Triathlon star Sam Long has made the strategic decision to pull out of this weekend’s T100 San Francisco, opting instead to focus on a more balanced race schedule over the coming weeks.
The 29-year-old athlete was initially listed for three consecutive races: T100 San Francisco, Ironman 70.3 Eagleman on June 8, and T100 Vancouver on June 13. But now, he’s trimming his schedule, choosing to skip San Francisco in favor of the latter two.
In a YouTube video published some days ago, Long explained the reasoning behind his decision.
“Many of you may have noticed I’m on three start lists. I’m on T100 San Francisco, I’m on 70.3 Eagleman, and I am on T100 Vancouver.
“Now, these are three weeks in a row. I’m not going to do all three of these. It would be a little crazy. It would be kinda cool to go and attempt all three of them.
“But it would be a lot because it starts only two weeks after I just finished St George and Chattanooga [back to back]. So here’s what I’m going to do – I am skipping T100 San Francisco. Then I’m going to line up another double. I’m going to do 70.3 Eagleman and T100 Vancouver.”
Long’s season is already off to a strong start. He claimed victory at Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga and earned a second-place finish behind Lionel Sanders at Ironman St. George just a week earlier.
Long is also eager to renew his on-course rivalry with Sanders, a matchup fans have come to enjoy.
“I’m trying to win races to earn money to provide for my family and that means picking courses that suit me. And I’m trying to balance media attention. I feel that my schedule now is better.”
The Eagleman event offers another head-to-head showdown with Sanders, and Long is excited about what’s ahead.
“At Eagleman I’m lining up against Lionel Sanders and that rivalry, that duel is going to continue. I want to race with that. I want to push us both higher. It offers much better media attention, and then Vancouver back to back suits me.
“There’s a personal factor for me too. I have to do things that excite me. That puts energy through my veins. This new schedule does that. And for my family, doing San Francisco is tough.
“It means packing up the family several times. Doing it this way eliminates a whole travel day and reduces a lot of stress. And I need to test my swim! Chattanooga swim got cancelled. So I need these mass start swims.”
While Long raced T100 San Francisco last year, he revealed that his lack of enthusiasm for the course also played a part in the decision to drop it.
“A lot of you are going to say I was only a minute back at T100 San Francisco last year and so I’m missing a big opportunity.
“But I didn’t love the overall course there. It’s really tight. The roads are really narrow. It allows for a lot of drafting opportunities which isn’t really my whole thing.”
Rather than force a race he isn’t passionate about, Long is shifting his focus to the T100 in the French Riviera on August 30. He views it as a better lead-in to his major 2025 goal: the IM World Championships in Nice on September 14—where he’ll once again face Sanders.
“The date of France has moved. Originally it was going to be June 25th-ish and now it’s two weeks before Ironman World Champs in Nice, and for me it looks like one of the most awesome courses, one of the most amazing venues.”
“I’m already going to be over there in the Nice area, so there is no travel and it’s a perfect way to test riding there in France going full throttle on a race course. That’s the perfect race and essentially a direct swap.
“And the other reason is that the Canadians love me and the Vancouver race looks incredibly awesome. I think I have a great chance there.”
Long is contracted to compete in five T100 events this year. He finished eighth in his first, at T100 Singapore in April, and now looks to build momentum with a more sustainable race plan in the months ahead.
