Kemper, Kaye Lead Life Time Tri Series Standings

After five of seven events in the Life Time Tri Series, Americans Hunter Kemper and Alicia Kaye are currently leading the points standings. But with two races remaining—the Life Time Tri Dallas on Oct. 6 and the inaugural Life Time Tri Oceanside series championship event on Oct. 20—the champions are yet to be determined. The overall series championship has $200,000 up for grabs, with $50,000 each going to the top man and woman, and paying five deep (fifth place in the series will still take home $5,000).

The Life Time Tri Series kicked off in April at the Nautica South Beach Triathlon, where American Ben Collins and Denmark’s Helle Frederiksen took the titles. The second race was the Life Time Tri CapTex in Austin, Texas, on May 27 where Kemper and Kaye took the titles. Third was Life Time Tri Minneapolis on July 13, where American Cameron Dye and Kaye took the crowns. Fourth was Life Time Tri Chicago on Aug. 25, and Kemper and Kaye again both won. And finally Life Time Tri Tempe was held on Sept. 22, and Dye and Kaye took the titles.

In each of the first five races, athletes were not only competing for points in the overall series (winners each earned 10 points, and athletes with the fastest swim, bike and run times or who finished in the top 10 also earned points), but also for their share in the prize purse, which ranged from $30,000 to $40,000. The Oceanside race next month will feature double the points in the series standings. Only an athlete’s five best races count toward the standings (and athletes must compete in at least three Life Time Tri races to qualify for the championship).

In addition to the overall series, athletes are also competing in the Toyota Triathlon Triple Crown, which uses an equalizer series format and includes the Minneapolis, Chicago and Oceanside events. The fastest cumulative three-race total (with an equalizer for women) will determine the winner, who will take home an additional $50,000.

In the men’s standings, just one point separates Kemper and Collins, and Dye is another 13.5 points behind Collins. Dye missed races at both South Beach and Chicago, which gives him a disadvantage heading into the final two races to defend his 2012 Life Time Tri Series champion crown. However, since only five races count toward the total, it could work out to Dye’s advantage after the high-points final race in Oceanside. In fourth place is American Joe Maloy, one point behind Dye, and currently in fifth is Great Britain’s Stuart Hayes.

On the women’s side, it looks as if Kaye has the series championship buttoned up, as she has a 20-point advantage over American Lauren Goss, who’s had a podium finishes at South Beach, Minneapolis and Tempe. Sitting in third place two points behind Goss is Frederiksen. In fourth place, two points behind Frederiksen, is American Sara McLarty, and in fifth, 6.5 points behind McLarty is American Abby Geurink. With two races still undetermined, there’s still plenty of points and money up for grabs in the series.

Check back to Triathlete.com as we follow the series standings and the final two Life Time Tri races next month.

Life Time Tri Series Overall Rankings

Below shows how the top pro men and women rank. This list only includes pros who have raced in at least three series events (necessary for qualifying for the overall series title) as of Sept. 23, 2013. Find the complete list at Lifetimetri.com.

Pro Men
Hunter Kemper (USA) 42.5 points
Ben Collins (USA) 41.5 points
Cameron Dye (USA) 28.0 points
Joseph Maloy (USA) 27.0 points
Stuart Hayes (GBR) 23.0 points
Jarrod Shoemaker (USA) 16.5 points
James Seear (AUS) 15.0 points
Kevin Everett (USA) 14.0 points
Eric Lagerstrom (USA) 6.0 points
Dustin McLarty (USA) 2.0 points

Pro Women
Alicia Kaye (USA) 51.5 points
Lauren Goss (USA) 31.5 points
Helle Frederiksen (DEN) 29.5 points
Sara McLarty (USA) 27.5 points
Abby Geurink (USA) 21.0 points
Jillian Petersen (USA) 21.0 points
Shannon Radle (USA) 13.0 points