The rivalry continues. On Friday morning in China, Alex Yee and Hayden Wilde will embark on another epic battle over the Olympic distance. Two laps of a swim with a beach start, eight laps on a hard and hilly bike course and a 4-lap, 10km run are on the menu for the first ever edition of WTCS Weihai as China’s “garden city by the sea”, makes its debut on the World Triathlon Championship Series with a bang.
After four years on the World Cup circuit, Weihai steps up to host a World Triathlon Championship Series event for the first time and, as the last race ahead of the Series Final in Torremolinos-Andalucia, it is shaping up to be a pivotal moment in the hunt for the 2024 world title.
And the stage could hardly be better. This will be one for the ages. The athletes wanted a hard, hilly and honest course and Weihai will duly provide for the 42 men lining up on the edge of Halfmoon Bay this Friday at 8:30am local time, watch on TriathlonLive.tv.
New course, new challenge
A beach start will set the tone, a two-lap, non-wetsuit swim on the cards, including an Aussie exit for the second lap that will shake up the field.
But the bike is the segment that everyone is talking about it. Eight laps, 5km each, with a big climb on each lap that will make it a very long day at the office for those who don’t have the legs for the challenge. Over 80m of elevation on each lap for a total of almost 700m of positive gain, and eight fast and furious downhills before getting into their shoes for a flat final 10km run.
All eyes will be set on another epic battle between the two biggest stars of the sport today: Alex Yee and Hayden Wilde. Their Paris 2024 Olympic showdown was one of the greatest the sport has ever seen. The champion at its conclusion, Yee has beaten Wilde in each Olympic distance WTCS race they have shared so far this year, but the Kiwi might just have the odds on his favour this time, with a course that seems to be designed for his superb bike skills.
Both Yee and Wilde have the targets set on the Torremolinos-Andalucia Championship Finals in just one month. A medal of any colour in Weihai will leave Yee top of the rankings heading in to the Finals, gold for Wilde and fourth for Yee would see the New Zealander top.
Tri kingpins Yee and Wilde chase world title
But Weihai will not only be a race between the leading duo. The top six men in the current WTCS rankings will be lining up this Friday. Present, and wearing number one as the Series leader, will be Australia’s Matthew Hauser. A silver medal in Yokohama and win in Hamburg have set the Aussie star up for a tilt at a maiden world title, but he will need to be at his very best in Weihai if he is to defend his position heading into the WTCS Final. The swim may well play in his favour, but it will not be easy to maintain any potential gap he will gain on a hard bike course like this.
Hauser will need to keep an eye on a French trio also hungry to take Weihai by storm: Paris 2024 bronze medallist Leo Bergere, double World champion Vincent Luis and Pierre Le Corre. All three are excellent swimmers, but also aggressive and powerful bikers. All are in the chase for what would be the third consecutive World Championship victory for a French athlete.
As of today, Le Corre lurks dangerously in 2nd place overall of the WTCS rankings and could cap an illustrious career with a world title of his own. Bergere sits in fifth place, but a medal here would move him closer to the overall podium. It is a similar situation with Luis, who wants to perform well on his penultimate race on the blue carpet before his swansong in Torremoinos.
Opportunity knocks for reduced post-Olympic field
Also hugely demanding will be the 10km run, including several ramps that will be sure to hurt the legs. Fast runners like Jonas Schomburg (GER), Alberto Gonzalez Garcia (ESP), Max Stapley (GBR) and Miguel Hidalgo (BRA) will be all in on the hunt for a first ever WTCS podium, knowing that there’s a large number of Series debutants in Weihai.
In fact, only 14 Paris Olympians will hit the men’s start line this Friday, with the WTCS field starting a period of renewal and evolution as the latest Olympic chapter comes to a close.
Among the new faces to be starting, John Reed (USA) will be making his second ever Series appearance after making his debut in Hamburg in July. Reed comes into Weihai having struck gold at the notoriously challenging Karlovy Vary World Cup and will fancy his chances of ruffling some feathers among the world title contenders.
Full start list available here.
