Marten Van Riel became the first ever T100 World Champion in the best possible style as he got the better of Rico Bogen (GER) in an epic duel in the Grand Final in Dubai.
The brilliant Belgian knew that a podium finish would be enough for the overall crown but he was to the fore throughout, leading the swim early, in the front pack on the bike and then seeing off his rivals on the run.
Reigning 70.3 World Champion Bogen was the only man able to stick with him but a surge from Van Riel with 2.5km remaining snapped the elastic.
And there was drama in behind too as Britain’s double Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee paced his race to perfection and then survived a late fall as he came through to overtake Kyle Smith (NZL) for a superb third place – his first T100 podium.
Swim – Big front pack but Long well adrift
The water temperature pretty much matched the air figure of 31 degrees Celsius for the two-lap swim and it was Van Riel who led it out early on.
He was first at the Aussie exit, with Aaron Royle (AUS) second and Brownlee third and already one or two swim caps had disappeared into the water!
Already struggling though was Sam Long (USA), losing 2:04 on the first kilometre.
Onto lap two and Royle moved to the head affairs but no fewer than 13 men were right in touch at the start of the bike, with Long’s deficit by this point now over four minutes.
Bike – Mechanical misery for Ditlev
The close proximity of so many riders near the front of the race meant all eyes were on potential penalties.
They didn’t materialise and when things settled down on the seven laps of a relatively technical course, the front had thinned down to six riders.
Mathis Margirier (FRA) did much of the early work on the front but Van Riel, Brownlee, Bogen and newly-married Fred Funk all did their fair share in the second part of the race.
And doing his best to hang onto the front five was Smith.
Normally you’d expect Magnus Ditlev (DEN) to be part of that front pack and he was working his way up to join them when disaster struck as a problem with his seat post forced him to stop for mechanical help.
That meant his deficit to them ballooned from 39 seconds to over two minutes – by T2 he’d got it down fractionally to 1:49.
Then came Pieter Heemeryck (BEL) at +2:05, Justus Nieschlag (GER) at +2:09 and Royle at +2:37 in eighth, ninth and tenth respectively.
There was then another two minutes to Youri Keulen (BEL) who won the T100 Singapore in similarly hot and humid conditions.
Scot David McNamee, in his last race as a pro, was at +4:58 in 12th, with Long 13th at +5:21 and the rest six minutes and upwards adrift.
Run – Van Riel the real deal
So starting the 18km run we had that front group of six and the big question would be how much more the heat would impact things – as it did in the women’s race 24 hours earlier.
Leaving transition it was Van Riel – who already had his socks on from the bike – who was out first, knowing that a podium finish would be enough for him to take the overall title.
Then came Bogen, with a small gap to Funk, Margirier, Smith and Brownlee.
Brownlee had dropped back fractionally after again losing a bit of time due to transition mishaps – in T1 he briefly stopped to pick up a dropped bottle and then at T2 it was a shoe which needed collecting but those actions prevented any penalties.
So game on and the pace at the front looked brutal as Van Riel, Bogen and Smith – who contested that incredible sprint finish at T100 San Francisco – moved clear.
They put 28 seconds into Brownlee after 5km, with Margirier at +44s and Funk at +1:02.
It was the perfect position for Van Riel but he wasn’t coasting – far from it – and he put in a dig at around the halfway stage. Bogen responded and actually then moved to the front himself but the acceleration saw Smith drop back as three became two.
And in behind Brownlee looked to be pacing it perfectly – could he yet overhaul Smith for a first T100 podium?
We’d soon have all the answers and a devastating kick from Van Riel with 2.5km settled the battle for first but it was still a fantastic display from Bogen in second as he silenced those who doubted him in the heat.
And in the battle for third Brownlee was about to ease past Smith when he suddenly slipped on some gravel and hit the deck.
But he was soon back on his feet, regrouped and started to reel in the Kiwi for a second time. Thankfully there were no further mishaps as he battled past to claim a brilliant third place.
Smith and Margirier kept on for fourth and fifth respectively, with Nieschlag in sixth.
Ditlev battled into eight and was left to rue that bike mechanical while Long went from last after the swim to 10th and McNamee bowed out at the top level of the sport with 12th.
All the positions were vital as the top 10 overall – listed below – all earn contract offers for the expanded 2025 T100 season.
T100 Dubai Grand Final 2024 Results
Sunday November 17, 2024
Pro Men
- 1. Marten Van Riel (BEL) – 3:09:17
- 2. Rico Bogen (GER) – 3:09:39
- 3. Alistair Brownlee (GBR) – 3:10:25
- 4. Kyle Smith (NZL) – 3:10:41
- 5. Mathis Margirier (FRA) – 3:11:34
- 6. Justus Nieschlag (GER) – 3:12:31
- 7. Fred Funk (GER) – 3:12:49
- 8. Magnus Ditlev (DEN) – 3:13:29
- 9. Pieter Heemeryck (BEL) – 3:13:50
- 10. Sam Long (USA) – 3:15:12
Full finishing order and swim / bike / run splits will appear here later.
T100 overall standings
- 1. Marten Van Riel (BEL) – 160 points / $210,000
- 2. Kyle Smith (NZL) – 111 points / $140,000
- 3. Rico Bogen (GER) – 102 points / $90,000
- 4. Magnus Ditlev (DEN) – 100 points / $75,000
- 5. Alistair Brownlee (GBR) – 96 points / $60,000
- 6. Sam Long (USA) – 90 points / $55,000
- 7. Mathis Margirier (FRA) – 89 points / $50,000
- 8. Pieter Heemeryck (BEL) – 83 points / $45,000
- 9. Youri Keulen (BEL) – 83 points / $40,000
- 10. Fred Funk (GER) – 76 points / $35,000
(the top 10 overall are all offered contracts for the 2025 T100 season)
