After the success of our Oceanside predictions turned us into overnight celebrities, we are back with another edition of the team’s pre-race predictions, this time ahead of the Singapore T100 on Saturday and Sunday.
Bringing you some freshly served podium picks from three corners of the globe, multi-sport mastermind John Levison, sporting savant Jenny Lucas-Hill and Tomos Land, the only man to bet against Taylor Knibb, bring you these predictions.
Whether you agree or disagree, think Sam Long is the best thing since sliced bread or the worst thing since ketone diets, let us know your thoughts too as we prepare for another brilliant showdown at the Singapore T100 Triathlon World Tour.
Pro Women Predictions and Podium Picks
Jenny Lucas-Hill Podium:
- Ashleigh Gentle
- Lucy Charles-Barclay
- Chelsea Sodaro
Ashleigh Gentle is the obvious choice for the win here, and with good reason. She’s not become known as the ‘Queen of the 100km’ for nothing! Apparently it’s been a particularly hot and humid summer over in Australia, and with this being her first race of the season she steps up to the start line with heat prep and freshness on her side.
I’m here on the ground in Singapore, and I can confirm that the humidity is brutal – so much so that I think the podium is going to be down to whoever can manage themselves in the conditions best. That’s a thought Lucy Charles-Barclay echoed when I caught up with her yesterday. The Brit has shown time and time again that she can cope well in the heat. She comes into Singapore with that Miami 2nd place under her belt and a sense of measured calm that I think will stand her in good stead. It wouldn’t surprise me to see things being very close between LCB and Ash Gentle.
I’m backing Chelsea Sodaro to repeat her third place here from last year. 2023 was up and down for the 2022 IRONMAN World Champion, so it might be easy to count her out. But after a strong start to this year, with that win at IRONMAN New Zealand, I think she’s coming into 2024 quietly determined to shut any doubters down.
As I said though, managing the humidity becomes a bit of an extra discipline here which could blow things wide open. The course is tough, and the forecasted thunderstorms could add some extra fireworks – literally. I think we’ll see the likes of India Lee and Imogen Simmonds right up there in contention. I also chatted briefly to Marjolaine Pierre yesterday, and she’s been working hard at the heat prep. She’s a super exciting racer, so she might be one to come in and flip the script.
John Levison Podium:
- Ashleigh Gentle
- Lucy Charles-Barclay
- India Lee
I’ve got to go with Ashleigh Gentle for the win. She is the defending champion, uber-consistent over this distance, and seemingly deals with the heat and humidity perhaps better than anyone.
LCB’s Kona record tells you she doesn’t fear heat and humidity either. While she fell back to fifth last year here, that was very early in her comeback from a serious foot injury.
She showed then that she has the capacity to regain fitness quickly, as evidenced with her Kona record. Having started strongly with second to India Lee in Miami – again, on the way back from injury – I think she’s going to be another level up this weekend.
Picking third is a tough one. Chelsea Sodaro finished super strong here last year to take third and had been successful already this year. Imogen Simmonds – bronze in the 70.3 World’s – is very familiar with racing in Asia, as was fourth last year, so could be in the mix again.
However, off the back of that career-best win in Miami, I’m going to edge towards India Lee building on that confidence to take a second consecutive T100 podium.
Tomos Land Podium:
- Ashleigh Gentle
- India Lee
- Lucy Charles-Barclay
After Knibb decided to win by more than ten minutes last weekend in Oceanside, something tells me that I should perhaps start backing the favourite, and for that reason, I’m going to go with Ashleigh Gentle as well.
As John said, Gentle is a pro when it comes to conquering the conditions we are likely to see in Singapore, and despite it being her first race of the season, I think she will return to the tour like a duck to water.
Like Miami, I think the battle for second and third will be a race of attrition, with India Lee and Lucy Charles-Barclay my two picks in a field that has a number of athletes relatively inexperienced over this distance and intensity.
I see Lee outlasting Charles-Barclay for second after the pair breakaway, with Gentle then catching the pair after 16km and pulling away over the last section of the run course to add another 100km title to her already glittering resume.
Pro Men Predictions and Podium Picks
John Levison Podium:
- Jason West
- Sam Long
- Alistair Brownlee
While, at the time of writing, I don’t fully know the details on Magnus Ditlev’s injury from his accident this week, giving the level of competition I’m going to rule him out of my podium picks. I’m not sure how much that helps, as I feel this one is pretty open!
For the win, I’m going to go with Jason West to put right his relatively lacklustre bike performance in Miami, and combine it with a trademark run, to take a narrow victory. Third last year, he’ll be back in familiar surroundings in Singapore.
Back-to-back races circa 9,000 miles apart is not a typical recipe for optimal performance, but when you are young and in-form, like Sam Long, then you just roll with it.
He’s proven that chasing on the bike and staying focused on his race is not a problem, and if he can deliver a similar run performance to the first leg of the T100 series, he’ll surely be running his way towards the podium in the late stages. Either that, or the racing and travel will finally catch up!
My pick for third? Honestly, it could be any one of maybe 10 athletes, but as Tomos won’t let me sit on the fence, I’ll go with Alistair Brownlee to take another step forward and round out the podium.
Jenny Lucas-Hill Podium:
- Sam Long
- Fred Funk
- Jason West
If Magnus hadn’t suffered a fractured wrist in that nasty bike accident on Tuesday, I’d be backing him for the win. The tough bike course here would have suited him down to a T, and he’s so strong on the bike that I think he’d be able to push the pace over the hills enough to leave a few of the other athletes searching for their run legs in T2. Sadly that wrist injury means the Danish favourite has had to make the tough decision to pull out of the race. And that certainly switches up the race dynamic.
With Ditlev out, Sam Long is my pick for the win. On paper, back-to-back racing with international travel in between shouldn’t be the recipe for success. But the US ‘big unit’ has proved so far this year that he’s strong, in form and not ready to let anything stand in his way.
Interestingly, Fred Funk didn’t back himself for a podium when I spoke to him briefly on Thursday. But I wonder if that pressure-free racing will actually put him in a good headspace to make a, perhaps unexpected, appearance on the podium.
Someone who could benefit from Ditlev’s late exit is Jason West. He said himself that he struggled on the bike in Miami. So he’ll want to settle that score – and without Magnus driving things from the front there’s strong chance West could come into T2 within striking distance. We know he’s got a killer run split, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him charging towards the front of the race.
Tomos Land Podium:
- Alistair Brownlee
- Kyle Smith
- Youri Keulen
Not a man to make picks based on emotions and nostalgia, I am going to bet on Brownlee big time to take the win this weekend in Singapore, even as the flashbacks of his final 10km in Miami continue to haunt me.
There is no denying it, Alistair Brownlee is a brave man, and one day, that bravery will be rewarded big time. On Sunday, that’s what I’m hoping for, especially given the fact the Yorkshireman has had a month since Miami to iron out any issues in the heat.
Behind him, I think it will once again be a real suffer fest, and if I’m searching for a Mathis Margirier doppelgänger in this field, there is no need to look any further than New Zealander Kyle Smith.
With a win under his belt already this season, plus an appetite for absolutely going for it (remember St. George?), Smith has the minerals to stay with Brownlee on the swim and the bike and hang on for the podium on his day.
In third, I am changing my tune and going for someone cool, calm and collected, which is why I have chosen Youri Keulen, who proved in Miami that he can do it all, to round out the podium.
