A 54-second deficit off the bike and a 5km run in which to make it up proved no obstacle for Spain’s David Cantero, as he produced yet another blistering run in the Florianopolis sun to take the final World Cup gold of 2025 on Sunday.
A lead swim trio of Nicola Azzano (ITA), Igor Dupuis (FRA) and Miguel Tiago Silva (POR) had got away on the bike and extended their lead to almost a full minute by the end of the 20km, only to see that advantage dissolve over two laps of the run, Cantero gliding past Dupuis late on and taking the tape, Silva with bronze.
“It was a really hard race, I was trying to find my legs after a lot of racing,' said Cantero. 'The breakaway made a big gap so I had to run as fast as I could and finally caught the French guy at the end. The first part of the run I was mostly thinking about Manoel as he was the winner of the last two World Cups, but I found my rhythm, dropped the pack, and in the last kilometre caught the leaders. It has been a great travel with the Spanish team, this is the best way to end the season and now i'll be recharging the batteries for the next season.”
It was Azzano, Silva and Dupuis strongest over the opening 750 swim and emerging together out of transition well clear of the pack and looking to hit the power and keep the quickest runners behind at bay.
Valentin Morlec and Tom Richard of France, GB’s Hamish Reilly and Sergio Baxter (ESP) were the next quickest onto their bikes and away some 20 seconds back, fan favourite Manoel Messias 45 seconds adrift.
The Brazilian was able to eat into that gap over the first lap, while the first chasers including Cantero and Baxter, Morlec and Matt Wright (BAR) were in fact drifting further from the leaders, until those two hunting packs eventually merged at the halfway mark.
The front three were flying, though, and took the lead up to 54 seconds by the end of the bike and out onto the first of two run laps, but it was there that Cantero started to set about his business for one last time in the 2025 season.
In fact, Cantero was able to cut the margin to the front almost exactly in half on that first lap, as he motored clear of Messias and the rest of the field, the Brazilian seemingly unable to click into gear as Tom Richard was going well to pull clear.
And as Azzano had gradually dropped back, he became the Spaniard’s first victim, then it was Silva who was reeled in, but it was only as they came towards transition for the final time that Cantero eventually pulled alongside and then clear of Dupuis to take the tape. Azzano had to settle for 4th ahead of Richard, Baxter ahead of Messias, Paul Georgenthum (FRA), Pelayo Torrez (ESP) and Morlec rounding out the top 10.
