Following World Triathlon’s announcement of two additional WTCS races for 2023, the schedule for the season looks packed. With Cagliari and Yokohama being added, the WTCS season has grown noticeably.
One thing that stands out in the new calendar is the concentration of races.
In the span of three months, the world’s best triathletes will take on five WTCS events and the all-important Paris Test Event. As seen in a number of Olympic selection policies already, the Paris Test Event is of central importance to many hopes and dreams of qualifying for the Olympic Games.
Between WTCS Yokohama and the Paris Test Event, there will also be two World Cups on offer. Another World Cup will also take place the weekend before Yokohama.
As the calendar turns to autumn, it does not get any less crowded.
Across twelve weekends (from 2-3 September to 18-19 November), there will be eight World Cup races. In addition to that, the WTCS Final will take place in Pontevedra.
There will be a fine line to tread amidst all of this.
With each WTCS and World Cup, World Triathlon stands to receive a fee from the hosting city. As an example, the sanction fee to host a WTCS Final in 2024 or 2025 is $410,000. With each new race added to the schedule, there is a financial gain to be made by World Triathlon.
Moreover, with additional races should come additional screen time. That is to say that more elite triathlon should appear on television or for consumption on social media and in the internet. In turn, this should bump up the value of the sport and make it more attractive to new partners and locations.
Essentially, the theory here is that more racing will generate a multiplier effect for the sport as exposure and growth drive one another.
On the athlete level, there is a financial incentive to participate in these races. Similarly, the benefit of additional exposure may boost their careers in the medium term.
With prize money and Olympic qualification on the line, there will be some athletes that will be tempted to load up on races whereas others may be a little more judicious.
Meanwhile, for viewers, it promises to be a season practically bursting with triathlon.
However, there are downsides to this approach. The first risk is to athlete welfare.
As long as there are stakeholders that advocate for athlete welfare amidst the racing, there is no reason a sustainable approach to the season cannot be found. Nevertheless, with so much racing crammed in, injuries may be more likely. An athlete’s career is short and even with guidance they may want to race as much as possible.
The problem is they are not machines. The level of racing that is being asked of them will break many.
If they don’t race and therefore preserve themselves, a new issue arises. With so much racing, the product may be diluted. After the 2022 season, we wrote how only half of the WTCS races actually counted towards the final standings. By adding extra races, World Triathlon will create the same scenario in 2023.
With so many events, the chances that athletes duck in and out of races increases. It may therefore be harder to see the likes of Georgia Taylor-Brown and Flora Duffy go head-to-head or Yee, Wilde and Bergere battle.
Furthermore, there are no fewer than twenty global level World Triathlon races in 2023; there is a small risk that they lose a bit of their lustre. To quote Taylor Swift, familiarity breeds contempt (Bejewelled, Midnights, for all you fans). If the fans will be there through thick and thin, packing the schedule makes sense. But it will be a risk.
All considered, there is no reason to panic or raise the alarm over the surfeit of racing in 2023. There is every likelihood that it will be a great year. At the end of the day, though, we can only hope that athlete welfare and sporting integrity have been taken into consideration at the highest levels.
You can view the season calendar here.
