Defending champion Julie Derron to head women's field at Dubai T100

Switzerland’s Julie Derron will defend her Dubai T100 title next month as leader of the T100 Race to Qatar, heading a 20-strong professional field at Al Mamzar on November 14.

Derron, the Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist, finished third in the T100 season standings in 2024 and runner-up to Great Britain’s Kate Waugh last year.

She was second to USA’s Taylor Knibb at Dubai's inaugural race in 2024, and last November she beat Waugh by more than three minutes, with Britain’s Jessica Learmonth third.

“I’m very happy to be coming back to Dubai,” said Derron. “I always seem to find a lot of positive energy there, and the support last year was amazing".

"This year we have a new venue at Al Mamzar, so I’m excited to race on a new course and see a different side of the city,” she added. 

The event is Derron's last chance to score points before the Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final on December 10-12

This season’s T100 Triathlon World Tour is split into four women’s races and four men’s races, and both fields come together in Doha.

Dubai is the last of the four women’s races. Each race carries a $50,000 winner’s prize, double last year’s.

Knibb won the season opener on the Gold Coast in March. Derron’s points have come from the two races since then.

She was second to Great Britain’s Georgia Taylor-Brown in Pamplona in May, then won in Vancouver in August, a minute and 40 seconds clear of Waugh, with Taylor-Brown third.

That puts her on 64 points, two ahead of fellow Swiss Imogen Simmonds and three clear of Taylor-Brown. Each athlete’s best three race scores count towards the title, along with their result in Qatar, where the winner takes 55 points rather than the usual 35.

THE FIELD

Taylor-Brown is among Derron’s challengers in Dubai, along with Waugh, the reigning T100 World Champion. 

Simmonds is not racing in Dubai, so her 62 points will stand going into Qatar.

“Leading the standings is a nice position to be in, but it’s very close, and with Dubai being the last race before Qatar I want to show another strong race,” added Derron.

“I’ve come close to the title the last two years. So scoring highly in Dubai would be the perfect way to go into the final,” she added. 

PARTICIPATION IN RACE

Interested participants for the upcoming Dubai T100 can still register, with entries open for the Sprint (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run), the new Olympic distance (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run) and the full T100 (2km swim, 80km bike, 18km run).

Entries are also open for the Sprint and Olympic relays for teams of friends or colleagues.

Spectator entry is free throughout the weekend at Al Mamzar, where friends, families and fans can cheer on the athletes along the run course through the park and at the finish line

Sam Renouf, CEO of the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO), said: “We’ve continued to see strong demand for Dubai T100, with the Sprint and Olympic distances selling well, so anyone thinking about it should get themselves registered".

"On the professional side, Dubai is the women’s last chance to score points before Qatar, so there’s a lot riding on it. Julie was outstanding here last year, and with the standings this tight it should be a great race to watch," he added. 

Registration for the triathlon is available at its official website.