As the 2025 World Triathlon Championship Series rolls into a brand-new sprint-distance challenge on the French Riviera on Sunday 31 August, the stakes could hardly be higher. With up to 1000 points on the line and the season now entering an intense home stretch, this is set to be a massive race in the context of the 2025 world title battle.
Matt Hauser is the man in form, defending champion Alex Yee makes his first start of the year and Hayden Wilde is bouncing back from injury. All three can be considered favourites with the talent - and urgency - to shape the season’s outcome. Then there is the amassed talent of the rest of the current Series top 5 and beyond; Miguel Hidalgo, Vasco Vilaça, Csongor Lehmann, Ricardo Batista and Morgan Pearson…
It's a sprint distance, split transition course, 750m swim into a 5-lap bike, the last of which loops around Frejus to the second transition. Out of T2, it will be an all-in 3-lap and 5km run to the tape. Conditions are set to be hot and sunny, the action will be relentless, and all coming off the back of Saturday’s T100 racing.
The men go out at 14.45CEST on Sunday 31 August. Time to clear the schedule, kick back and get ready for a historic weekend on TriathlonLive.tv.
The. Big. Three.
One man has dominated the 2025 series to date and with two golds and two silvers, Matt Hauser (AUS) stands on top of the standings by a healthy margin - just under 300 points clear of Brazil’s Miguel Hidalgo and 430 ahead of Vasco Vilaca of Portugal.
In the absence of Yee and Wilde, Hauser has proven he has what it takes to be next in line for the throne. Over the sprint distance, the time he might need to put into Wilde and Yee to nullify their run should be less, plus the Aussie has grown in stature since following Hayden over the line in the Abu Dhabi season opener.
For Hayden Wilde, the seemingly impossible target of a quick return to racing after a nasty bike crash in Japan was met in the grand style earlier this month with a mind-bogglingly look strong T100 victory in London.
If that wasn’t enough, though, his plans to race BOTH Saturday’s T100 AND the WTCS show the height of the man’s ambitions and self-belief after a period of rehab that could have taken him out of the season. Will there be enough in the tank just 24hours after that gruelling 100km? Can he make triathlon history and set up a genuine shot at the world title? By 15.45 Sunday afternoon we will have the answers.
Then there is the most decorated Olympic triathlete of all time and defending world champion Alex Yee (GBR). Missing the first half of the season for a remarkable debut marathon campaign in London, this moth Yee also smashed his 5km track PB, clocking 13:13 in Belgium to set tongues wagging about his skills once more.
With three WTCS races still to come before the Wollongong Finals, Yee remains a serious threat, but it all hinges on harvesting enough points to catch Hauser before October’s showdown in Australia, meaning nothing less than a podium – possibly a win – will surely satisfy the British star.
As series leader, Hauser wears the one and gets his pick of places on the beach start line. The cluster of swim power he can build around him will be crucial in their efforts to blunt Yee and Wilde’s run prowess.
Other Contenders: Who to Watch
Miguel Hidalgo (BRA) has grown in stature this campaign and his victory at WTCS Alghero was a masterclass of control and tactical power to gap Hauser early in the 10km. Frustrated with 4th in Hamburg, the Brazilian will be revved up, hungry to test himself against the returning Olympic stars and help instigate any early break with Hauser.
Likewise Portugal’s Vasco Vilaca who has been Hauser’s shadow with two silvers and a bronze in his points tally so far. The podiums have been piling up, then, and patience is the watchword for a career first WTCS win: pulling a Bergere and claiming the title with a win in the pressure pot of a Championship Finals is certainly not out of the question.
Bergere may be focussed on the T100 event, but a big home-nation medal threat comes in the form of 2023 World Champion Dorian Coninx and Pierre Le Corre. Spain's David Cantero is one of the fastest runners on the circuit and been sharpening his tools in preparation, and Britain's Ben Dijkstra will want to build on an excellent start to his first season at the top table.
USA’s Morgan Pearson is another eyeing the T100-WTCS double this weekend, Germany’s Henry Graf has looked every bit the German-star-in-waiting so far in 2025, and the likes of Tyler Mislawchuk and Csongor Lehmann all bring rich form to the French Riviera.
So, a win here could catapult Yee or Wilde into title contention once again, or can Hauser solidify his dominance heading into a busy month with Karlovy Vary and Weihai to follow in September. As we tick into the second half of the season, the big guns are back and all bets are off.
WTCS FRENCH RIVIERA
SUNDAY 31 AUGUST
14.45 CEST
FULL START LIST
TRIATHLONLIVE.TV
