New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde won an incredible fifth T100 Triathlon World Tour race in a row, claiming a dominant victory in front of big crowds at the Wollongong T100 in Australia. His win goes alongside T100 victories in Singapore, London, the French Riviera and Spain already this season.
Wilde finished ahead of German Mika Noodt who matched him on the swim and bike, but was left in his dust on the run.
Third was Dutchman Youri Keulen, who recorded his best T100 finish of the season and his first podium since winning the Singapore T100 at the start of 2024.
Wilde’s perfect winning record on the T100 Tour means he leads the T100 Race To Qatar going into the penultimate Dubai T100 on 15-16 November and then Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final on 10-13 December.
He’ll attempt a T100 / WTCS double when he goes in tomorrow’s World Triathlon Championship Series finale, which is all part of the great swim, bike and run action going on at this week’s 2025 World Triathlon Championship Finals Wollongong.
KEY QUOTES
Hayden Wilde (NZL)
“I loved today. It was super nice to be out there with so many familiar faces and the public really getting behind triathlon. Running with a smile on my face was great and to put a show on for the fans was amazing. It helped push you through a pretty challenging run course today.”
On his battle with Mika Noodt:
“I was happy with the swim leg. I kept in touch. While we were missing some of the big bikers this week, so the start of the ride wasn’t as aggressive, but in the flatter sections Mika was pushing and we worked well together and got a few minutes up the road from the field. Then it was about putting it out there on the run at the first uphill.”
Second placed Mika Noodt (GER)
“I felt quite in control during the whole bike leg and it was nice not to have Rico [Bogen] around this time! So I could stick to my own pace.”
“I stuck with Hayden on the run until the first uphill. I knew Youri was closing the gap so I stayed on the same pace until he closed within 40 seconds. But I felt strong after a mid season break and am really pleased to finish second.”
Third placed Youri Keulen (NED)
“So, I had a plan with my coach to be on it from moment one, because these races with the waves to start can be quite unpredictable and swim in not my strongest point.
Then on the bike my goal was to use that first climb as a step towards the front pack and then I was there. Hayden Wilde decided to drop a couple of massive bombs on the bike. I responded to the first one, but couldn’t respond to the second one.”
On what this T100 podium means to him:
“It means a awful lot because I’ve won a race [in Singapore in 2024], but I never made it to the podium because I was on the way to the hospital in Singapore. And that hurt. Because I never closed it off and picked up the trophy. I’ve been close this season, but now I can enjoy the podium, remember it and enjoy it.”
HOW THE RACE UNFOLDED
On the 2km, 3-lap swim off Wollongong’s Cove Beach, Sam Dickinson (GBR) and Menno Koolhaas (NED) traded the lead with the Brit leaving the water first in 21:49, leading a group of 14 within 30 seconds including 4x T100 winner Hayden Wilde (NZL), 17 seconds back.
After a slowing through transition, Dickinson quickly pushed back to the front of the race, Wilde likewise flying up the order to sit behind the Brit with Mika Noodt (GER), Youri Keulen (NED) and Koolhaas all in close order, holding around 1 minute on the chasers by 20km.
At around 25km, Wilde took the lead, stretching the elastic to the rest with Koolhaas the first to drop off. Keulen and Dickinson were next to succumb to Wilde’s speed with only Noodt on the Kiwi’s wheel by the halfway mark.
That was the status quo for the remainder of the bike. Noodt and Wilde started the hilly 18km run together with a 2:10 lead to Keulen and Dickinson, Koolhaas at 3:30 and Henry Raeppo (EST) 6th off the bike on debut, 4:20 down.
Wilde lost no time creating a gap on Noodt, the German setting his own pace but certainly not fading. It was a similar story between Keulen and Dickinson with the Dutch athlete dropping the Brit right out of T2.
Despite the quality of those behind him, there was no stopping Wilde from securing a 5th consecutive victory. The Kiwi cruised easily to victory, chatting with the camera and taking high fives on his way to the win in 3:06:07. While Wilde already had a perfect score of 4 winning races, earning 140 T100 Race To Qatar standings points, the win here blocks others from taking those extra finish points.
Noodt came home 2nd, just 36 seconds back to score 29 points, replacing a lower score to give him 110 points, putting him 3rd in the T100 Race To Qatar.
Keulen was 3rd 1:06 back – his first podium since Singapore T100 2024 – scoring 26 points and moving up to 6th in the T100 Race To Qatar.
Koolhaas took 4th and 23 points to move up to 8th in the T100 Race To Qatar while Raeppo secured a top 5 on debut.
