'That is something I really want to win' - World No. 1 Kristian Blummenfelt targets first PTO win in Milwaukee
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ByEurosport
Updated 01/08/2023 at 19:33 GMT
The PTO US Open kicks off in Milwaukee and PTO World #1 Kristian Blummenfelt spoken about his desire to claim a first PTO Open win. The 100km races consist of a 2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run. Blummenfelt and the other men compete on on August 4 with the women 24 hours later. Watch the PTO Tour live on Eurosport 1 and stream on discovery+
Kristian Blummenfelt competing at the PTO European Open in Ibiza on May 6.
Image credit: Other Agency
With the PTO US Open less than a week away, PTO World No. 1 Kristian Blummenfelt has underlined his determination to top the podium in Milwuakee by prioritising a first PTO Open win above the upcoming 70.3 World Championships.
Asked if he would pick Friday’s PTO US Open over the 70.3 World Championships on a recent The Triathlon Hour podcast, Blummenfelt answered: “Yes, I would say so. I’ve never won a PTO Open, so that is something I really want to win.”
In the PTO’s new Countdown To Milwaukee preview show – which premiers this evening on Eurosport 1 at 1900 CEST and is also available here on the PTO’s YouTube Hub – he elaborates on this desire to win that has so far seen him claim Olympic gold and both the 70.3 and full Ironman World Championships.
“I don’t know where the need to be the best comes from. It’s always been there. The feeling of being unstoppable. Making the impossible, possible. There’s a feeling that you’re just flying around the track and everything feels easy. Your whole body is so efficient. I just love winning and I love that feeling.”
The Norwegian star will be hard to stop when he takes to the start at 1615 local time in Milwaukee on Friday 4 August against former Olympic champion Jan Frodeno from Germany as well as PTO World #2 Dane Magnus Ditlev and a strong contingent of American men led by PTO World #4 and #5 Sam Long and Ben Kanute respectively.
In the women’s PTO US Open women’s race, Blummenfelt’s equivalent at the top of the Rankings, #1 Ashleigh Gentle is equally determined to chalk up a win in the US.
“I was just off the pace in Ibiza and in these PTO Open races that’s all it takes because the fields are so competitive,” said the Australian, whose PTO Tour crown slipped at the inaugural PTO European Open in May when she finished second to Germany’s Anne Haug. “But the race in Milwaukee offers another great opportunity against a strong line-up and in a different location and conditions, which I’m really looking forward to.”
The women race on Saturday 5 August at 1615 local time with Gentle looking to hold off a top class field as well as a strong contingent of American women including: Chelsea Sodaro, Taylor Knibb, Skye Moench, Jocelyn McCauley, Jackie Hering, Danielle Lewis, Haley Chura, Lesley Smith, Lauren Brandon, Jodie Robertson and Annamarie Strehlow.
How the races work
The 100km races (2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run) will take place on a specially designed course, which is adjacent to the Milwaukee Art Museum, Henry Maier Festival Park and Discovery World along the shore of Lake Michigan. The prize fund for the PTO Opens in 2023 is $600,000 USD per event – with $100,000 for the winner, $50,000 for second and $35,000 for third – making each event the most lucrative in the sport over this distance.
This year, the PTO US Open is being staged alongside USA Triathlon’s National Championships, which are in partnership with Sports Milwaukee. With the USAT Age Group National Championships and Youth & Junior Nationals being staged together for the first time, it promises to be the biggest weekend of triathlon racing in the US, with more than 7,000 participants and 20,000 spectators expected to attend. The full 2023 PTO US Open women’s and men’s start lists are here.
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Watch the PTO Tour live on Eurosport 1 and stream on discovery+ from August 4.
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