Triathlon fans hoping for a Yokohama face-off between short-course legends Hayden Wilde, Alex Yee and Matt Hauser will have to wait just a little while longer after WTCS confirmed that Kiwi Wilde had made a late change of plan.
All three had initially been named among a mouthwatering start list for the May 16 race in Japan, but such a prospect will now likely have to wait until later in the month when the series moves on to Italy.
While Briton Yee and Australian Hauser are confirmed to make their first WTCS appearances of the season in Yokohama, Wilde has decided to take a mid-season break and will instead focus his preparations for the following race on May 30 in Alghero.
Yee and Hauser confirm returns
Yee missed the opening race of the year in Samarkand due to his role as pacemaker in last week’s London Marathon, while Hauser was lining up against Wilde for his T100 Triathlon World Tour debut in Singapore.
The Kiwi, of course, stormed to victory, while Hauser finished in a respectable fifth place – almost nine minutes behind his good friend and rival.
Wilde confirmed his switch to Italy in a post on Instagram where he said of the T100 in Singapore: “Super happy with the process of the race and where the form is. Hotter and harder than last year; so happy to survive tough conditions.
“Congratulations to all the lads that lined up, knowing well and truly it’s a battle of mental strength and one of the hardest races on the circuit. Now back home in Andorra, taking an easy week into the next WTCS in Italy 🇮🇹 🤝.”
‘Honestly, pretty stoked with it’
Hauser admitted that he was ‘stoked’ with his performance and congratulated ‘Haydo’ on his win. They are likely to meet again in Italy, with Yee, in what will be the first race of the Olympic qualification period for LA28.
“5th in my first middle-distance race, and honestly, pretty stoked with it!” wrote Hauser on his Instagram page. “I knew I’d be up against it with minimal prep and time on the TT bike, and the heat/humidity truly does zap the body of everything!
“I tried to conserve all day, but lacking technical skill and strength on the bike had me losing a lot of time; it came good towards the end of the run after smashing every single aid station. 😅
“Kudos to Haydo and the rest of the lads for smashing it. 🙏 Proud of myself for taking on this challenge and going out of my comfort zone to kick off the 2026 racing season. Thanks for having me @t100triathlon. Back to short course for now. 😅”
Strong Australian team on show
Joining Hauser on the Australian team in Yokohama will be Luke Willian, who memorably finished on the podium behind his teammate here in 2024. Brandon Copeland and Bradley Course will also be racing in the green and gold.
On the British side, Yee will have Hugo Milner, Jack Willis, Harry Leleu and Max Stapley for company in what will be his first race over the standard distance for more than 18 months.
Morgan Pearson, the 2024 victor, heads up an American quintet that also contains WTCS medallist John Reed, Reese Vannerson, Darr Smith and Chase McQueen. Team Germany likewise has a race winner of their own on the start list in the form of Tim Hellwig. He appears beside Valentin Wernz, Jonas Osterholt and Chris Ziehmer.
Charles Paquet, Mathis Beaulieu and Martin Sobey form a strong Canadian trio that could threaten the higher placings. Paquet, in particular, has enjoyed some success in Yokohama before.
Strength in depth from Japan
World Cup winner Arnaud Mengal starts for Belgium alongside Erwin Vanderplancke, while Hungary will send Márton Kropkó and Zsombor Dévay.
The largest contingent by far comes from the home team. Asian champion and World Cup winner Takumi Hojo (JPN) enters as the pick of the bunch. At the same time, youngster Takuto Oshima (JPN) could be one to watch after a successful start to the season. Aoba Yasumatsu, Kenji Nener, Genta Uchida, Kazushi Jozuka, Ren Sato, Koki Iwamoto, Satoshi Iwamoto and Kenshin Mori complete the massive line-up of Japanese hopefuls.
