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 Saturday 14 November. It is the last chance to score points before the Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final on 10–12 December.
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. Dubai has been good to her. She was second to USA’s Taylor Knibb at the 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.”
THE RACE TO QATAR
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 in December. 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. Also on the start list are Germany’s Bianca Bogen, New Zealand’s Nicole van der Kaay, and Spain’s Sara Pérez Sala, fifth, seventh, and ninth in the standings, and Britain’s Jessica Fullagar, runner-up on the Gold Coast.
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.”
STRONG AMATEUR ENTRIES
Sam Renouf, CEO of the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO), said, “It’s been great to see international events taking place across the UAE, like the HotelPlanner Tour’s Abu Dhabi Challenge in Al Ain earlier this month. 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 a lot is riding on it. Julie was outstanding here last year, and with the standings this tight it should be a great race to watch.”
STILL TIME TO TAKE PART
For those looking to test themselves, there is still time to book a place, 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), plus Sprint and Olympic relays for teams of friends or colleagues.
Race weekend (13–15 November) falls within the 10th Dubai Fitness Challenge, which runs from 31 October to 29 November. Its call for 30 minutes of activity a day for 30 days is the ideal excuse to start training, with the first two weeks of the challenge leading straight into race weekend.
You don’t need to be racing to be part of it. Spectator entry at Al Mamzar is free throughout the weekend, and friends, families and fans can cheer on the athletes along the run course through Al Mamzar Park and at the finish line. Cheer Zones, food trucks and a dedicated Kids Zone mean there’s plenty to keep the whole family entertained.
To register, visit: https://t100triathlon.com/dubai/participate/event-info/
RACE DAY
The women’s professional race starts at 13:15 on Saturday 14 November and will be shown live and free on TriathlonLive.io and the T100 YouTube channel, and on beIN Sports across the Middle East. For further information on how to watch, visit: https://t100triathlon.com/how-to-watch/
DUBAI T100 WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL START LIST
Julie Derron
Georgia Taylor-Brown
Bianca Bogen
Nicole van der Kaay
Sara Pérez Sala
Kate Waugh
Lisa Perterer
Jessica Fullagar
Lizzie Rayner
Caroline Pohle
Audrey Merle
Hanne De Vet
Katrine Christensen
Daniela Kleiser
Sophie Evans
Megan McDonald
Djenyfer Arnold
Francesca Crestani
Sara Sandrini
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How the 2026 T100 Triathlon World Tour works:
- Athletes score 35 points for first place to 1 pt for 20th place at each of the races; 2nd – 29 points; and 3rd – 26 points
- The Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final has increased points to up the ante (55 pts down to 4 pts)
- Each athlete’s best three T100 race scores plus the Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final will count towards the women’s and men’s T100 World Championship titles
- $275,000 USD prize fund at each T100, totalling $2,750,000 across the nine races (1st place – $50,000k; 2nd – $40,000; 3rd – $30,000 at each race)
- The series winners following the Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final will be crowned T100 Triathlon World Champion and collect $100,000 USD from an additional total prize pool of $1,450,000 (2nd – $80,000; 3rd – 75,000)
- Between the T100 race prize fund and T100 Triathlon World Tour pool, the series provides $4,200,000 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
- For more details, visit https://t100triathlon.com/pro-racing/