Series Deciders, An Epic New Course And A Stunning Grand Finale: Everything You Need To Know About Super League Triathlon NEOM

It all comes down to this.

After four races around the world, countless dramatic moments and a raft of stunning displays, the Super League Triathlon 2022 Championship Series titles will be decided in the Grand Finale in NEOM on Saturday, October 29 (14:00 local time).

While Hayden Wilde has a hand on the trophy in the men’s, the women’s could not be closer with Georgia Taylor-Brown and Taylor Spivey level on points, while the Teams Leaderboard could go to either the SLT Sharks or Bahrain Victorious Scorpions.

Add to it a completely new, and truly unique course, and more twists and turns surely await.

Winner Takes It All

It has proved to the THE battle of the Super League Triathlon 2022 Championship Series, and it’s one that nobody really expected.

Georgia Taylor-Brown was widely tipped to defend her title with ease this year, with Cassandre Beaugrand only racing four of five events and Jess Learmonth missing through injury. But Taylor Spivey, who struggled by her high standards in 2021, has had other ideas.

Spivey’s performances remind of Taylor-Brown’s Series winning form in 2021, where she showed remarkable consistency to finish second in every event to take the title. Taylor-Brown has two victories this year, Spivey bagged one in Malibu, but such has been the rollercoaster nature of SLT in 2022 that they head to NEOM dead level on points and set for one last titanic tussle.

New Terrains

Super League Triathlon wants every venue to be unique and offer a different challenge to the athletes, and NEOM is yet another new one for SLT.

The stunning backdrop is truly spectacular, but more than that the bike course is heavily compacted gravel. It’s a good surface, but will still demand technical ability. Also take into account that the bike is a 4km route, rather than a twisty and tight set of short loops, and it could change the dynamic.

Will we see a pack ride? Or will it break them apart? Nobody is entirely sure, making it all the more intriguing.

Sharks v Scorpions: The Final Reckoning

After the first event of the Championship Series in London it was hard to see anybody other than the Bahrain Victorious Scorpions walking away with the Teams title. But that is not how it has played out.

There have been a lot of ups and downs and now the team managed by Chris McCormack and Michael Gilliam face a final reckoning in NEOM, with Michelle Dillion’s unfancied SLT Sharks starting the day 17 points ahead.

The twists and turns could also be fascinating. The smart money is on the Scorpions to take the lead after the women’s race. They have scored big through Georgia Taylor-Brown and Cassandre Beaugrand both in the Overall and Discipline Leaderboards, and Emma Jeffcoat in the swim and bike. The Sharks rely more heavily on Beth Potter.

In the men’s the tables are turned. It’s been a real struggle for the Scorpions, whereas Hayden Wilde, Chase McQueen and Tayler Reid have scored big for the Sharks, and will be chasing them for the title.

You can expect a lot of tactics to come into play, with serious money on the line for all involved.

Can Hayden Avoid Disaster?

Super League has a long history of surprise results. Few would be more shocking than Hayden Wilde failing to win the men’s 2022 Championship Series title. He is a mile clear after Matt Hauser’s crash in Malibu effectively ended the contest.

You never know what could happen, but Wilde just really needs to finish to secure the trophy. So does he continue the aggressive racing that he knows so well and has got him to this point? Or go safe and defensive? Is that a bigger risk? Time will tell.

$15k x 6: Who Gets It?

The Discipline Leaderboards have been very keenly fought in 2022. Hardly surprising perhaps given the winners get $15,000 and they contribute heavily to Teams points. But it is another exciting one.

Of the six Leaderbaords, only the men’s run is over. There are a lot of reasons for athletes to think long and hard about how they race in NEOM. Does the chase for individual glory go out the window, do Team tactics come into play, and what of stopping the opposition? There could be a lot to unpick after this one.