Last Sunday in San Pedro de la Paz, five men came off the bike together and only 44 seconds separated them at the line. Seven days later, almost all of them go again. Iquique hosts its first World Cup on Sunday 8 November, the second stop of a Chilean double header, and nine of San Pedro's top ten are back on the start list, joined by a top seed who left last weekend empty-handed.
This time the distance is halved. Racing switches to the sprint format: a 750m sea swim from a beach start, 20km on a flat, non-technical bike course and a flat 5km run along the Pacific coast. With the Atacama Desert as a backdrop and little on the course to split the field, the run is likely to decide things again, only faster. The men's race starts at 12:00 local time (16:00 CET), live on TriathlonLive.
Cantero wants another shot at Chile
David Cantero Del Campo (ESP) tops the start list, and few men in the field have a better record in South America. Last year he finished on the podium at both Chilean World Cups, taking bronze in Viña del Mar and silver in San Pedro de la Paz, before winning the Florianopolis World Cup a week later.
This season brought a World Cup win in Lanzarote in March and a first WTCS medal with silver in Weihai in August. San Pedro, however, did not go to plan, with the Spaniard failing to finish last Sunday. A shorter, faster format gives him the perfect chance to set the record straight before the season closes.
Pearson defends his San Pedro crown
Morgan Pearson (USA) arrives as the man in form. The two-time Olympic Mixed Relay silver medallist from Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 sat patiently in the pack in San Pedro, then ran 30:27 for 10km to win by 33 seconds. He was fourth at WTCS London in July, proof that his sprint speed is very much intact, and at 33 he is showing no signs of slowing down.
He will not be short of company from his own team. Reese Vannerson (USA) won the Chengdu World Cup last year and took bronze in Edmonton this July, Sullivan Middaugh (USA) was second at the Huatulco World Cup in June, and his younger brother Porter Middaugh (USA) finished ninth last weekend after a 13:52 5km at the Rio World Cup.
The San Pedro chasers
Louis Vitiello (FRA) took silver last Sunday for his first World Cup podium, a reward for a strong season that also included two Europe Cup wins in the spring. Márton Kropkó (HUN), World U23 silver medallist in 2025, completed the podium after placing fourth in Beijing two weeks earlier, and has now finished in the top four at his last two World Cups.
Pelayo González Turrez (ESP) missed the podium by just five seconds in fourth, having already taken World Cup bronze in Tiszaujvaros this season, while teammate Antonio Serrat Seoane (ESP) produced the fastest run of the day (30:23) to climb to sixth from a slower swim. Serrat, a Paris 2024 Olympian and Hong Kong World Cup silver medallist in 2024, will be dangerous if he exits the water closer to the front.
Baptiste Passemard (FRA) and Benedikt Bettin (GER), this summer's FISU World University champion, were seventh and eighth, and Till Kramp (GER) rounded out the top ten. Mediterranean Games champion Panagiotis Bitados (GRE), David Lang (LUX) and Tyler Smith (BER) were all within two minutes of the winner and will be looking to move up over the shorter distance.
Moya leads the home charge
Diego Moya (CHI) delivered for the home crowd in San Pedro, finishing fifth, just 44 seconds behind Pearson, after exiting the water in the lead group. The two-time Olympian was also fourth at the Rio World Cup over the sprint distance in August, and a home podium in Iquique would be a fitting end to the Chilean double header.
He is joined by Mateo Mendoza Burgos (CHI), silver medallist at the South American Games in September, and 19-year-old Sebastian Zurob (CHI), who makes his World Cup debut after placing eighth at the World Junior Championships in Pontevedra.
