One of the pre-race favourites for the win at the PTO Tour Asian Open, Max Neumann, has announced he will not be racing this weekend, just days out from the clash in Singapore set for Sunday.

Neumann, who won the PTO Tour European Open ahead of the likes of Kristian Blummenfelt, Jan Frodeno and Alistair Brownlee in May, will now look to improve on his fourth place position from last season’s IRONMAN World Championship instead, with this year’s edition kicking off in Nice next month.

Announcing his decision on social media, Neumann also shared his support for the news that the PTO would be pairing up with World Triathlon for a long course series from next year onwards, with the Queensland native excited at the prospect of being part of an evolving sport.

Max Neumann on Asian Open DNS

Whilst disappointed not to be racing in Singapore, Neumann, who did not underline why exactly he had withdrawn from the Asian Open, cited a shift in focus towards the crunch part of the season as his next set of goals, with the IRONMAN World Championship surely featuring high on that list.

“Unfortunately a late withdrawal for me from @professionaltriathletesorg Asian Open this weekend. All focus now towards a big end of year race schedule. Singapore looks like a mint race location and hopefully get another crack at it next season.”

With his withdrawal confirmed, Neumann will now have to wait until next year to race the competition that brought him the biggest win of his year so far. However, with the added incentive of the new collaboration between the PTO and World Triathlon, this is something that he won’t be missing.

“It’s very cool to be racing in the most innovative period in triathlon history. Looking forward to this partnership and the prospects it brings to our sport.”