Oropesa Del Mar Welcomes World’s Best Triathletes For Spain T100

September 19, 2025

Oropesa Del Mar, Spain /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – The official press conference for this Saturday’s Spain T100 shone a light on the great teamwork involved to stage this race in just six weeks, as well as the arrival of some of the world’s best triathletes in Oropesa Del Mar.

The first words came from the athletes, with French superstar Vincent Luis saying: “I’ve been living in Girona for six years now and I love being able to train and race here in Spain. This morning I checked out the bike course and I really enjoyed it. I’m very happy to be racing here. This will be my first competition after being injured for two months. I’m confident in the swim and the bike, and then in the run… we’ll see!”

Sara Pérez Sala, one of Spain’s leading triathletes and a Contender Wildcard here this week, said: “Oropesa feels like home to me [due to having visited often to hold pro and amateur training camps], and this will be my third time racing here. It’s the perfect destination to compete, train, and also spend time with family — who will be cheering me on during the race. From the moment I learned the T100 circuit would be coming to Oropesa, I knew it would be a success thanks to the work of FETRI and Héctor de la Cagiga [the Race Director this week]. I hope to deliver a strong race and a great show for both local fans and the international TV audience.”

Guillem Montiel, current European Middle Distance Champion and another Contender Wildcard, added: “It’s an honor to race in an event of this level alongside the best triathletes in the world. Although it’s my debut at this distance, I feel mentally calm and in good shape, but it’s still a question mark to see where I stand in the race. I’m looking forward to Saturday and to making it a great day.”

The event was also attended by local and regional authorities and event organizers, highlighting the significance of the race for Oropesa, Castellón, and the Valencian Community.

Setting the context of how Oropeso Del Mar had come to host the sixth stage on this year’s T100 Tour, following a switch from Valencia due to unexpected construction work in the city, Patrick Byerly, the Professional Triathletes Organisation’s Chief Operating Officer said:

“Speaking on behalf of the PTO, I want to say how appreciative we are of the city of Oropesa, the region and the sports administration team for having us here. What we’ve pulled off together in a short amount of time is unprecedented. I’ve been doing this for a very long time, but I’ve never been associated with an event that has been pulled together in around six weeks. That doesn’t happen without great teamwork, so Hector and his team in Oropesa, Jorge and everyone at FETRI, thank you.”

“I travel close to around 200 days a year all over the world and I can say that this is a great place to have one of our T100 races, which is effectively our office this week. So thank you for opening your doors and welcoming us – and thank you to the pro athletes for believing in us to be able to pull this off in such a short period of time. This Saturday’s broadcast will show off the city and the region on TV in 195 territories and some 20 languages.”

Responding, Sonia Bellés, Sports Councillor of Oropesa del Mar: “I want to welcome everyone here today — institutions and athletes alike. As an athlete myself, I couldn’t imagine a better way to close out the year of sporting events than hosting the Spain T100 in our town. I’m proud that for five hours our municipality will be broadcast to the world. Thank you to everyone who has made this possible.”

Héctor de la Cagiga, Race Director: “I want to thank Patrick [Byerly] and FETRI for trusting us to collaborate in the organization of such a world-class event. It’s a unique opportunity to showcase our environment to the best athletes in the world, not only for racing but also for future training camps.”

Iván Sánchez, Deputy for Sports of the Castellón Provincial Council: “It’s an honor to host the best triathletes in the world here in Castellón. Each year we stage over 300 sporting events, and this race allows us to strengthen our commitment to sports tourism and extending the season. Thanks to everyone’s effort, we can enjoy this spectacular event on Saturday.”

Jorge García, Competitions Director of FETRI: “Oropesa del Mar will host the third Spanish leg of the T100 series, after the two editions in Ibiza. FETRI remains committed to organizing the world’s best triathlon events, this time alongside Héctor de la Cagiga, whose longstanding work in Castellón is a benchmark of dedication and excellence.”

Luis Cervera, Director General of Sports of the Valencian Community: “It is an immense honor to host this top-level competition in our region. This is not just another event — it represents a leap in quality for our sporting calendar, which is already strong. I want to thank the Town Hall, the Provincial Council, and FETRI for making it possible for Oropesa and Castellón to welcome such an important race.”

