Wilde Weihai Work Watch Party

By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi
It’s another Hayden Wilde v Alex Yee blockbuster – with extra mustard.

A medal of any colour for Yee at World Triathlon Championship Series Weihai, the penultimate round of this season’s Olympic Games-impacted WTCS, will put the Brit in the driver’s seat for the world title.

Gold for Wilde and no better than fourth for Yee would put the Kiwi top of the standings with just the October 20 final in Torremolinos-Andalucia to come.

You can watch WTCS Weihai, the first race at World Triathlon’s top level in China since Beijing hosted the grand final in 201, from 12:15pm on Sky Sport 2 (Channel 52) or via World Triathlon’s streaming platform, Triathlonlive.tv. For Kiwis fans, Dylan McCullough’s first race post Paris and his domestique role for silver medallist Wilde is another reason for a lunchtime work watch party.

Yee has beaten Wilde in each of the standard distance starts they’ve raced in 2024, including that epic Paris push for gold. Wilde has retorted by beating Yee in the two supertri races since.

Friday’s extra intrigue is how Yee has scrubbed up after admitting to being left “mentally tired” in the aftermath of the XXXIII Olympiad. Wilde, meanwhile, revealed after finishing a lowly 12^th in the French GP season decider last weekend that he’d been unable to run the week beforehand due to an inflamed peroneal tendon.

Wilde is sure to relish the beach start swim in Weihai and the 40km bike leg with a decent climb at the end of each of the eight, 5km laps. Thereafter, it’s a matter of wait and see if there will be any lingering problems on the run.

“Excited about this one,” WIlde said on social media.

“Probably the hardest course I’ve raced as a World Series event. Beach start swim, tough bike course, lumpy run loop. Do what I can do [to] have a good result to set up well at the grand final. Let’s get it.”

A silver in Yokohama and breakthrough win in Hamburg will see Aussie Matthew Hauser start in ther No.1 bib. Leo Bergere, double World champion Vincent Luis and Pierre Le Corre will ensure a French presence if either Wilde or Yee are off-colour too. Le Corre enters second in the overall WTCS standings behind Hauser.

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