Hayden Wilde “nervous and excited” as he starts new triathlon adventure in 2025

The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) and World Triathlon have announced the four male ‘Hot Shots’ who will be racing the T100 Triathlon World Tour throughout the 2025 season – and they more than live up to the name as they look to transfer incredible short course success to the 100km distance..

They are headed by Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist Hayden Wilde of New Zealand. He’s joined by French duo Léo Bergère, the World Triathlon Championship Series winner in 2022 and Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist, and Vincent Luis, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Mixed Relay bronze medallist and two times World Triathlon Championship Series winner.

And the quartet are completed by American Olympian Morgan Pearson, who won a second Mixed Relay silver in Paris.

‘Wilde’ racing in prospect

They will all receive contracts to race on the 2025 T100 Triathlon World Tour, with ‘Hot Shots’ proven performers from the world of triathlon who didn’t automatically gain entry to the next series or qualify through their PTO World Ranking.

They might be athletes who were on the cusp last season, those moving up from racing short-distance events or athletes with palmares and pedigree coming back from injury.

In the case of the four above, all are making a move up from short-course – but they have already more than made their mark at middle distance, just as 2024 T100 champion Marten Van Riel had done.

In the case of Wilde he was runner-up in the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in his home town of Taupo just last month, having booked his place with victory at 70.3 Melbourne in November 2023.

New Zealand triathlete Hayden Wilde finishes second in the 2024 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Taupo (Photo – Fiona Goodall, Getty Images for IRONMAN).

Bergere was a spot behind Wilde in Taupo and his middle-distance record is already impressive with 70.3 wins in each of the last three seasons – Valencia (2024), Oceanside (2023) and Lanzarote (2022).

‘The mind games start now’

Both Wilde and Bergere are likely to return to short course in good time for the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, but not Luis, who bowed out of short course racing at the end of last season after a glittering career.

And he rounded out the year with victory at IRONMAN 70.3 Bahrain in late November, his third middle-distance success.

Pearson too ended 2024 on the top step of a 70.3 podium after an eye-catchjing debut at Indian Wells.

All four will raise the standard of T100 racing even further – and Wilde says he’s already gunning for Van Riel’s title.

He posted a video on Instagram which was filmed outside the Belgian’s house in Antwerp and said: “I’m absolutely stoked to announce that I’m going to be racing the T100 series for 2025 and hopefully challenge my mate Marten for his T100 title.

Marten Van Riel is the first men’s T100 World Champion [Photo credit: PTO / T100]

“To celebrate me attempting to give Marten a good battle through the season, I’m just outside his house in Loenhout [Antwerp, Belgium]. My partner’s from Belgium and we’re having Christmas in Belgium and I guess the mind games start now…have a good Christmas Marten and see you next season.”

He later added: “New start and adventure in 2025 – nervous and excited.”

Full line-up taking shape

The Hot Shots join Van Riel, Kyle Smith (NZL), Rico Bogen (GER), Sam Long (USA) Mathis Margirier (FRA), Pieter Heemeryck (BEL), Youri Keulen (NED) and Fred Funk (GER) who are all signed up for the 2025 T100 Triathlon World Tour following an announcement before Christmas.

In 2024 the T100 comprised seven races which featured most of the world’s top 20 female and top 20 male triathletes competing head-to-head in a series of iconic locations – including Singapore, San Francisco, London, Ibiza, Lake Las Vegas and then Dubai for the T100 Triathlon World Championship Final.

Seven stops have already been announced for 2025. They include a return to Singapore on 5-6 April to start the new series, then a new trip to France for the first French Riviera T100 Triathlon before going to San Francisco, London, Ibiza, Las Vegas and Dubai.

Further 2025 races as well as remainder of the T100 contracted athletes will be revealed later this month.