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The Collins Cup Explainer – everything you need to know

Based on a similar format to golf's Ryder Cup, the Collins Cup will feature 12 separate "matches" of three racers from the US, Europe and Internationals teams.

Photo by: Professional Triathletes Organisation

Owned by the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO), the Collins Cup will be an annual competition featuring teams from the United States, Europe and the rest of the world (Internationals).

Here’s a video that highlights everything you need to know about the Collins Cup:

Who:

Qualification for the Collins Cup is open to any professional triathlete who is a member in good standing of the PTO. Any licensed professional triathlete is eligible for membership and there are no membership fees or costs.

What:

Featuring teams of 12 athletes (six men and six women), points will be awarded based on the winners of each of the 12 “matches” between an athlete from each team.

When:

The inaugural race will take place on August 28, 2021.

Where:

The race will take place at the same venue as the Challenge Championship – the X-Bionicsphere in Samorin, Slovakia. A training complex that serves almost 30 different sports, the X-Bionicsphere has been the only venue for the Challenge Championship since it started in 2017.

Related: What on Earth is an X-Bionicsphere

Distance:

The race will be made up of a 2 km swim, 80 km bike and an 18 km run

Teams:

The first eight members of each team will be decided based on the PTO World Rankings. The final four spots on each team will be determined by the “non-athlete” members of the PTO board, based on suggestions from the team captains.

Click here for the latest PTO World Rankings.

Team Captains and Current Standings:

USA

Karen Smyers
Mark Allen

USA Team Standings

INTERNATIONALS

Erin Baker
Craig Alexander
Simon Whitfield
Lisa Bentley

International Team Standings

EUROPE

Chrissie Wellington
Normann Stadler

Europe Team Standings

The night before the race the team captains will decide the various matchups for the Collins Cup racing.

An athlete from each team will compete in an individual race of there – there will be 12 separate race matches, each 10 minutes apart.

During the bike and run sections of the race the athletes will be able to communicate with their team captains and the communication will be broadcast to the TV audience. Team captains and the viewing audience will have access to live metrics (pace, power, etc.), which captains will be able to communicate to the athletes during the race.

Communications

During the bike and run portions of the event, each athlete will be have a radio and be in contact with their respective Team Captains, and their communications will be broadcast to the TV audience. All Team Captains and the viewing audience will have access to various live metrics (pace, power watts etc.) of all competitors. Team Captains will be permitted to communicate this information to their athletes throughout the race.

Points:

The winner of each race’s team will earn three points, with second earning two points and third taking one point. Bonus points will also be awarded – winning by over two minutes will earn 1/2 point, a four-minute-plus win will earn one point and winning by six minutes or more will be worth 1.5 points.

The Collins Cup and The Broken Spokes

The winning team with the most points will claim the Collins Cup. The third-place team will be awarded the Broken Spokes Trophy.