start line for the T100 in Saudi Arabia and arrive at the end of the year in peak form for Qatar, where the world champion will be crowned. If I can be in contention for the win, then I’ll be over the moon

German Rico Bogen, who eventually finished 17th in Nice after a strong performance on the bike, also impressed at Fréjus last year, placing fifth. More broadly, he has proved himself on the T100 format (2 km swim / 80 km bike / 18 km run), winning in San Francisco in April 2026.

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There will be no French athlete on the start line this year. Mathis Margirier, the circuit’s most consistent French representative and fourth at Fréjus last year, is set to miss the race. After finishing eighth at the T100 Singapore earlier this year, the Ardèche native has endured a blank season, withdrawing from T100 San Francisco, IRONMAN 70.3 Pays d’Aix and IRONMAN Frankfurt because of foot inflammation that bothers him when running and prevents him from running at 100%.

Among the 20 Elite triathletes on the start list, Australian Jake Birtwhistle, second in the provisional 2026 T100 standings, should be fresher than his rivals. His last race was in July, when he finished second at the Airlie Beach Triathlon in Australia. The Valence Triathlon athlete had enjoyed a prolific season before that, with fourth place at IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong, sixth at T100 San Francisco and victory at IRONMAN 70.3 Western Sydney. The soon-to-be father will arrive in France full of confidence and could shake up the pecking order on a fast course running along the Esterel’s red-hued coastline.

Another potential spoiler is Dutchman Youri Keulen. He has shown that the T100 format suits him perfectly, winning T100 Singapore in 2024 and finishing third at T100 Australia last year. His start to the 2026 season has been excellent, with seventh place at T100 Singapore in April, second at IRONMAN Brazil in May and second at IRONMAN 70.3 Vitoria-Gasteiz in July.

© James MItchell/T100

Live coverage will begin at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 19, with the race starting at 8:05 a.m.

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