World Triathlon 2020 bonus pool shuts out Canadians and other athletes unable to travel to Europe
Bonus Pool prize money to be distributed based on only one race Canadians have been able to attend
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World Triathlon/ Tommy Zaferes
World Triathlon has announced a US$100,000 Bonus Pool for the 2020 World Triathlon Ranking. The events that will count for the ranking will be the Hamburg World Triathlon Series and the Mooloolaba, Karlovy Vary, Arzachena and Valencia World Cups, along with Continental Cup events between July 1 to December 15, 2020. That means, for the most part, Canadian athletes will miss out on a chance to earn any of the bonus money. Athletes from Australia, New Zealand and Mexico, among others, will also be unable to contend for a top position in the rankings.
Based on their performances at the Mooloolaba World Cup in March, Matt Sharpe (sitting 67th in the current standings), Amelie Kretz (70th) and Emy Legault (93rd) have managed to earn some points towards this year’s rankings, but because Canadians have been unable to travel to any races since then, they have effectively been shut out of this year’s rankings.
Related: WTS Hamburg and Relay Worlds to take place “under controlled conditions” without any Canadians
Last year’s bonus pool included a total of $855,000 and paid down to 35th place in the overall standings.
Thanks to their wins and runner-up finishes in both Hamburg and Karlovy Vary, Vincent Luis (FRA) and Vasco Vilaca (POR) sit atop the men’s standings, while Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR) is 500 points ahead of Flora Duffy (BER) in the women’s standings thanks to her win in Hamburg versus Duffy’s win at the Karlovy Vary world cup. (Click here to see the 2020 World Triathlon Ranking Criteria.)
World Triathlon also announced today that the 2020 Valencia World Cup will take place on November 7 and 8 and will include 65 men and women competing over the sprint distance. That race was originally scheduled for May but was postponed due too the COVID-19 pandemic.
The executive board also approved the bid to hold the 2021 Paratriathlon World Championships in Milan, which had been awarded the 2020 event before it had to be cancelled.
