World Triathlon Ranking Round-Up – 2020
The unpredictable 2020 World Triathlon season came to a close in the city of Valencia with the final ITU Triathlon World Cup of 2020. A season where only four World Cup events were to survive the Covid-hit calendar out of seven World Ranking events held in total through 2020. It was to these events that the final points were to be awarded to the abnormal 2020 World Triathlon Ranking to distribute the year’s $100,000 prize purse between the top 50 women and men.
The seventh event in Valencia followed on from World Cups already held in Arzachena (October), Karlovy Vary (September) and Mooloolaba (March), with the winners earning 500 points. The Hamburg Wasser World Triathlon Series Finals saw the only WTS action of the year, awarding 1000 points to the winners, while the Olsztyn (August) and Barcelona (October) European Cups completed the ranking races, with 250 points to the winners. From these seven World Ranking events held in total through 2020, the athletes’ top three results counted towards their points totals.
Finishing joint top of the women’s rankings with 1925 points apiece were Britain’s Georgia Taylor-Brown and Bermuda’s Flora Duffy. Taylor-Brown’s gold in Hamburg saw her crowned the 2020 World Champions with the regular Series having to be cut back to the one standalone deciding race. The Brit also scored silver in both Mooloolaba and Karlovy Vary.
Bermuda’s Commonwealth Games champion Flora Duffy finished second in Hamburg before landing World Cup golds in Karlovy Vary and Arzachena. United States, 2019 World Champion Katie Zaferes took third spot in the women’s rankings while Germany’s Laura Lindemann finished fourth in the women’s ranking despite only featuring in two races.
The closing chapter of the 2020 season, saw the remarkable victory from Beth Potter in Valencia having previously taken silver in Arzachena and leapfrogged her nine places in the rankings to earn her fifth spot overall. Britian’s Olympic bound Jessica Learmonth rounded off the top 10 ranking spots.
You can find the full women’s rankings here.
In the men’s rankings Vincent Luis of France simply dominated in 2020 standing atop the men’s rankings with 2000 points having been in imperious form since being crowned the World Champion in Hamburg that have seen him win four out of four golds. It will be interesting to see whether that streak proves to be a burden to him for the up-and-coming Tokyo Olympics or provides further confidence to an athlete who has improved his performances year on year.
Behind Luis, Jelle Geens (BEL) and a resurgent Alistair Brownlee (GBR) complete the men’s top three. Omitted from the provisional British triathlon team for the Tokyo Olympics, one might be forgiven for thinking that Alistair the older of the legendary brothers might be fading. However, closer inspection suggests that is far from the full story. A resurgent Alistair Brownlee was within a whisker of beating the World Champion in Valencia and laid claim that there is still life in the old legs yet. Ranked World No.3 would suggest there is.
Two superb silvers for Portugal’s Vasco Vilaca in Germany and the Czech Republic saw him into fourth ahead of Leo Bergere (FRA). Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden, Richard Murray (RSA), Antonio Serrat Seoane (ESP) and Dorian Coninx (FRA) completing the men’s top 10.
Two of Britain’s young starlets Alex Yee and Ben Dijkstra firmly embedded themselves into the world rankings to earn themselves 15th and 19th spot respectively.
You can find the full men’s rankings here
