Afraid but excited T100 triathlon overall champion Marten Van Riel sweats for Singapore challenge

SINGAPORE – Marten van Riel has swum, biked and run countless kilometres in several Ironmans, Olympics and triathlons, though the 32-year-old admits that he is “a bit afraid” as he heads into the opening leg of the T100 Series in Singapore on April 6.

Singapore’s heat and humidity has earned the island a tough reputation among the T100 competitors, and the 2024 edition saw the exhausted race winner Youri Keulen collapsing after crossing the finish line – he was eventually taken to the hospital.

Reigning T100 overall champion van Riel did not compete here last season, as the Belgian was trying to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

Having heard from his fellow triathletes about the local conditions, he said: “I think that this is the particular thing about the Singapore races.

“It’s probably the professional race in the world with the hardest conditions, the heat, the humidity, and even the course.

“It’s quite, quite a hard course with the big bridges and everything. So I think this combined, makes for maybe one of the hardest races on the circuit.

“It’s very much about conserving your energy and trying to race a bit more careful. It’s a very fine line between having the performance of your life and not being able to finish. I’m very excited, but I’m also a little bit afraid.”

To prepare for his Singapore debut at the Marina Bay course, van Riel, who trains four to five times a week, runs in the sauna with extra clothes on while reducing the ventilation to mimic conditions in Singapore.

He is ready to put a roller-coaster few years behind him.

He spent a large chunk of 2022 out injured after twisting his ankle in a race and was not in top shape in 2023. In the 2024 season, he