Manoel Messias (BRA) continued his stellar form by clinching another World Cup win in the men’s race in San Pedro de la Paz, Chile, marking back-to-back victories after last week’s triumph in Vina del Mar. He held off a hard-charging group to take gold while David Cantero Del Campo (ESP) took silver, and Sergio Baxter Cabrera (ESP) sprinted to bronze.
A large start list of 65 men lined at the Laguna Grande for another Sprint distance race -750 meters swimming, a fast 21.8-kilometer bike, and a final 5-kilometer run-. The morning was cool and overcast, but conditions were ideal for fast times.
Diego Moya (CHI) kicked things off with a blistering swim, signaling his plan to create air over the fast runners by leading from the first stroke. Moya emerged from the water in front, ahead of a chasing group that included Dupuis (FRA), Miguel Tiago Silva (POR), Valentin Morlec (FRA), Braxton Legg (USA), and Nicola Azzano (ITA). They hay Messias about 40 seconds back and Cantero roughly 35 seconds behind the leaders.
Moya set the early tempo on the bike, but a small miscue in the first lap saw him lose a handful of seconds and be swallowed by a chasing peloton. The breakaway group quickly coalesced into a larger pack, with Cantero, Baxter Cabrera, Tom Richard (FRA), and Alejandro Rodriguez (CUB) among the riders pushing hard. The chase group, including Messias, surged forward as the tempo increased.
On the second lap, Till Kramp (GER) made a bold move, breaking away to build a 32-second gap going into the second transition.
As the bikes merged into the run, the dynamics intensified. A high-velocity sprint formed among the front-runners, a group of 15 athletes that were running in close contact, and that included superb runners like Callum McClusky (AUS), Tom Richard (FRA), Sergio Baxter (ESP) or Reese Vanersson (USA), to name a few.
With 2.5 kilometers to go, Messias and Cantero found another surge and pulled away from the group, leaving Richard, mcClusky and Baxter to fight for the remaining spot on the podium. Messias’ final-kilometer acceleration proved decisive, and he crossed the line with a strong run split, clocking the fastest 14:10 on the day.
Cantero delivered a determined silver-medal performance, capping a strong season and matching the pace set by Messias in the closing stretch.
Baxter outsprinted McClusky to grab a bronze medal that felt incredible for him after a year dealing with injuries and disappointing results. McClusky was fourth, and Valentin Morlec fifth on the day, while Izan Edo (ESP) rounded another great race for team Spain with a 6th place, third Spaniard in the top six.
Tom Richard (FRA), Vanersson (USA), Aurelien Jem (FRA) and Sullivan Middaugh (USA) rounded the top 10.
