The demanding hills and treacherous streets of Karlovy Vary once again delivered drama on Sunday, as Germany’s Henry Graf stormed to a career-first WTCS gold in the men’s race, while Britain’s Beth Potter produced a stirring late surge to reclaim the top step of the podium in the women’s showdown.
Graf seizes golden breakthrough
In just his first full season at the sport’s top level, 20-year-old Henry Graf announced himself in style with a fearless victory over a stacked men’s field. The German lit up the bike leg with an audacious breakaway alongside Mark Devay and Tjebbe Kaindl, carving out a 40-second cushion heading into T2 that proved decisive.
Behind, world number one Matt Hauser sat in the main chase pack, while Brazil’s Miguel Hidalgo mounted the fiercest challenge. Lap by lap, the gap dwindled until the Brazilian’s charge faltered on the final climb, leaving Graf clear to savour his maiden WTCS win.
“This is absolutely crazy,” said Graf, beaming in disbelief. “When Miguel came closer I just gave everything I had left. We all know how incredible he is as a runner, so I’m super happy I could hold him off. Right now, the only way for me to beat these guys is to break away – and it worked today.”
Hidalgo took silver, nine seconds back, with Hungary’s Csongor Lehmann edging Britain’s debutant Oliver Conway for bronze. Adrien Briffod rounded out the top five, while Hauser battled cramps but did enough to protect his Series lead.
Potter delivers emotional triumph
Earlier in the day, Beth Potter returned to winning ways in wet and slippery conditions, chasing down Taylor Spivey on the final lap of the run to secure her first WTCS gold since 2023. The Briton, racing with heavy emotion after the tragic loss of training partner Sam O’Shea, showed resilience and patience before unleashing her trademark 10km run speed.
Spivey had combined with Maya Kingma to drive the pace on the bike, the duo fashioning a near-minute lead by T2. But Potter, undeterred, steadily chipped away at the deficit, finally catching Spivey with just over a kilometre to go before powering clear to an emotional victory.
“It was a hard day out there,” said Potter. “I lost a training partner and friend last week, and thinking of him is what got me through. I know I’m in good shape on the run and I just needed someone to chase – today it all came together.”
Spivey celebrated her return to the Series podium with silver, while Germany’s Lisa Tertsch ran strongly for bronze – her first since Yokohama 2023 – keeping her championship ambitions alive ahead of the Wollongong Finals. Jeanne Lehair came home fourth, with Leonie Periault, Jolien Vermeylen, and home favourite Tereza Zimovjanova (8th) also impressing.