Derron and Taylor-Brown renew T100 title fight in Dubai

Three points separate Julie Derron and Georgia Taylor-Brown in the T100 Race to Qatar, and on Saturday they meet at Al Mamzar, Dubai in the last race that counts before next month’s World Championship Final.

Derron, the defending Dubai champion and Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist, leads on 64 points after winning in Vancouver in August.

Taylor-Brown, Britain’s most decorated female Olympic triathlete, is on 61 after taking her first T100 win in Pamplona in May.

Switzerland’s Imogen Simmonds sits between them on 62 but is not racing in Dubai, so her total stands going into Qatar.

Both Derron and Taylor-Brown have raced twice this season, so Dubai gives each of them a third counting score.

An athlete’s best three T100 results count towards the title, along with the Qatar final, where the winner takes 55 points rather than the usual 35.

DERRON’S NOVEMBER FORM

Derron finished third in the T100 series in 2024 and runner-up last year. She arrives from the busiest autumn of her career, finishing second at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Nice in September and third on her IRONMAN World Championship debut in Kona in October.

“I seem to just enjoy being here and seem to manage a good form in November. I can’t really say why the racing here suits me,” said Derron.

“I’m actually not going into this race wanting to score as well as I can to go into Qatar as series leader. Obviously, I want to do well, but I see this race as an individual race. I do this one, I check it off, and then I look towards the next one.

“I can’t control where Georgia ends up. So obviously, if I beat her, that’s an advantage for me, but if she beats me, that’s good for her. So, I think it will be exciting until the end of the year, for sure.”

TAYLOR-BROWN CLOSING IN

Taylor-Brown, fourth in Dubai last year, has added a World Triathlon Championship Series win in Karlovy Vary to her T100 victory this season.

“I’m definitely thinking about the result here,” she said. “It would be nice to lead into the Grand Final, or at least be a little bit closer, because there’s a few points between me and Julie. So I would like to slim that down a little bit and be at least closer to her, if not in front of her.

“I’m hoping it’s going to be very tight and close between me and Julie. I’ll definitely be battling it out to the very end.”

THE CHAMPION WITH NOTHING TO LOSE

Reigning T100 World Champion Kate Waugh missed the first two women’s races of the season with a calf injury. She returned with second behind Derron in Vancouver.

“Obviously I think the overall now is kind of out of reach, but I still want to be competitive in the individual races,” said Waugh. “Since I’ve been back racing, I’m pretty proud of the races I’ve had, across short and T100 distance racing. I still just want to put some solid performances in to end the year on a good note.”

Taylor-Brown expects her to be a factor on Saturday.

“For Kate, she has nothing to lose, and sometimes that’s the best position to be in,” she said. “She always swims well. She’ll push the bike and she’ll ride well, so she’s someone that I will attempt to follow.”

A NEW COURSE

Saturday’s race is the first at Al Mamzar, after two years at Meydan.

The swim starts on the beach at Al Mamzar Beach Park. The bike follows closed roads through Al Hamriya Port and Dubai Islands, over the Infinity Bridge and past Port Rashid and the QE2, with views of the Dubai Frame and Burj Khalifa.

The run uses the shaded paths of Al Mamzar Park and its new corniche footpath.

“The last couple of years we had more of an ITU-style course on the bike, especially with the many turns and twists, which was also quite fun,” said Derron. “This year it’s just flat and straight, kind of. So, it’ll be different race dynamics, I guess.”

The women start at 10:08 am.

“Last year we raced later in the day, so it was pretty cool by the time we got to the run,” said Waugh. “This time that’s not going to be the case. It’s going to be a hot race all day.”

MEN ON THE SAME MORNING

The men’s professional race, led by reigning T100 World Champion Hayden Wilde, starts five minutes earlier at 10:03 am. The two fields will share the course.

“I haven’t done any maths yet on whether they catch us or might lap us, but we’ll probably see them out there on the run,” said Derron. “If there’s a man struggling ahead of me on the run, that would be a good target to aim for and pass. That would be fun.”

A DAY OUT AT AL MAMZAR

Entry for spectators is free all weekend, and there’s plenty to do away from the racing:

• Kids Zone: inflatables, arts and crafts, soft play, giant Connect 4, Jenga, ring toss and table football
• Food trucks and ice cream between races
• Live DJs and entertainment throughout the weekend
• Cheer Zones: join local triathlon clubs and supporters along the run course
• Event Village and Expo: pop-ups and activations from brands including Wolfi’s, Oakley/Meta and Maurten
• Photo opportunities and fan zones

Activities and entertainment run from 4 pm to 7:30 pm on Friday, 7 am to 7 pm on Saturday and 7 am to 5 pm on Sunday.

The swim start is on the beach, and the run course loops through Al Mamzar Park, so spectators can watch the athletes pass several times.

More than 3,000 amateur athletes from over 50 nationalities are racing across the weekend:

• Friday, November 13: a free Schools Aquathlon for students aged 8–17 (7:30 am–11 am)
• Saturday, November 14: Olympic distance triathlon (6:45am), then the men’s (10:03 am) and women’s (10:08 am) professional races
• Sunday, November 15: the amateur 100km (6:45am) and Sprint (10:45 am)