Hayden Wilde finally hit gold in Abu Dhabi on his sixth attempt, racing away to victory in the World Triathlon Championship Series opener at Hudayriyat Island on Saturday.
The New Zealander kicked off the final stretch of the run to win in 48 minutes and 21 seconds, snatching first place from Australian Matthew Hauser who was two seconds behind in second, and Portuguese Vasco Vilaca 18 seconds further down in third.
Wilde spent a month preparing at Hudayriyat Island, which he considers his second home away from his native town Taupo in north New Zealand.
“It’s my second home, I've been here for about four weeks, and you know they just welcomed me in with open arms and I've just been loving it here,” Wilde said of his first win in Abu Dhabi.
“I got a breakaway with one of my mates again and didn't really stick but we had some fun out there,” the Olympic double medallist said of his tussle with Hauser.
“I've raced Matt over the 5k many times and I saw his coach and he was like one more push and I'm like, I know for sure he's got one more push, so I just had to hold the pace and he was coming hot and I was just happy to hold on.
“I don't know how many of these World Series I'll do, but it's nice to be back and getting a win here for the first time.”
Hauser acknowledged that he 'just couldn’t hold on' at the end when Wilde launched for the final stretch.
“It's always tough getting second and it's tough to follow, especially when you're there the whole way,” he added.
“I felt really good out of the swim and felt really good on my bike, a new bike from Specialized, which was really nice around those corners and held its speed. But yeah, just couldn't hold on in the end.”
The 2020 World Championship silver medallist Vilaca joined them on the podium. The Portuguese took a lot of positives from the opening race of the world series.
“I'm very happy with the third place, first race of the season, very early, so I think it's a great start to the season,” he said.
“I'm quite happy to give it a go with these guys again. They really made me suffer today. I think the legs have woken up and we're ready to get into 2025.
“This new course, of course. The F1 course (Yas Marina in the previous years) is kind of legendary, but this track, I mean this whole island they've just finished building is amazing.”
Lisa Tertsch led a top three finish for Germany in the elite women’s race. The Olympic gold medallist in the mixed relay in Paris pipped her compatriots Nina Eim and Laura Lindemann in a sprint to the finishing line.
Leonie Periault of France, who stayed on with the leading group of four, just didn’t have the legs in the end.
“I'm happy with my execution (of the swim, cycling and run) but also I prepared really well, so, I just executed what I prepared for,” Tertsch said after completing the race in 54 minutes and 28 seconds.
“It was a cat and mouse game over the last lap but that's why it's racing, and everyone has to play their cards and go with what they're good at. I knew what I wanted to do in the end and so I went with my plan,” the 26-year-old Harvard graduate in economics said.
Eim finished second, just two seconds behind for her first podium of the World Series.
“It was a big goal for me to get on the podium one day and now I already achieved it in the first race of the season,” Eim said.
“I couldn't expect a better start to the season. I told myself the whole time, 'you can do this, you can do this, you want to get a podium', and the last km was really, really hard. I gave everything I had and I'm so happy that I got second.”
Results
Elite Men:
1. Hayden Wilde (NZL) 48min 21sec
2. Matthew Hauser (AUS) +00.02
3. Vasco Vilaca (POR) +00.18
4. Adrien Briffod (SUI) +00.34
5. Henry Graf (GER) +00.34
Elite Women:
1. Lisa Tertsch (GER) 54.28
2. Nin Eim (GER) +00.02
3. Laura Lindemann (GER) +00.03
4. Leonie Periault (FRA) +00.07
5. Tanja Neubert (GER) +00.18
