Hayden Wilde believes he raced to Dubai T100 victory with a broken toe after hurting himself during the swim section and then trying to pop it back into place while riding.

The New Zealander revealed the extraordinary story behind his latest win after beating compatriot and training partner Kyle Smith by 69 seconds on Saturday – less than 24 hours after claiming bronze at WTCS Abu Dhabi.

Despite the injury concern and the demands of that rapid turnaround, Wilde pulled clear around halfway through the 18km run to win in 3:11:43, with Mika Noodt completing the podium.

“I think it’s broken for sure”

Wilde had been heard telling a cameraman during the race: “I think I broke my toe.”

Speaking on the live broadcast afterwards, he explained that the problem began during the Aussie exit between the two swim laps.

“Yeah, I was coming out of the Aussie exit and I think I just tripped over myself and I was like, oh, that kind of hurt.

“And then I was trying to put my socks on and I kind of felt like my toe was dislocated.”

Initially he carried on, but the discomfort persisted once he was on the bike.

“The second lap of the ride was still sore so I took my foot out of my shoe and I was trying to, like, pop it back into place, I think, or something like that, and it didn’t really work out.”

Remarkably, the toe did not trouble him too much during the run, with Wilde suggesting the solid platform of his carbon shoes and the cushioning had helped.

But removing his shoe afterwards revealed significant swelling.

“Didn’t feel it too much on the run, but yeah, just took it off and it’s relatively fat, so I think it’s broken for sure.”

A sprint race as preparation?

The toe drama added another layer to an already demanding weekend, with Wilde racing in Dubai the morning after his third place in the WTCS sprint in Abu Dhabi on Friday afternoon.

Asked whether a sprint race the day before might become a new pre-race ritual, he suggested that order was preferable to tackling the longer race first.

“Yeah, it’s definitely a lot, a lot easier on the body than the other way around.”

He even felt an early benefit from the previous evening’s effort, although the fatigue became more apparent as the race progressed.

“I definitely feel like it actually gave me a little bit of pop at the start, but the quads were feeling it at the end of the ride.

“Just had to pace myself through the run and just take control on the second lap.”

Wilde and Smith ran together for much of the opening half before Wilde made his move. His advantage was 14 seconds with 7km remaining, grew to 35 seconds with 3.5km to go and reached 1:09 by the finish.

“Easy big dog”

There was also a lighter moment as Wilde described Smith joining him early in the run.

“It was real nice, had a good transition, and heard this thing breathing extremely heavily coming like a freight train.”

His response to his friend was typically direct: “Easy big dog, we’re in the lead, mate, don’t worry about it.”

The pair then worked together before Wilde accelerated clear, but he was full of praise for Smith’s performance.

“Kudos to him. He was real strong out there today.”

Wilde explained that Smith had been preparing for the Saudi race later in November, before its postponement and the addition of Dubai changed their plans.

“It was a bit of a curveball for us to do some earlier heat training than we anticipated, so it was really cool to see him do well in heat.

“I think he was pretty nervous but he performed super well out there today.”

Smith’s second place continued his resurgence after the health struggles which had left him contemplating retirement earlier in the year, and followed his podium at T100 French Riviera.

Sunshine before Qatar

Wilde’s win extended his advantage at the top of the Race to Qatar standings to 42 points, with Smith now his nearest challenger on 63.

Looking ahead to Qatar, Wilde outlined his intended training base.

“I base myself in Abu Dhabi and I really enjoy it there. A little place called Al Seef.

“We get hosted there by some good friends and some locals in Abu Dhabi.

“Do some hard training and enjoy the sunshine and get out of the snow of Andorra.”