Rev3 Announces New Pro Series Format

The Rev3 Series will see improvements and changes for 2013.

The Rev3 Series has made a few changes for their 2013 season that they hope will make pro fields more competitive. The biggest change is moving their championship event from the busy race month of October to May 2014 in Knoxville, Tenn. “We went into Florida this year with our championship and we had so many pros who said, ‘I’d love to do it but I just did Kona, I’m injured, I’m burned out, I’m trying to get early-season points,’” says Rev3 owner Charlie Patten.

So instead, they decided to focus their energy on an early season championship race, when pros aren’t overwhelmed with race options and exhausted from an entire season. Knoxville will also be a championship race for age groupers, where they can compete for money and a series title.

Also new for 2013:

• The pro race series will focus on three Olympic (Knoxville, Wisconsin, Maine) and four half-iron distance races (Quassy, Williamsburg, Branson, Florida). The 2014 championship race in Knoxville will be a blended distance of the two—Patten says a 1-mile swim, 35-mile bike and 9-mile run is a viable option.

• Instead of a prize purse at every race, they are consolidating prize money into those seven races—most will be $50K, with the competitive Rev3 Quassy at $100K (plus $5000 worth of bonuses for the fastest individual splits).

• “Series pros”—those who commit to three or more events—will be rewarded with more perks than those just doing one event: individual posters in transition, dedicated bib numbers for the whole year and featured ads in Triathlete magazine. “We’re trying to reward the pros who are loyal to us in many ways,” Patten says.

• The Rev team also has a list of 10 big ideas to enhance the age grouper experience as well. Two ideas they’re already implementing: phone calls to every athlete who signs up for a race, and building a dedicated team of athletes who will help to run in the last person on the course.

Stay tuned for more updates from the Rev3 Series this year! The race series begins in Knoxville on May 5.