Hayden Wilde has made it a race to remember for his Crown Racing team in London today, the Kiwi athlete striding to success on the final run leg to extend his lead in the 2024 supertri standings.
Like Georgia Taylor-Brown earlier in the day, Wilde scored back-to-back supertri 2024 victories for their Crown Racing team to send them top of the table with two races to go in Toulouse (6th October) and Neom (3rd November).
London was already a happy hunting ground for the top Kiwi triathlete, having won supertri races here in 2021 and 2022, and Wilde played his Short Chute to perfection in 2024 to move into the lead on the race’s final run leg. Matt Hauser and Léo Bergere would chase him all the way to the line, however, finishing 2secs and 7secs back respectively for the Podium Racing team.
Another Podium Racing athlete, Kenji Nener, would come fourth, while Seth Rider of Stars & Stripes would complete the top five. With the local crowd on his side, 2024 Olympic champ Alex Yee would finish a disappointing 12th for Brownlee Racing.
“It’s the toughest course,” said Wilde at the finish. “If you’re on the front, you’re going hard. If you’re on the second wheel, you’re going hard. Matt [Hauser] and the [Podium Racing] guys applied the pressure on the last ride and made me work today – I thought like I was running in mud and had to push until the end. But I am stoked to get my third run here in London.”
After the thrilling American double header in Boston and Chicago where Yee and Wilde traded a victory apiece, another stellar line-up of athletes had drawn a huge crowd in London. Yee, however, couldn’t reach his usual heights in front of his home fans.
“It wasn’t my day, but today was never about me racing well. It was about coming here to appreciate everyone who came out to watch. Racing well would have been a bonus. In the first triathlon I felt good, but the second run lap I started to struggle. But kudos to the guys for racing well and I’m so appreciative of the crowd for supporting and all their love. I’m mentally tired, I can’t lie, but I’m going to keep enjoying my racing.”
Crown Racing now top the leaderboard on 248 points ahead of Podium Racing on 240, Stars & Stripes on 183 and Brownlee Racing on 175 points.
In the individual standings, Wilde takes a commanding lead on 44 points, with Hauser on 35, Luis on 28 and the trio of Bergere, Nener and Yee on 27 points.
Thousands of fans lined the streets around the historic West India Quay to watch the world’s best triathletes battle it out in this now classic supertri location. The course boasted tight and technical turns, a cobblestone section and a long straight to task athletes with a host of challenges to overcome in their bids for victory.
Today’s event saw the supertri format, formerly known as the Enduro, in place, which saw athletes face a 300m dock swim, a 4km bike on cobbled sections before a 1.6km run three times in a row, all without a break between stages.
STAGE BREAKDOWN
STAGE 1
The first 300m swim of the day saw the Stars and Stripes pair of Chase McQueen and
Seth Rider to the fore ahead of Crown Racing’s Vincent Luis and Max Stapley, with McQueen taking the Short Chute for his Stars and Stripes team. Race favourites Brownlee Racing’s Alex Yee and Hayden Wilde of Crown Racing were 10secs back.
The day’s maiden 4km bike leg saw Rider and McQueen push straight to the fore, establishing a 5sec lead over the lead chase pack. That lead would be 6secs by the bell, with Léo Bergere of Podium Racing leading the chasers. The Stars and Stripes pair would hold their advantage into T2, blocking their rivals from scooping a Short Chute.
McQueen, after a disappointing supertri series so far, was first onto the 1.6km run but Yee was soon to the front with Wilde in tow. The Kiwi would soon put the power down to take the final Short Chute of the day, with Yee dropping back to sixth.
STAGE 2
A front pack of 10 racers arrived onto the 300m swim together led by Wilde, and his Crown Racing teammate Vincent Luis would soon join him at the front. Luis would exit first ahead of Wilde, with Yee some 17secs in arrears.
The 4km bike was led by Wilde but a lead pack of six would form by the halfway stage, including Podium Racing’s Matt Hauser, Kenji Nener and Bergere, Luis and Wilde, and Rider. Yee, meanwhile, was 17secs back. Exiting T2 first was Nener ahead of Rider.
The winding 1.6km run was again led by the gang of six, with Wilde to the fore and Brownlee Racing the only team not represented. The furious pace would see Rider drop back from the lead pack, but he would be offered the Stars and Stripes’ Short Chute, with Wilde also gaining one for the final leg.
STAGE 3
Hauser would lead the pace in the final 300m swim of the day with Bergere and Nener behind him in a Podium Racing one-two-three. Those three would enter T1 together, 4secs ahead of Luis.
The Podium Racing trio of Hauser, Nener and Bergere would begin the final 4km bike together, with Yee 40 seconds back and out of the picture. Wilde would bring Luis and Rider back into the lead pack by the halfway stage and the lead pack would stay together into T2. Could anyone stop Wilde?
The final 1.6km run of the day would begin with Rider leading the field after a slick T2, with Podium Racing holding the top three slots. Wilde, now in cap and shades, wa soon into second, however, playing his Short Chute to take the lead and never looking like relenting, crossing the line 2secs ahead of Matt Hauser and 7secs before Léo Bergere the Podium Racing team. Nener and Rider would complete the top five.
