French racer Maxime Hueber-Moosbrugger has today won his debut Supertri E World Triathlon Championship powered by MyWhoosh after a thrilling sprint finish with the USA’s Chase McQueen.
McQueen had led from the start of the nine-discipline, triple triathlon format at London’s Aquatic Centre and looked set to defend his Supertri E World title until 500m to go when Hueber-Moosbrugger turned on the afterburners to eat into McQueen’s 14-second advantage.
The American’s lead went down to eight seconds, then six and four, before the two were side-by-side on the virtual run course. The 28-year-old Hueber-Moosbrugger, who finished third here in 2024, made his final move with metres to go to crown a remarkable race and his first-ever Supertri victory.
“The main thing was to race as much as I could in the water and on the bike, and put it all in on the run,” explained Hueber-Moosbrugger at the finish. “I knew I had good legs on the run and I would be able to hold around a 2:50min pace for the kilometre. That’s what I did so I’m really happy about that. I really wasn’t expecting that – it was an amazing race!”
Having dominated for nearly the entirety, McQueen would finish a heartbreaking second behind his French rival. “It was a really tough race,” said McQueen post-race. “But I wasn’t unlucky – I gave it everything I had but Maxime is a classy athlete and I’m happy for him. I worked truly hard at the beginning to try and get a gap but it’s never over until it’s over. In the end I had a gap, but the wheels fell off and second place is still a successful weekend.”
Poland’s Maciej Bruzdziak would run his way into bronze ahead of superstar triathletes Dorian Coninx of France (24secs back) and home favourite Jonny Brownlee (35secs behind), who would finish fourth and sixth respectively.
UNDER THE LIGHTS
The London Aquatics Centre in Queen Elizabeth Park was once again the host of the Supertri E World Triathlon Championships, with 10 triathletes qualifying from the morning heats, including heat winner and reigning Supertri E champion Chase McQueen (USA), the World Triathlon Champion of 2023 Dorian Coninx on his Supertri debut, and British superstar and triple Olympic Games medallist Jonny Brownlee on his first Supertri E appearance since 2021.
The World Championship race consisted of three stages over the Supertri E format (200m Swim – 4km Bike – 1km Run; 200m Swim – 4km Bike – 1km Run; 200m Swim – 4km Bike – 1km Run), all competed back-to-back with no break between the stages.
STAGE 1
Swim: 200m
With the cheers of the British crowd still ringing in Jonny Brownlee’s ears, the first 200m swim kicked off in the London Aquatics Centre’s 50m pool with Belgian Joris Bassle and Chase McQueen of the USA to the fore. That duo would depart alongside each other after 2:03mins in the water, with some of the field, including Brownlee, nearly 10secs back.
Bike: 4km
Onto the virtual and non-drafting 4km bike on the MyWhoosh platform, McQueen was again the man to watch, pushing over 400 watts on the climbs and gaining an eight-second advantage over the chasers. The battle for second was intensifying, with Brownlee also moving into the reckoning on the beautiful yet hilly coastal route. McQueen would end the bike some 12secs ahead of the chasers and be the first triathlete to jump onto the treadmill.
Run: 1km
The 1km run began would McQueen looking effortless on the curved treadmill with clear daylight between himself and his rivals. Dorian Coninx had moved into second some 10secs behind, with Brownlee a couple of seconds behind that. McQueen’s lead was significant at the end of Stage 1, entering the pool with a 10-second lead over Coninx.
STAGE 2
Swim: 200m
Stage 2 began with Coninx breaking free of third place after a slick transition and making slight in-roads on McQueen’s lead, but McQueen was still in command at the end of the race’s second swim.
Bike: 4km
The second bike of three began with McQueen extending his lead, with Coninx 12secs back and Brownlee some 20secs in arrears under the heat of the Aquatic Centre’s lights. McQueen would exit the bike with an 18sec lead over Coninx, with France’s Maxime Hueber-Moosbrugger close behind him and Brownlee another 6secs back.
Run: 1km
Hueber-Moosbrugger was the major beneficiary on the second run leg, moving into second and narrowing the lead of McQueen down to just 8secs, with Coninx also closing the gap to 12secs.
STAGE 3
Swim: 200m
The third and final stage of the day began with Hueber-Moosbrugger losing time due to a sloppy transition, with Coninx, swimming without goggles, moving back into second. Hueber-Moosbrugger was soon back into second but into second but McQueen’s lead was stubbornly remaining around 12secs.
Bike: 4km
The final bike began with McQueen 13secs ahead of the chasers, but it would be Germany’s Henry Graf who would briefly move into second with rip-roaring final swim. Hueber-Moosbrugger and Coninx would reclaim the podium spots by the halfway stage, but McQueen was still keeping the chasers at an arm’s length and never giving the impression of letting his lead slip.
Run: 1km
With McQueen clear at the front, the battle for second was seemingly where the drama was to be found on the final run leg. And yet Hueber-Moosbrugger managed to halve the gap to McQueen by the halfway stage and then reduced the deficit entirely as he hit 22km/h pace, making his move with just metres to go to cap a comeback victory for the ages.