Just one month after announcing ‘groundbreaking’ new event series the Challenge Triple Crown, the organisers have confirmed that next month’s Challenge Dubai will have a $300k prize purse.
Among the top female elites confirmed to take part in the half-iron distance race (1.9km swim/90km bike/21.1km run) on 27 February are former world champions Leanda Cave and Melissa Hauschildt, Swiss athletes Caroline Steffen and Daniela Ryf, and Uplace-BMC athlete Helle Frederiksen.
In the men’s race there will be Australia’s Luke McKenzie and Tim Reed, Germany’s Andreas Dreitz, former Kona champ Pete Jacobs and South African sharp shooter James Cunnama. More names are expected to be announced by the organisers in the coming weeks.
The Challenge Dubai prize purse is evenly split between men and women with each winner taking home $65,000. The remaining breakdown is as follows: 2nd – $35,000, 3rd – $20,000, 4th – $9,000, 5th – $6,000, 6th – $5,000, 7th– $4,000, 8th – $3,000, 9th – $2,000, 10th – $1,000.
This compares to a $1m prize purse for last month’s Challenge Bahrain, where winners Helle Frederiksen (DEN) and Michael Raelert (GER) each took home $100k, with the remaining $800k shared down to 10th place.
The next event in the series after Challenge Dubai will be held in Oman, though no details have yet been released on the date or prize pot. The grand final will be held in Bahrain, with a $1m prize purse to be won.
Challenge Dubai takes place on 27 February with entries available at www.challenge-dubai.com until 31 January.
Will you be racing in Dubai? Let us know in the comments!