The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) has announced that Ibiza in Spain will host the first staging of the PTO European Open on May 6, 2023, as part of its 2023 PTO Tour calendar.
The PTO European Open will feature a women’s and men’s 100km race (2km swim; 80km bike; 18km run) that will take place in Ibiza Town, set against the island’s Balearic backdrop. The PTO event will be co-hosted alongside the 2023 World Triathlon Multisport Championships.
The two PTO races will be broadcast live around the world to 170+ territories, courtesy of the PTO Tour’s partnerships with Warner Bros Discovery and a series of other regional and national broadcasters.
PTO CEO Sam Renouf said “We’re excited to confirm that Ibiza will host the inaugural PTO European Open and kick off the 2023 PTO Tour.
“It continues the expansion of the PTO Tour and our journey to different continents, courses and climates and will be a fantastic way to start the season.”
PTO added that the experience for the athlete will be unique as the circuit will pass through the most iconic places of the island. The swim will take place at Figueretas Beach, the traditional swim course for triathlon events in Ibiza.
Athletes will then start the bike towards San Antonio. A multiple lap bike course will come back to Figueretas Beach for the second transition. The first part of the run goes past Ibiza Port and from there the laps will take the athletes into the World Heritage area of the city.
“In the Spanish Triathlon Federation we are very pleased with this agreement that will enable the PTO to hold their races in our country, in Ibiza, one of the events of its global PTO Tour calendar,” said José Hidalgo, President of the Spanish Triathlon Federation.
“We believe that this type of alliance also serves to make triathlon bigger.”
Hidalgo stressed that “Spain has always been a pioneer country and we have always believed that the association of all the actors and organizers of this sport is paramount to make it bigger and more important.
“This agreement, with the celebration in Ibiza of one of the events of the PTO Tour is undoubtedly in keeping with that. In short, it is great news for the triathlon world and great news for Spanish Triathlon.”
World Triathlon President and IOC Member, Marisol Casado, said “After the great experience of last year in Samorin, we are delighted to partner again with the PTO to work together on an event that will be a great spectacle for all the athletes and spectators as well as for Ibiza and the island.
“The partnership with the PTO is just natural for us, and it is great to see many of the world’s very best long-distance triathletes in action in this type of combined event, offering the athletes multiple opportunities to race. We are all ready to offer all the athletes the best experience possible and to make Ibiza an unforgettable event for all.”
Following a recent PTO Athlete Board meeting, the PTO has also made some other changes to its PTO Open races in 2023. The PTO European and US Opens will focus on the top 30 women and men, who qualify from the PTO World Rankings; whilst the already-announced PTO Asian Open will feature the world’s top 20 female and male athletes.
The prize fund for the PTO Opens in 2023 will be US$600,000 per event – with US$100,000 for the winner, US$50,000 for second and US$35,000 for third. According to PTO, this makes each event still the most lucrative in the sport over this distance. The US$2 million prize fund for the PTO World Rankings will now be split between the top 50 female and male athletes.
“Establishing a more regular consistency of ‘world championship level’ events is imperative to grow the sport through TV audiences, media coverage and sponsor opportunities for our athletes,” explained PTO’s Sam Renouf.
“So we needed to think carefully about how we kept the momentum of the first season going as we simultaneously work on plans to establish more of a season-long schedule and narrative for the Tour in 2024 and beyond.
“We believe the steps we are taking in 2023 to increase the number of races and spotlight the very best athletes, whilst balancing prize funds, will help ensure we continue to grow in a sustainable way.”
The 2023 PTO Tour will start in Ibiza on May 6, with the inaugural PTO European Open; before going to Milwaukee on August 4-5 for the PTO US Open; and then to Singapore for the first-ever PTO Asian Open on August 19-20. The final date for the 2023 PTO Tour season will be announced in due course.
