Rome World Cup results 2026: Yee puts on a running masterclass and Isakova wins sprint thriller

Alex Yee produced a running masterclass to win the Rome World Cup, turning a testing start into an emphatic victory before high-fiving spectators down the blue carpet.

The British Olympic champion had emerged from the swim around 40 seconds behind the leaders, but worked hard on the bike to get back into contention before taking command less than a minute into the run.

He crossed the line in 53:48, with French duo Martin Hubner and Tristan Douche claiming silver and bronze respectively, both 25 seconds behind.

The women’s race delivered a much closer finish as Diana Isakova (AIN) edged Sweden’s Tilda Månsson by a single second following a dramatic duel on the blue carpet, with Taylor Spivey (USA) completing the podium.

Men – Yee chases back, then takes command

Bright sunshine, virtually windless conditions and temperatures in the low 20s provided an ideal backdrop in a stunning location, but Yee had work to do after the opening swim.

Hungary’s Zalán Hóbor led out of the water in 9:04, with Britain’s Michael Gar alongside him. Portugal’s Ricardo Batista was also prominent, just seven seconds behind in eighth.

Yee, meanwhile, emerged in joint 43rd place, 40 seconds down. A quick first transition helped him move up to 33rd and cut his deficit to roughly 35 seconds early on the bike, but the field was split into several groups.

The Olympic champion was visibly working hard in the chase and making steady progress. After the first of five bike laps he was up to 19th, 19 seconds behind, and that gap came down to 13 seconds on lap two.

By early lap three it was nine seconds, before the groups finally merged during that lap to bring Yee back into a large leading pack.

There was still an opportunity for an attack, however, and Britain’s Connor Bentley took it on lap four. Israel’s Itamar Eshed bridged across to join him, with the pair opening a seven-second advantage.

They held a narrow lead to the end of the bike, Bentley reaching the timing point first with Eshed one second behind. But Yee was ideally placed near the front of the chasing pack, sixth and just eight seconds off the lead.

And it took him less than a minute of running to overhaul Bentley and move to the front.

From there, Yee quickly put daylight between himself and the rest. By halfway through the 5km run he was already 25 seconds clear, leaving a tightly packed group to fight over the remaining medals.

He maintained that margin through the second lap and had plenty of time to enjoy his arrival on the blue carpet, exchanging high-fives with spectators before taking the tape.

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Hubner secured second ahead of compatriot Douche, both finishing in 54:13, while Italy’s Nicola Azzano and swim leader Hóbor rounded out the top five in 54:15.

Speaking afterwards on the official broadcast, Yee explained that he had deliberately chosen a race which could expose a weakness.

“It’s never easy racing these guys,” he said. “I decided to race this race because this kind of racing can sometimes expose me a little bit. I can be a little bit back in the swim and that could be it for my race. So I really wanted to put myself in here and do my best.”

Women – Isakova denies Månsson

The women’s race, which was missing newly crowned junior world champion Fanni Szalai through illness, began with a decisive move from home favourite Bianca Seregni.

The Italian broke clear early in the swim and emerged in 9:36, 18 seconds ahead of Britain’s Tilly Anema, with Germany’s Laura Lindemann another two seconds back.

Spivey was fourth, 22 seconds behind, while Olivia Mathias gave Britain a second athlete in the swim top 10.

The eventual gold and silver medallists had rather more ground to recover. Isakova was 50 seconds behind Seregni, with Månsson a further five seconds back.

An early leading group on the bike included Seregni, Anema, Mathias, Spivey and Lindemann, but the chasers were closing and the race came back together.

By lap four, the first 20 athletes were covered by just four seconds. At the end of the fifth and final lap, 21 remained within that same margin, with Isakova first through and Månsson just one second behind.

Spivey later explained: “I was really hoping for a breakaway on the bike if we could get the group going. But we had some really motivated riders behind us and it came back together.”

The run would decide the medals, and Isakova and Månsson soon emerged as the leading contenders.

They reached halfway together, with Spivey still only four seconds behind. But over the second lap the leading pair pulled further clear, setting up a head-to-head battle for gold.

Already a WTCS gold medallist this season, Månsson threw everything into the sprint on the blue carpet. Isakova held her off, however, taking victory in 59:12 to the Swede’s 59:13.

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Spivey secured bronze 16 seconds behind the winner, with Nina Eim fourth and Seregni fifth. Anema was the leading British finisher in seventh, while Kate Waugh finished 18th and Mathias 20th.

An excited Isakova said: “It was a great race and fantastic to win a sprint against Tilda.”

Månsson admitted: “A bit disappointed as I wanted to win. It was much better than last weekend in Pontevedra though and I’m really happy with my season as a whole.”

For Spivey, a podium in Italy also brought her triathlon journey full circle.

“I started triathlon back in 2012 when I was studying in Florence so it’s great to come back to Italy and get on the podium.”