WTCS action returns this weekend in the iconic German city of Hamburg, where the best short-course athletes in the sport will battle it out in the fifth top tier event of the season after races in Abu Dhabi, Yokohama, Cagliari and Montreal.
Olympic champion Kristian Blummenfelt will be in action again, while the latest clash between great rivals Hayden Wilde and Alex Yee will provide yet more drama following their brilliant battle at WTCS Cagliari.
Series leader Vasco Vilaca will also toe the start line in Hamburg and we have everything you need to know, from start times and streaming information to a full men’s field preview.
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Start time and how to watch live
This year, Hamburg will host the first ever Super Sprint World Championships, with racing taking place across two days on Friday July 14 and Saturday July 15.
Athletes will compete over a 300m swim, 7.5km bike and 1.6km run with qualifiers and repechage on Friday seeing 30 athletes advance to the finals on Saturday.
On Saturday, the finals will take place across three-stages, with ten athletes cut at the end of the first two stages, leaving a final ten competitors to battle it out in the final stage to determine the winner.
Friday July 14: Qualifiers and Repechage
0800 (0700 UK, 0200 EST, 2300 Thursday PST) – Super Sprint Qualifiers Wave 1.
0835 (0735 UK, 0235 EST, 2335 Thursday PST) – Super Sprint Qualifiers Wave 2.
1900 (1800 UK, 1300 EST, 1000 PST) – Super Sprint Repechage Wave 1.
1935 (1835 UK, 1335 EST, 1035 PST) – Super Sprint Repechage Wave 2.
Saturday July 15: Final
1620 (1520 UK, 1020 EST, 0720 PST) – Super Sprint Final Stage 1.
1730 (1630 UK, 1130 EST, 0830 PST) – Super Sprint Final Stage 2.
1840 (1740 UK, 1240 EST, 0940 PST) – Super Sprint Final Stage 3.
The race will be broadcast live on the World Triathlon subscription service, TriathlonLive, and also available free for UK viewers via BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website, the BBC Sport App and the BBC Red Button.
Who is racing at WTCS Hamburg?
Each of the men’s winners from the previous WTCS races so far this season are set to compete this weekend, with the clash between Yee and Wilde made even more interesting when you consider Aussie Matthew Hauser’s recent run of form.
Having won his maiden WTCS in Montreal, Hauser went on to inflict a first defeat of the season on to Yee at the French Grand Prix, with the momentum coming into this race favouring the current WTCS World Ranked #5.
Wilde, who has been training at altitude in Andorra in preparation for this race, will look to finally get the better of Yee, after coming off second best in a battle that went down to the wire Cagliari. The Kiwi, who won here last year, will be hoping to make it back-to-back victories over the new format.
Whilst that French Grand Prix defeat isn’t a real indicator of his form, the unpredictable nature of qualifiers and finals over such a short distance could expose Yee to a different set of challenges in Hamburg.
Photo Credit: Wagner Araujo / World Triathlon
Elsewhere on the start list, there is quality left, right and centre. Olympic Champion Blummenfelt will continue the quest for his first WTCS podium since 2021 and he is joined by compatriots Gustav Iden and Vetle Thorn, the latter of whom is in fine form after winning the European Games individual and relay titles.
Series leader Vilaca, who finished second here when it was the standalone world championships, is always a threat, as are training partners Jelle Geens of Belgium and Jacob Birtwhistle of Australia. Tyler Mislawchuk of Canada, another veteran of the circuit, is also likely to feature at the business end.
Finally, keep an eye out for Brazilian Manoel Messias and Spaniard David Castro Fajardo. Both have the skills to stay in the race until the crucial final run, where Fajardo in particular has demonstrated so far this season that he has possibly the fastest foot speed in short0course triathlon. A devastating sprint finish saw him land a World Cup win in Huatulco and the European Championships in Madrid so far this year.
Photo Credit – World Triathlon/Tommy Zaferes
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