Just three weeks after stunning the triathlon world with his comeback win at T100 London, Hayden Wilde has done it again. The Kiwi, fresh off a long recovery from a serious crash, claimed his second straight victory today at the T100 French Riviera. And there’s barely time to celebrate – he’ll be back on the start line tomorrow for the WTCS race at the very same venue.
It’s an almost unbelievable double. Perhaps that’s why Wilde never looked like he was racing at full throttle. Instead, he was clinical, racing with his head and doing just enough to hold off big names like Jelle Geens, Samuel Dickinson, and Rico Bogen.
The race began with American Morgan Pearson leading the 2km swim in 24:47, though most of the top contenders exited the water together. Only three athletes – Harry Palmer (+2:08), Colin Szuch (+4:37), and Sam Long (+4:37) – lost significant ground.
On the bike, Dickinson was first to animate the field, stretching things out on the technical coastal course. Soon after, Margirier and Bogen took charge, and together with Wilde, Geens, and Kyle Smith, a powerful front group was established. The spectacular course provided equally spectacular racing, though Smith’s day unraveled midway through with a loose saddle, forcing him to stop and repair. Further back, Frenchman Leo Bergère narrowly avoided crashing out on a sharp corner – a reminder of how treacherous the course could be.
Up front, Wilde and Bogen made their move, creating a small gap. But by T2, the chasers were still close: Margirier at 30 seconds, Dickinson at 38 seconds, and Geens under 40. Wilde, however, looked perfectly positioned.
On the run, Wilde wasted no time dropping Bogen, who would later be passed by Geens and Dickinson as well. That left Wilde and Geens out front, with the gap hovering around 50 seconds for much of the run.
Wilde checked his watch frequently, running with a relaxed, controlled rhythm – exactly the pace needed to keep Geens at bay. In the final kilometer, Geens launched an all-or-nothing surge, rapidly closing the gap. Wilde glanced over his shoulder, saw the danger, but then turned to the crowd, waved, and ran it home to secure back-to-back T100 wins.
Wilde won the race in a time of 3:12:23, Geens finished second in 3:12:45, and Dickinson took third in 3:14:07.