Who To Look Out For

Jelle Geens was many people’s favourite to win the T100 World Championship this season, but the arrival of Wilde on the scene has changed all that. With three T100 victories to his name already this season – in Singapore, London and last time out on the French Riviera – the Kiwi looks a cut above the rest.

“I definitely need to beat him,” said Geens earlier this week in the build up to T100 Tour’s visit to the historic town in Castellón, located just 45 minutes from Valencia and which offers an exceptional setting along with a well-regarded course. “I’ve beaten him before. I want to be him quite badly to be honest. There’s a fire in me.”

With Germany’s Rico Bogen looking to rediscover his winning formula from San Francisco; New Zealander Kyle Smith trying to return to form; and Youri Keulen and Mathis Margirier attempting to take their performances up another level – we’re all set for another very competitive race.

The women’s T100 series has seen five different winners in five races, with this race bringing together three of them – Australian Ashleigh Gentle [French Riviera T100 Champions] and British stars Kate Waugh [Singapore T100 Champion] and Lucy Charles-Barclay [London T100 Champion]. In what promises to be another close fought race, victory for either one of them could catapult them to the top of the T100 Race To Qatar rankings. The full start lists are here.

How To Watch

Tune in live from 0845 CEST on Saturday 20 September for free globally on PTO+, or watch on our partners channels such as Eurosport 2 in Spain, Max or Discovery+ in Europe, or beIN in North America. For a full breakdown of where to watch, please visit: https://t100triathlon.com/spain/pro/ The men’s race starts at 0855 local time with the women’s race going off at 1010. Stay up to date with Live Data here.

Notes To Editors

How the 2025 T100 Triathlon World Tour works:

• Athletes score 35 points for first place to 1 pt for 20th place at each of the nine races, with increased points for 2nd (up from 28 to 29 points); 3rd (up from 25 to 26); and 4th (up from 22 to 23), to encourage more competitive racing
• The Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final has increased points to up the ante (55 pts down to 4 pts) as well as a similar upweight of points from 2nd (now 46 points from 45) to 13th position.
• Each athlete’s best four T100 race scores plus the Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final will count towards the women’s and men’s T100 World Championship titles
• $250,000 USD prize fund at each T100, totalling $2,250,000 across the nine races (1st place – $25,000k; 2nd – $17,000; 3rd – $13,000 at each race)
• The series winners following the Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final will be crowned T100 Triathlon World Champion and collect $200,000 USD from an additional total prize pool of $2,940,000
• The T100 Contenders Rankings will pay 1st to 40th place from a total prize pool of $560,000 (1st place – $16,000; 2nd place – $15,000; 3rd place – $14,000 down to 40th place – $3,000)
• Between the athlete contracts, T100 race prize fund, T100 Triathlon World Tour pool and the T100 Contenders Rankings, the series provides more than $8,000,000 in athlete compensation, and is distributed in a way that not only rewards the winners, but also recognises the significant achievement of racing at this level and a pathway that feeds into the T100 series

-ends-

For Further Information:

Anthony Scammell E: Anthony.Scammell@stg-www.protriathletes.org

The PTO is a sports body that is co-owned by its professional athletes, seeking to elevate and grow the sport of triathlon and take it to the next level. Its T100 Triathlon World Tour was introduced in January 2024 and is designated by World Triathlon as the ‘official World Championship for long distance triathlon’, which is part of a 12-year strategic partnership with the sport’s international governing body. The T100 Triathlon World Tour is a season-long schedule of World Championship level races competed over 100km (2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run), where the world’s best triathletes go head-to-head in iconic locations on a global broadcast showing the races live around the world in 195+ territories, courtesy of the PTO’s partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery as well as a range of other international, regional and local broadcasters. So far in 2025 these have included: Singapore (5-6 April), San Francisco (31 May-1 June), Vancouver (13-15 June) and London (9-10 August). Following the French Riviera T100 will be the Spain T100 in Oropesa de Mar (20 September), the Wollongong T100 (18 October) and the Dubai T100 (13-16 November). The first Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final will take place on 12-13 December. T100 weekends are ‘festivals of multisport’ and feature a range of opportunities for amateur athletes of all levels to get involved. From experienced amateurs tackling the 100km distance to first-time swim, bike and run participants taking on single discipline, untimed events. For more information visit www.t100triathlon.com