The racing is coming thick and fast in the WTCS with round four less than three weeks away. After the success of the French Riviera event last year, the Series is heading back to France. This time, however, the event will take place on the other side of the country in Quiberon.
A peninsula on France’s Atlantic coast, Quiberon should make for one of the most scenic venues of the Series. Yet as gorgeous as the area is, the points on offer – both on the Series front and with regards to Olympic qualification – are what have drawn a full field of men with almost all of the top names in the sport present. Find out who will be on the start line below.
Who’s there?
With two wins from two appearances this year, Vasco Vilaca (POR) will be the man to beat in Quiberon. Both of his victories have come over the standard distance and so the Quiberon sprint distance course will pose a different test. It must be noted, however, that Vilaca medalled at all three sprint distance WTCS events last year and the last time he missed a podium over the shorter format was when he placed 4th in Sunderland back in 2023. Anyone expecting him to slip up in France, then, may be disappointed.
Vilaca also heads up a Portuguese team buoyed by a successful Alghero weekend. Ricardo Batista (POR) goes again after claiming a maiden medal while João Nuno Batista (POR) similarly starts after logging a Series personal best finish. The fourth and final member of the team in Quiberon, Miguel Tiago Silva (POR), will no doubt be keen to get in on the fun.
Miguel Hidalgo (BRA), who stands 2nd overall in the standings after back-to-back silver medals, will look to dish out some revenge against Vilaca in Quiberon. However, last year Vilaca had the better sprint distance record of the pair as Hidalgo’s sole WTCS medal over the shorter distance was his bronze in the French Riviera. Manoel Messias (BRA), the fastest runner in Alghero and a previous sprint distance WTCS medallist, will also be starting for Brazil and could be one to watch.
Meanwhile, an ongoing talking point this season will be the task of simply making the British team to start at WTCS events. Seven contenders will not go into five spots and someone will have to miss out.
Alex Yee (GBR) was outside the top-5 Brits ahead of WTCS Alghero, but his 5th place in Yokohama helped his ranking considerably. He will start in Quiberon alongside Max Stapley (GBR), Jack Willis (GBR), Hugo Milner (GBR) and Harry Leleu (GBR), with Connor Bentley (GBR) and Oliver Conway (GBR) choosing not to take up the spots afforded to them by being among the five highest ranked British men.
While Yee has a strong record over the sprint distance, it has actually not been as good as that of Hayden Wilde (NZL). Wilde was one of two men to win a shorter WTCS race in 2025 (after multiple golds across 2022 and 2023) and will be on the hunt for another in Quiberon. Sickness put him out of WTCS Alghero, meaning this will be his first Series outing of the year. The New Zealand team will also comprise Tayler Reid, Saxon Morgan and Henry McMecking.
After being locked out of the medals on home turf last year, Team France will look to make amends in Quiberon. Like Wilde, Olympic medallist Leo Bergere (FRA) is slated to make his Series bow on the coast. He will be joined by an in-form contingent; Dorian Coninx (FRA) starts after placing 4th in Alghero, a result he also achieved in French Riviera last year, and Yanis Seguin (FRA) will race again on the back of a personal best result of 8th in Sardinia. Maxime Hueber-Moosbrugger (FRA) completes the quartet.
Among a five-man German cohort, WTCS gold medallist Henry Graf will look to get back on the horse after crashing out of Alghero. He had a good record over the short distance last year, placing in the top-5 in Abu Dhabi and Hamburg. His teammate Tim Hellwig (GER) has the distinction of having won in Hamburg before and has speed to burn over the sprint distance. As he continues his return from injury, he will be eyeballing reclaiming the top spot among the German men. Jonas Osterholt, Chris Ziehmer and Valentin Wernz make up the rest of the German team.
A streamlined Spanish team will be in Quiberon with only three men starting. All three of David Cantero del Campo (ESP), Alberto Gonzalez Garcia (ESP) and Sergio Baxter Cabrera (ESP) are World Cup winners, though, and could have big parts to play.
Australia will also send three men to Quiberon: Luke Willian, Luke Schofield and Callum McClusky. Notably, Matthew Hauser (AUS) is not among that group in a surprising choice for the world champion.
Aoba Yasumatsu, Takumi Hojo, Ren Sato and Kenji Nener are due to race for Japan, while several teams will be represented by two men. WTCS medallist John Reed will start for Team USA alongside Seth Rider. Vetle Bergsvik Thorn (NOR) will hope to build upon his 4th place in Yokohama with Sebastian Wernersen (NOR) for company. Plus World U23 Championships medallist Euan De Nigro goes for Italy in tandem with Nicola Azzano.
A Swiss pair of Simon Westermann and Sylvain Fridelance will also be racing, as will their Dutch counterparts Mitch Kolkman and Ian Pennekamp. Two athletes that could dominate the sea swim in Quiberon will be the Hungarian duo of Zalán Hóbor and Márk Dévay
Finally, WTCS medallist Jawad Abdelmoula (MAR) and World Cup winner Arnaud Mengal (BEL) headline the group of solo acts for their respective countries. Diego Moya will start for Chile after an impressive display in Alghero, while Kuba Gajda (POL), Jérémy Quindos (UZB), Denis Kolobrodov (RUS) and Shachar Sagiv (ISR) bring the start list to a complete 55 men.
Who’s not there?
As already mentioned, Matt Hauser is absent, missing a WTCS race for only the second time since the Paris Olympics. As a two-time sprint distance winner in 2025 – as well as a sprint distance race winner in both the 2024 and 2023 Series – Quiberon feels like it would have been an event that suited the world champion. If we learned anything last year, though, it is to trust the Australian’s methods.
WTCS medallists Csongor Lehmann (HUN) and Charles Paquet (CAN) are also among the absentees, while Oliver Conway (GBR) is out. Tom Richard (FRA) and Brayden Mercer (AUS) are the only other men in the top-20 of the Series rankings to choose against starting in Quiberon.
A fascinating race should therefore be in store with the current leaders of the men’s Series going up against the full Olympic podium and a couple of key absences potentially opening the door for some major shifts in the overall standings. Tune in to TriathlonLive on Saturday 20th June to catch every moment live. View the full start lists here.