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

Just over 60 kilometres separate Nice in the Alpes-Maritimes from Fréjus-Saint-Raphaël in the Var. So, one week after the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Nice, it was hard to resist the short trip into the heart of the Esterel to take on the third round of the T100 Triathlon World Tour, a series reserved for male triathletes.

Several members of the Nice top 10 will once again be fighting for the win, a podium spot or a strong placing, just six days after that fierce battle on the Côte d’Azur. They will likely be counting on the phenomenon of supercompensation to hit peak form, with most of the past week 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 last year and will be targeting another victory on Saturday.

The plan is to put myself in a good position from the start, then manage my race over the laps so I can 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 here in the T100 Fréjus last year, in his first appearance on the T100 circuit. The Brit will be hoping 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 each competitor’s strengths and weaknesses now, so I know how to attack 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 running battle if they all come off the bike together. I’m sure Rico Bogen won’t want that to happen, so he’ll 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 at the sharp end, and I’d be delighted with that, while of course staying 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 shape in Qatar, where the world champion will be crowned. If I can be in the mix for the win, I’ll be over the moon.

German Rico Bogen, who eventually finished 17th in Nice after putting in a huge performance on the bike, also impressed in Fréjus last year, taking fifth, and has generally excelled over the T100 distance (2 km swim / 80 km bike and 18 km run), winning in San Francisco in April 2026.

© ©That Cameraman/T100

© ©That Cameraman/T100

© ©That Cameraman/T100

© ©That Cameraman/T100

There will be no French athlete on the start list this year. Mathis Margirier, the circuit’s most consistent French representative and fourth in 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, missing T100 San Francisco, IRONMAN 70.3 Pays d’Aix and IRONMAN Frankfurt because of foot inflammation that affects him when running and prevents him from racing 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, and the Valence Triathlon athlete had enjoyed a prolific season before that, taking fourth at IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong, sixth at T100 San Francisco and the win at IRONMAN 70.3 Western Sydney. The soon-to-be father arrives in France full of confidence and could upset the established order on a fast course along the red-hued coastline of the Esterel.

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 2026 season got off to an excellent start, 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 starts at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 19, with the race scheduled to begin at 8:05 a.m.

Also available on:

• Discovery+

• Eurosport

• Max

• TNT Sports for viewers in the United Kingdom and Ireland