Hayden Wilde followed up his IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship triumph with a statement victory at T100 French Riviera – just six days later.

The New Zealander remained close to the front throughout the swim and bike before pulling clear of the field alongside compatriot and training partner Kyle Smith during the second half of the run.

Wilde then kicked away from Smith on the fifth of six laps and never looked back, cruising to a commanding victory.

Behind him, a fast-finishing Jelle Geens (BEL) – the man Wilde succeeded as 70.3 world champion in Nice last weekend – overhauled Smith late on to claim second place.

But third still represented an excellent return to form for Smith in his first race since June as just 25 seconds covered the first three.

Swim – Dickinson makes his presence felt

The men began their day in stunning sunshine, with calm water awaiting them for the same two-lap swim used at this event last year.

While the swim remained unchanged, the rest of the course had been significantly revised, with the bike now comprising four laps rather than one and the concluding run taking place over six laps.

Sam Dickinson (GBR), who only recently returned to racing after suffering a Grade 4 bone-stress injury in his foot, immediately made his presence felt by leading the field out.

Morgan Pearson, who had led after the swim here last year, initially found himself isolated at the back. The American quickly recovered, however, and worked his way through the field.

Fabian Kraft (GER) then took over at the front and completed the opening 1km loop one second ahead of Menno Koolhaas (NED), with Dickinson another second back in third. Pearson had already climbed to fourth, followed by Geens and Wilde.

There was little separation at that stage, with just 14 seconds covering everyone apart from Will Draper (GBR), who was already 1:44 behind and completely isolated at the rear.

Dickinson returned to the front on the second lap and attempted to string out the pack. The British athlete even briefly switched to backstroke to look behind and assess the damage he had caused.

The answer was: not too much. Dickinson emerged from the water first in 24:42, but Pearson was only one second behind and Kraft another second back.

Koolhaas followed in fourth, with Wilde, Smith and Geens all within seven seconds of the leader. Just 10 seconds covered the leading 14 athletes, although a small gap had opened to the next five.

Gregor Payet (LUX) led that second group out of the water, 18 seconds behind Dickinson, with four more athletes following within 38 seconds of the lead. Draper, meanwhile, remained completely isolated and reached transition 3:50 back.

Bike – Bogen springs a late surprise

A rapid transition from Wilde moved him up to second behind Koolhaas at the start of the bike.

With the leading athletes still packed closely together, there were plenty of flashing red RaceRanger lights during the early stages. The technical official quickly moved in for a careful look, but somewhat surprisingly no early penalties were issued.

That set the tone for much of the opening lap, with barely any separation until Bogen moved to the front. The German had been struggling with illness over the previous couple of weeks but now began to animate the race.

Smith, competing for the first time since June after recently training alongside Wilde, was right on his wheel as he looked to get a challenging season back on track.

The pair took turns at the front and began to create some daylight, ending the first of four laps 22 seconds ahead of Dickinson.

It remained tight within the chasing group, but early on the second lap Wilde launched his attempt to break clear. He was initially hindered by a TV motorbike remaining alongside him and gestured furiously for it to move ahead.

Once it did, Wilde focussed on those ahead of him and began reeling in the leading pair. Geens recognised the danger and attempted to follow, chipping away from the chase pack before Dickinson did likewise.

The race was boiling up beautifully by halfway. Smith, Bogen and Wilde were together at the front, with Geens and Dickinson just behind, while that quintet had opened a lead of around a minute over a 12-man chasing group led by Henry Räppo (EST).

The five leaders continued to exchange positions throughout the third lap and were stretched into one long line by its conclusion, with Smith setting the pace.

Jake Birtwhistle (AUS) and Antonio Benito López (ESP) had moved into sixth and seventh, just 35 seconds behind the leaders, while the next 10 athletes were around a minute adrift. Guillem Montiel (ESP), Valdemar Solok (DEN) and Draper were the three men effectively out of contention, all more than seven minutes back.

Ironically, after all those flashing RaceRanger lights earlier in the bike, it was Bogen who appeared to receive the first penalty of the day. He was shown a yellow card for littering, seemingly leaving him with 30 seconds to serve in the penalty tent.

The race then changed again when Birtwhistle and Benito López bridged across to the leading five, creating a seven-man group at the front.

