Starting on 8th March 2024 in the heat of Abu Dhabi, the 16th season of World Triathlon top-tier action since the dawn of the Series format promises to deliver even more world-class action, high drama and big-name excitement along the road to crowning our 2024 World Triathlon Champions.
Five World Triathlon Championship Series races plus October’s Championship Finals will decide who comes out on top of the world in 2024, when the province of Malaga, Spain, hosts this year’s grand finale.
In 2023, it was Britain’s Beth Potter and Dorian Coninx of France who reigned supreme for the first time and left Pontevedra with the big prize. Across the 2024 campaign, with the addition of an almighty Olympic Games challenge right in the middle of the year for many of the likely title challengers, the door could be open for more fireworks and new faces on the end-of-year podiums.
8-9 MARCH – WTCS ABU DHABI
For the seventh year since 2015, the WTCS curtain will go up and the first blue carpet of the year laid down in Abu Dhabi. And it is back once again to the Yas Marina F1 circuit, where a fast, rolling sprint-distance course will see the athletes thrashing it out to test their off-season training and early-season fitness in both individual and Mixed Relay action.
Rewind 12 months and it was here that a first ever Series win for Beth Potter set her on course for a huge, title-winning season. It was further back in 2019 that compatriot Alex Yee scored his first ever WTCS podium with silver aged just 22 years-old, and he scooped the first of his three wins last year on Yas Island. Expect fast racing and a highly unpredictable podium as the first points of 2024 go on the board in the UAE, and where the likes of Vincent Luis, Gwen Jorgensen and Leonie Periault will be eager to start their years in style as they chase a place in Paris.
11 May – WTCS YOKOHAMA
The rain poured down on the athletes in 2023, a familiar sight for WTCS Yokohama over the years and one that the athletes always respond to, with gutsy performances the norm over the Olympic-distance course. Part of the very first Series way back in 2009 when the greats Lisa Norden and Jan Frodeno took the honours, it was Sophie Coldwell (GBR) and Hayden Wilde (NZL) who came through last year with two comprehensive wins.
A two-lap swim in Yokohama Bay, nine-lap bike and four-lap run await. Fast and flat, it was a scorching 28m50s time for the 10km finale from Alex Yee that saw him win two years ago, and a sub-29 minute target will be on many minds at the first full-distance challenge ahead of Paris 2024.
25 May – WTCS CAGLIARI
The final action of the Olympic Qualification Period is sure to bring the heat to Sardinia and the third WTCS Cagliari since the venue was added to the circuit in 2022. While there will be some big names on the cusp of a Paris berth looking to seize one last opportunity to impress the selection committees, there will be others simply seeking the security of a confidence-boosting display before their Olympic adventure.
Among the latter, Jeanne Lehair was motoring here in 2023 along with Cassandre Beaugrand, while Georgia Taylor-Brown would certainly want a third straight win to help assure her place on the GB team after an injury-hit campaign last year. Alex Yee ran 28m31s with Wilde just four seconds slower over the 10km, but it is the long, shallow water of the beach start that can cause issues early on, and the deceptively tough, rolling bike and run has done for plenty, last year’s race littered with big-name DNFs.
13-14 July – WTCS HAMBURG
Mid-July sees the long-running favourite WTCS Hamburg return in the form of a sprint-distance race and the Mixed Relay World Championships. Among the dependable ingredients that add to the magic are an electric atmosphere, daunting tunnel finish to the swim and Laura Lindemann featuring in the top 10. The German star has five podiums in nine races, excluding last year’s Mixed Relay world title, while French no.1 Beaugrand has two golds and a silver from her last four Hamburg appearances.
Wilde will have happy memories of the city after scoring his first win over Yee here in 2023, but with the Olympics just two weeks away, it looks likely there will be opportunities for some new faces to score podiums and points that could help propel them into the world championship race with two events to go. It’s a tight and intense circuit that requires 100% concentration to succeed here.
14 September – WTCS MONTREAL
It was a first Series win for Australia’s Matthew Hauser in Montreal last year, and a second podium for Brazil’s Manoel Messias, while Katie Zaferes (USA) was back in the WTCS top five for the first time since 2021. This year the action heads to the beautiful Parc Jean Drapeau, where the home of Canadian F1 – the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit – awaits the athletes for individual Sprint and Mixed Relay formats.
Set on Notre Dame Island, the race will pack a fast and flat bike and run off the 750m swim, and the last chance to secure precious points ahead of the all-important Championship Finals. Expect plenty of returning Olympians back to test themselves and looking to set up a blockbuster finale to the 2024 season.
19 & 20 October – CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS MALAGA
That blockbuster finish will come over two days in the Spanish province of Malaga, with the women going out on the Saturday and the men on the Sunday in search of the world titles. As Dorian Coninx proved in 2023 and Leo Bergere in 2022, the extra points available at the Finals can be the decisive factor, both athletes securing the world championships with their only wins of those seasons, so get ready for more edge-of-the-seat action in Spain.
The promise of an original course, huge crowds and the anticipation and tension that come hand-in-hand with the Finals make for an intoxicating prospect to wrap up the WTCS action in 2024. Will the French continue their domination of the men’s competition? Will there be another brand-new women’s champion spraying the champagne at the close of the year?
Follow all the action throughout 2024 on TriathlonLive.tv and across World Triathlon social channels to stay close to the action.
