Youri Keulen seeking second T100 title in Spain

By Lucy Wilde, Sportsbeat

There's been four different winners in the last four races of the T100 men's triathlon, but Youri Keulen wants to be the first to break that curse with a win in Ibiza this weekend.

The Dutchman currently sits fourth in the T100 season rankings after winning in Singapore in April, but has struggled with form since being hospitalised after testing his limits in the South East Asia race.

With a 14th place finish in Switzerland, the 25-year-old hopes he can up the ante and hold his own amongst a competitive field featuring Britain's Paris 2024 Olympic champion Alex Yee and Alastair Brownlee.

With the season's end edging closer and just 10 points separating the top four athletes, Keulen knows the value that producing a solid performance could have in disrupting the leaderboard.

"I'm very aware that if I get a good result, it could change the leaderboard," he said. "On the other hand, I think the series is too complicated to take as a whole. You need to take it a step at a time.

"Especially for me as a wild card. Every opportunity I can get, I need to take. I know that a good result in Ibiza will make my life easier," he added. "I will give myself a very fair shot for the title. I want to do well, I've prepared well and I believe I can do that."

Denmark's up-and-coming star Magnus Ditlev sits at the top of the world rankings on 79 points after a victory on the Ironman 70.3 circuit in his first season as a professional, but Keulen isn't spooked by the prospect of brushing shoulders with the top of the field.

"Every T100 race now stands on its own," he said. "With four different winners in four races that shows anything can happen in this series and no one is really the favourite.

"Every race is in a different environment so I think it requires you to really look at the course and sit with your coach to think 'What do we need to do to win this race?' You can't look back to previous races.

"I think that’s the nice thing about the tour as well in that it's spread all over the world," he added. "There's different courses, different climates. I think if I were to recreate the race in Singapore I wouldn't win because that was a slow race, but if I recreate the same mindset I could put on a great performance."

As much as Keulen faced a physical setback after pushing himself too hard across the Singapore circuit, now he’s had a taste of what it’s like to take the title he’s prepared to hold nothing back to win.

"All these races are unpredictable but if you look back to the results in other races, taking risks leads to a [good] result," he said. "I think that’s the strategy we try to aim for - just go with it. Go with your gut.

"I've looked at the course and it’s way better than last year," he added. "We were cycling with cars on the road next to us but this time we have the whole road so I think the racing is going to be fairer, but the course doesn't lie. It's tough even though it's flat.

"I need to think about what factors I can control and how far I am in my physical process towards the race. I know what I've done in training and what I'm capable of, but someone could still be better than me on the day.

"I'm feeling good and I'm feeling happy and ready and confident for the race. The island always brings something special so I'm really looking forward to the race."

Watch the Ibiza T100 Triathlon races live in Europe on Eurosport 2. Broadcast for the men is from 0745 UK, with the race starting at 0800 and then the women dive in at 1030. Both Ibiza T100 races and behind-the-scenes content can be watched live and for free on PTO+ from anywhere.