But Bogen had one final move to make. Apparently still carrying that penalty, he put the hammer down during the closing stages and quickly opened an 11-second advantage.

Then came another unexpected development. The technical official drew alongside Bogen and indicated that his earlier penalty had been rescinded.

The German powered into T2 with a 22-second advantage. The obvious question was whether his late surge had initially been prompted by the belief that he still had a penalty to serve.

Wilde, Geens, Dickinson, Smith, Birtwhistle and Benito López followed in rapid succession, with only 12 seconds separating the six.

Lasse Nygaard Priester (GER) and Pearson were two dangerous runners to watch from the chase group, but at 2:15 and 2:36 behind respectively, they surely had too much ground to recover given the considerable run speed contained within the leading seven.

Run – Wilde makes his move

The first of six run laps had barely reached its halfway point before Bogen was overtaken for the lead by both Smith and Geens.

Asked before the race how he could beat Wilde, Geens had said he felt “it was essential” to be alongside him at the end of the bike. Everything therefore appeared nicely set up for the man who had been dethroned as IRONMAN 70.3 world champion by Wilde.

However, it was Smith who moved fractionally clear early on. It was great to see the New Zealander back in top form, especially after it emerged that he had been knocked off his bike in a collision with a bus the previous day.

Moving ominously well in third, only five seconds back and offering encouragement to his training partner Smith, was Wilde.

By the end of the second lap, Wilde was running alongside Smith and Geens – as well as the lapped Montiel – and the leading trio were setting such a fierce pace that the likes of Priester and Pearson were losing ground rather than making inroads.

Pearson would soon step off the course to register a DNF, while by this stage the race already appeared to have become a three-way battle for victory.

Birtwhistle was the only other athlete within a minute of the leaders, with Bogen and Dickinson both 1:32 back in fifth and sixth respectively.

The apparently decisive move came on lap four as training partners Wilde and Smith increased the pace and pulled clear of Geens.

By the end of that lap, with only 6km remaining, they had already put 21 seconds into the Belgian. Birtwhistle was fourth, 1:09 behind.

Midway through lap five, Wilde decided to all but put the race to bed. The New Zealander kicked clear of Smith and rapidly established a 19-second advantage by the time he took the bell.

Geens remained in third and Birtwhistle fourth, while Priester was making his way impressively through the field and had climbed to fifth.

There was no catching an imperious Wilde, but the final-lap drama came behind him as Geens found fresh reserves and began closing rapidly on Smith in their battle for second, overtaking him in the final kilometre.

Wilde’s win was his second T100 success of the season – and repeated his French Riviera victory from 2025.

It also puts him in pole position to defend his overall title later this year, see the full standings below.

T100 French Riviera results – Pro men

Saturday 19 September 2026 – 2km/80km/18km

Position	Athlete	Nationality	Swim	Bike	Run	Overall time
1	Hayden Wilde	NZL	24:48	1:42:09	58:09	3:06:24
2	Jelle Geens	BEL	24:49	1:42:05	58:38	3:06:43
3	Kyle Smith	NZL	24:48	1:42:11	58:35	3:06:48
4	Jake Birtwhistle	AUS	24:52	1:42:02	1:00:08	3:08:22
5	Lasse Nygaard Priester	GER	24:50	1:43:52	59:32	3:09:29
6	Sam Dickinson	GBR	24:42	1:42:13	1:01:57	3:10:05
7	Gregor Payet	LUX	24:59	1:43:55	1:00:00	3:10:14
8	Menno Koolhaas	NED	24:44	1:44:13	1:00:04	3:10:22
9	Antonio Benito López	ESP	24:51	1:42:08	1:02:16	3:10:36
10	Wilhelm Hirsch	GER	24:49	1:44:14	1:00:59	3:11:25

Updated T100 standings

Position	Athlete	Nationality	Races completed*	Points
1	Hayden Wilde	NZL	3	96
2	Jake Birtwhistle	AUS	3	59
3	Lasse Nygaard Priester	GER	2	49
4	Sam Dickinson	GBR	2	47
5	Rico Bogen	GER	2	43
6	Gregor Payet	LUX	3	40
7	Menno Koolhaas	NED	2	37
8	Kyle Smith	NZL	2	34
9	Kurt McDonald	AUS	3	32
10	Henry Räppo	EST	3	30