PTO European Open: Max Neumann 'feels bad' for crashing triathlon kings’ party with inaugural PTO European Open crown

Modest Max Neumann admits he “feels bad” for crashing the triathlon kings’ Ibiza party and clinching the maiden PTO European Open crown. On the day of King Charles III’s coronation back in the UK, the largely unknown Australian toppled the decorated trio of Kristian Blummenfelt, Alistair Brownlee and Jan Frodeno in a gruelling 100km Balearic battle. Ad Set up by the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO), the innovative middle-distance contest marked the first time reigning Olympic champion Blummenfelt, London and Rio gold medallist Brownlee and Frodeno, who grabbed glory in Beijing 15 years ago, had all duelled it out against each other in the same race.

European OpenHaug’s red-hot run overhauls Charles-Barclay's effort to seal PTO European Open title2 HOURS AGO And despite Blummenfelt embarking on a searing late surge to almost reel Neumann in, the 27-year-old world No.7 held on to cap a memorable day in the Spanish sun. Nostalgic Neumann has fond memories of watching his rivals reign supreme and now hopes to follow in their illustrious triathlon footsteps. He said: “We owe these guys a lot and I almost feel bad for winning.

“I grew up watching these guys – they’ve made triathlon the sport it is today. “I love racing and love racing hard – and to come down to the wire like that with Kristian, that’s what we all wanted and we couldn’t ask for more. “These are always the hardest races that come, so to be able to race Kristian, Jan and Ali in the same race is an absolutely privilege.

“You can never expect to win anything – as long as you put yourself in a position, that’s all you can do in these races. “I did that and luckily held Kristian off at the end. “I’ve never raced against them before – they’re the world’s