Kate Waugh produced a sensational solo bike attack to set up a dominant Great Britain victory in the Rome World Cup Mixed Relay, with Olympic champion Alex Yee bringing the team home 57 seconds clear of hosts Italy.

Olivia Mathias, Connor Bentley, Waugh and Yee combined to win in 1:17:23, with all four contributing to an impressive Sunday morning performance.

Bentley had put Britain ahead at halfway before Waugh transformed a slender advantage into a commanding lead on Leg C. That left Yee to complete the job, with his final run resembling a Sunday morning stroll by his standards.

Italy claimed silver after Euan De Nigro dropped Portugal’s Miguel Tiago Silva early on the final run, with Portugal completing the podium.

Nineteen teams started following the Netherlands’ absence. Each athlete tackled a 300m swim, two 3.5km bike laps and a 1.7km run bordering the lake, in conditions similar to Saturday’s individual races but a little cooler.

The venue was hosting its first mixed relay, providing valuable experience ahead of next year’s World Mixed Team Relay Championships which will be held in Rome.

Leg A – Italy edge ahead

Jolien Vermeylen led the opening swim for Belgium, narrowly ahead of Britain’s Mathias and France’s Manon Laporte.

Belgium remained in front through T1, but there was little to separate the field. Just three seconds covered the leading 16 teams at the end of the first bike lap, with China, Brazil and Chile the three teams struggling to stay in touch.

Germany led at the end of the bike, with Mexico, Britain and Hungary only a second behind and the first 15 teams covered by five seconds.

Franka Rust and Mathias quickly moved to the front on the run before the German opened a gap. But Rust was caught late, and it was Paola Sacchi who brought Italy into the first handover ahead in 19:58.

Germany were just a second back, Switzerland three seconds behind and Britain and Belgium both at +4. Nine teams remained within seven seconds, while France were surprisingly down in 13th, 21 seconds off the lead.

Leg B – Bentley takes control

Nicola Azzano maintained Italy’s lead through the swim, with Germany’s Lasse Lührs two seconds behind and Bentley just three seconds back for Britain.

Bentley then injected some aggression into the race with an attack on the first bike lap. He briefly gained a gap and, although the move was brought back, it helped reduce the front group to five.

Switzerland, Germany, Britain, Italy and Hungary were covered by a second at the end of that lap, with Belgium among the teams left chasing.

The five leaders remained together through the end of the bike, starting the run in 33:41 with a 10-second cushion over their nearest pursuers.

Bentley then led the run to cap an excellent leg, handing over to Waugh in 38:10 with a five-second advantage over Italy and Hungary.

Portugal had moved into fourth at +10, followed by Switzerland at +12 and Germany at +14. France’s difficult morning continued, with their deficit now more than a minute.

Leg C – Waugh blows the race apart

Italy’s Bianca Seregni used her swimming strength to erase Britain’s five-second advantage, joining Waugh at the front as the pair exited the water together in 41:58.

They had 11 seconds over Switzerland and 15 over Hungary, raising the prospect of Britain and Italy working together to extend their lead on the bike.

Waugh had other ideas.

First out of T1, she immediately pushed the pace and committed to a solo attack which proved the defining move of the race.

Over just 7km of cycling she pulled decisively clear, and she was already out of T2 before Seregni even arrived. Britain started the run 32 seconds ahead of Italy, with Switzerland and Portugal 50 seconds behind.

Waugh continued to build the advantage on foot, completing her leg in a cumulative 58:16 and sending Yee away with a 44-second lead.

Italy and Portugal were effectively together in second and third, separated by just a second, while Switzerland, Germany and Belgium were all around a minute behind Britain.

Leg D – Yee finishes the job

Yee had a substantial cushion as he began the anchor leg, although Portugal’s Silva reduced the deficit to 33 seconds during the swim and moved ahead of Italy.

But the Briton extended his lead again on the bike, reaching the final run in 1:12:10 with 54 seconds over Italy and Portugal, who were now together.

Behind them, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland were a further 20 seconds back, with the AIN team another second behind.

Yee comfortably completed Britain’s victory in 1:17:23, rounding off a brilliant collective effort after Waugh’s decisive contribution.

The battle for silver was settled early on the run as De Nigro dropped Silva, bringing Italy home in 1:18:20. Portugal secured bronze in 1:18:34.

AIN finished fourth, just a second ahead of Switzerland, with Belgium sixth and Germany seventh. Hungary, France and Spain completed the top 10.

Rome World Cup Mixed Relay results

Sunday 4 October 2026, four legs of 300m swim, 7km bike, 1.7km run

Position	Team	Time	Gap to winner
1	Great Britain	1:17:23	—
2	Italy	1:18:20	+0:57
3	Portugal	1:18:34	+1:11
4	AIN	1:18:46	+1:23
5	Switzerland	1:18:47	+1:24
6	Belgium	1:18:50	+1:27
7	Germany	1:19:00	+1:37
8	Hungary	1:19:19	+1:56
9	France	1:19:35	+2:12
10	Spain	1:19:36	+2:13