The countdown is on to Sunday’s WTCS Grand Final in Wollongong, Australia as the world’s best short course athletes battle it out in spectacular surroundings.
We’ve got a mouthwatering shootout in the women’s race between the last two World Champions – Olympic hero Cassandre Beaugrand of France and Britain’s Beth Potter.
While in the men’s event Aussie favourite Matt Hauser is in pole position for a first senior title.
Here’s all you need to know…
Start time and how to watch live
The Elite Women’s race will start at 14:00 local time on Sunday 19th October. That corresponds to 04:00 in the UK, 05:00 CET, 23:00 (Friday) on the East Coast and 20:00 (Friday) on the West Coast.
The Elite Men will enter the water at 17.00am local time, so 07:00 in the UK, 08:00 CET, 02:00 on the East Coast and 23:00 (Friday) on the West Coast.
All of the action will be screened live on the official platform TriathlonLive.TV
Elite Women – how it stands
It could not be closer going into the final race for the women.
Whoever finishes ahead out of Cassandre Beaugrand and Beth Potter – providing they are at least on the podium – will take the title.
There was incredible drama 12 months ago when Beaugrand looked to have blown her chances in the swim in the Grand Final in Torremolinos but she battled back brilliantly to add a world crown to her Olympic gold medal.
The momentum potentially looks to be with Potter though after wins in her last two races but it’s a fitting finale.
Luxembourg’s Jeanne Lehair could not have had a better day at Supertri Toulouse earlier this month. She won the race, the overall title and the lucrative teams prize. And then her boyfriend proposed to her on the podium!
So she should be full of confidence here but she’ll need another win and Beaugrand and Potter to finish fourth or worse if she’s to take the title.
It’s a similar equation for Lisa Tertsch, though the big two would have to be fifth or lower.
Here’s how it stands at present…
| Position | Name | Nationality | Counting Races* | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= | Cassandre Beaugrand | FRA | 3 | 2925.00 |
| 1= | Beth Potter | GBR | 3 | 2925.00 |
| 3 | Jeanne Lehair | LUX | 3 | 2716.45 |
| 4 | Lisa Tertsch | GER | 3 | 2636.26 |
| 5 | Leonie Periault | FRA | 3 | 2587.72 |
| 6 | Taylor Spivey | USA | 3 | 2342.85 |
| 7 | Jolien Vermeylen | BEL | 3 | 2118.64 |
| 8 | Diana Isakova | AIN | 3 | 1986.48 |
| 9 | Tanja Neubert | GER | 3 | 1942.94 |
| 10 | Bianca Seregni | ITA | 3 | 1913.68 |
Elite Men – how it stands
After seven races, it’s Matt Hauser‘s to lose.
The former world junior champion has put his complete focus on a senior title and couldn’t have done much more so far.
And anyone who thought he had it relatively easy in the title-race absence of Olympic one-two Alex Yee (marathon racing this year) and Hayden Wilde (a bad bike crash effectively ruled him out) was given an emphatic reminder at WTCS French Riviera.
On that day all three of them raced and Hauser claimed a statement win – running away from Vasco Vilaca as he has so often this season.
Miguel Hidalgo and Vilaca are virtually neck and neck in second and third as you can see from the table below. There are 1,250 points up for grabs for a Finals win, each position thereafter goes down in value by 12.5% each time.
All of which means a top-three position for Hauser will see him become Australia’s first male World Triathlon Champion in 20 years.
If Hidalgo or Vilaca wins and Hauser comes fourth or worse then they will take the title.
And then it starts to get complicated – and unlikely – but we’ve seen some incredible twists in this race in recent years.
A first and second in his last two races have seen Henry Graf jump into the equation – another win here, sixth or lower for Hauser and third or worse for the other two will see him upset the odds.
And joker in the pack Wilde is set to line up 24 hours or so after Wollongong T100. He did the same at French Riviera and while he can’t get in title contention he could definitely impact the race dynamic.
| Position | Name | Nationality | Counting Races* | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Hauser | AUS | 3 | 3000.00 |
| 2 | Miguel Hidalgo | BRA | 3 | 2780.63 |
| 3 | Vasco Vilaca | POR | 3 | 2775.00 |
| 4 | Henry Graf | GER | 3 | 2657.09 |
| 5 | Csongor Lehmann | HUN | 3 | 2068.78 |
| 6 | Luke Willian | AUS | 3 | 2007.09 |
| 7 | Dorian Coninx | FRA | 3 | 1982.12 |
| 8 | David Cantero Del Campo | ESP | 3 | 1933.80 |
| 9 | Charles Paquet | CAN | 3 | 1854.25 |
| 10 | Adrien Briffod | SUI | 3 | 1776.92 |
Course and distance
This Olympic-distance event will see competitors face a 1.5km swim, 40km bike and a 10km run.
World Triathlon describe the three phases as follows:
SWIM
2-lap, 1.5km ocean swim
Beach start
First buoy at 350m
Aussie exit at 750m
BIKE
7-lap, 40km rolling roads
Up Flagstaff Hill around Wollongong Lighthouse
Technical 90-degree turns through heart of town
Long descent towards Fairy Creek
Punchy 35m climb and descent back to transition
RUN
5-lap, 10km road run
Initial 1.74km loop
4 loops of 2.06km around Flagstaff Hill
10m climb per lap
Finish chute at corner of Crown & Harbour Streets
