The PTO has announced a ‘world class’ start list for the inaugural PTO Asian Open men’s race in Singapore on Sunday 20 August, led by Kristian Blummenfelt, Gustav Iden and Magnus Ditlev. With all seven of the top PTO ranked men lining up in the elite 20-athlete field, it will be ‘an ultra competitive race’.
Olympic champion Kristian Blummenfelt will compete in three races across two continents in ten days next month. He will compete in an Olympic test event in Paris on 18 August, followed by the PTO Asian Open in Singapore two days later before he returns to Europe for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Finland on 27 August.
“I want to race the best athletes, when the prize fund is high and it’s all on the line. That is exactly what it’s like in a PTO Tour race, so the PTO Asian Open is another great opportunity for me to perform and as I’ve said many times before, I love to win and I hate to lose.”
Max Neumann, who won the first PTO Tour race of the season in Ibiza in May by holding off one of the strongest fields, including Kristian Blummenfelt in a tight finish – is full of confidence going into the race, saying: “The PTO European Open win in Ibiza was definitely the biggest of my career to date, so having another opportunity to back it up in Singapore against all the best athletes in the world is one I’m looking forward to. I think freshness is key and not over racing and not over training. It’s a very hard thing to master, but I’ve not raced since Ibiza and put in some solid training blocks in Australia, similar to what I did ahead of that win.”
The PTO Asian Open men’s confirmed automatic qualifiers start list includes:
Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR)
Gustav Iden (NOR)
Magnus Ditlev (DEN)
Sam Laidlow (FRA)
Max Neumann (AUS)
Sam Long (USA)
Ben Kanute (USA)
Daniel Baekkegard (DEN)
Aaron Royle (AUS)
Pieter Heemeryck (BEL)
Florian Angert (GER)
Jason West (USA)
Bradley Weiss (SA)
Denis Chevrot (FRA)
