A smart race by Hayden Wilde; he didn’t really show himself up front until the last 2.5 kilometers of running; that’s where he made the difference at WTCS Hamburg. After an impressively strong run, the New Zealander just won the race in a very strong field of world-class athletes.
In the water, a fine example of team tactics immediately emerged, as Vincent Luis and Valentin Morlec, both French, alternated and continued to lead the field together. After 8:45 minutes, the two returned to T1 with a minimal gap, just enough to create an equally small gap on the bike. Behind them, however, a large group immediately formed, making the mission of the two French men seem well-nigh impossible. It took only a few kilometers before Luis and Morlec were caught up.
At the front, a large leading group of over thirty athletes emerged. South African Jamie Riddle tried to get away for a while and succeeded; at one point his lead was more than ten seconds, quite impressive in the knowledge that a peloton was hunting him. Eventually, Riddle was also caught up and the large group returned to T2 at the same time, leaving the race wide open when the five-kilometer run began.
In any case, the fastest transition was by Jelle Geens; the Belgian athlete was lightning fast and was the first to leave T2. However, he did not stay in the lead for long, because it was the British Barclay Izzard who boldly took over the lead and kept the pace incredibly high. He too could not hold his position for long, as Léo Bergere and Matthew Hauser were the next athletes to take over the lead.
In the last 2.5 kilometers, however, it was Hayden Wilde who showed up at the front, took over the lead and didn’t relinquish it either. He won the race after 53:10 and Hauser became second in 53:13. Jawad Abdelmoula just caught Léo Bergere with only ten meters to go and got third in 53:26.
