France’s Benjamin Choquert delivered a commanding performance to reclaim his status as the ‘King of Duathlon’ at the World Games in Chengdu, winning gold with a perfectly executed race in brutal conditions. The reigning World Champion overcame the sweltering heat at Xinglong Lake and the relentless tactical pressure from Team Belgium, crossing the line ahead of Arnaud Dely and Vincent Bierinckx in a thrilling finale.
The men’s race opened the World Games duathlon program with 34 athletes lining up at 8 a.m. local time for the new format: 5km run, 30km bike, and a final 5km run. The opening run quickly became a battle of positioning, with Choquert, Dely, Bierinckx, Morocco’s Mohamed Nemsi, and Spain’s Javier Martin Morales leading a tightly packed front group. With little separating them, the stage was set for a tactical and aggressive bike leg.
On the 30km circuit, early fireworks came from Slovakia’s Ondrej Kubo, who attacked on lap one to test the field. The Netherlands’ Valentin van Wersch responded, briefly edging ahead before the front pack regrouped. The Belgian squad – Dely, Bierinckx, and Thibaut de Smet – worked closely together, probing for weaknesses, while France’s Choquert marked every move. The course’s rolling terrain and technical turns, combined with the steadily climbing temperatures, began to wear down the group.
Kubo launched repeated accelerations, forcing the pace and keeping Choquert under constant pressure. “I was scared a bit at some points because they were trying to push always and I was afraid that this will have a toll on me,” Choquert later admitted. Germany’s Fabian Holbach managed to open a slight gap late in the bike leg, but the damage was minimal as the lead contenders entered transition together.
Holbach hit the run course first, with Dely, de Smet, Nemsi, and van Wersch close behind. But within the opening kilometre, Choquert – renowned for his finishing kick – made his move. Accelerating smoothly to the front, he opened a gap that grew with every stride. Behind him, Dely and Bierinckx battled for silver, running shoulder-to-shoulder until Dely edged clear in the final stages.
Choquert’s emphatic win added another major title to his collection. “After Pontevedra I’m very happy with the results today. I was second in Birmingham but the gold here is great, I am really happy. For me this format is better, but the weather today was really hot so it was really hard out there,” he said.
For Dely, the silver was the result of an all-in strategy on the bike: “Our team’s goal was to go all out on the bike, since we knew the short course favored strong runners. We’ve tried a lot on the bike, but the course was so fast that it wasn’t easy to break away. It took a lot of energy out of me, and I think that affected my final run when competing for the win. But I am really happy with my performance and the performance of my teammates today.”
Bierinckx’s bronze marked his first podium at a major championship: “I’m satisfied. I feel fortunate that this is my first time on the podium. I’ve had so many fourth-place finishes before, never making it to the podium, but now I’ve finally done it here at TWG. We have a mixed relay on Sunday. We may have a little party today, and then recover for Sunday.”
Belgium’s de Smet completed a 2-3-4 finish for his team, while Nemsi’s fifth place was historic – the best-ever result for a Moroccan duathlete at the World Games. Van Wersch (NED) took sixth, followed by Kubo (SVK), Hugo Figueiredo (POR), Thomas Cremers (NED), and Cambodia’s Mickael Chaumond rounding out the top 10.