Last Automatic Spots Determined for Collins Cup Teams
Who will compete in Slovakia for $1.5 million?
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With the Collins Cup fast approaching, the final automatic spots for Team USA, Team Europe, and Team Internationals have been determined in a last weekend of fast and determined racing.
After years of stops and starts, the Collins Cup, the flagship event of the fledgling Pro Triathletes Organization, will finally take place on Aug. 28 in Samorin, Slovakia. The unique format will pit three teams of 12 athletes each—six men and six women—against each other. Each team will represent a region: the U.S., Europe, and an international squad of everywhere else. Each race will then be contested in a head-to-head format, with three athletes (one from each team) facing off against each other over the 100K distance. There will then be 12 races in total and each race earns the team points for first, second, or third.
RELATED: What is the Collins Cup?
Of the 12 athletes on each team, eight (four men and four women) are named via automatic selection based on rankings. And the final deadline to earn your rankings and points was this past weekend.
And that’s why, with $1.5 million on the line for athletes invited to compete at the Collins Cup, we saw full fields at 70.3s in Boulder and Switzerland. While most athletes were simply able to lock down and secure their spot in the top four men or top four women for their region, a couple did work their way up. Most notably, Chelsea Sodaro was able to secure the fourth spot on Team USA with her sixth place finish at Boulder 70.3, just months after giving birth.
| Team USA | |
| Skye Moench | Sam Long |
| Heather Jackson | Rudy von Berg |
| Jackie Hering | Matt Hanson |
| Chelsea Sodaro | Ben Kanute |
| Team Europe | |
| Daniela Ryf | Jan Frodeno |
| Anne Haug | Gustav Iden |
| Lucy Charles-Barclay | Joe Skipper |
| Holly Lawrence | Patrick Lange |
| Team Internationals | |
| Teresa Adam | Lionel Sanders |
| Paula Findlay | Braden Currie |
| Carrie Lester | Sam Appleton |
| Jeannie Metzler | Max Neumann |
The final four athletes on each team will be named via discretionary “Captain’s Picks” announced this Thursday. With a number of big name athletes still in the wings, like Emma Pallant and Nicola Spirig for the Europeans and Tim O’Donnell for the Americans, many are trying to make their case.
You can see the full rankings at the PTO’s stats website. Rankings, which have been criticized by a number of pros, are based on an algorithm that determines an ideal time for each race and then awards points based on how each athlete did with respect to that time. Although there have been ranking systems and championship for years, the new format and huge amounts of money have made Collins Cup selection a hot topic for the pros.
For the rest of us: We get to watch the action, which will be broadcast live with unique features like radios between the captains and athletes during the action, and power displayed on the screen. Stay tuned for details on how to watch.