Olympic triathlon silver medallist Hayden Wilde marked his T100 World Tour debut with victory in the scorching and humid heat of Singapore on Sunday, describing his performances as one of the ‘smartest’ of his career.
The 27-year-old was in the middle of the pack during the swim, but remained within striking distance of the front before propelling himself up the standings on the bike.
A scintillating 1:01:46 run split, the fastest of the day, separated him from the rest as he claimed victory in a total time of 3:18:11 – 2:34 ahead of runner-up Léo Bergere and 3:22 ahead of T100 world champion Marten Van Riel.
Wilde on Singapore success
Following his sensational victory, Wilde caught up with the IRONMAN Hacks YouTube channel [you can watch the full video below], detailing his route through the extraordinary heat in Singapore to claim victory.
“It was definitely one of my smarter races, I went out there and just had to execute my own race,” Wilde said.
“First off, the swim was hot, it was on, and I was actually in the first group around the first pontoon but it was just too fast and I knew that if I just kept in the group I was going to blow, so I decided to drop back a little bit.
“I drifted on to feet and actually felt really comfortable heading into the second kilometre and started making moves in the water to put me into a better position, so I was pretty happy with that.
“Then I got onto the bike and it only took me a few kilometres to get onto that front group – and man Rico [Bogen] was quick out there for the first three laps, it was impressive.
“It took about 40 minutes for everyone to settle down and get into their own rhythm, and I just decided to do my own thing and push for the power I wanted to push and yeah, really happy with that.”
Sky-high heart rate
Despite his strong display on the bike, Wilde explained his conservative approach and his focus on maintaining an acceptable heart rate and wattage.
“My heart rate was super high on the ride, I think everyone else was saying the same thing, it was so hot, there was exposure to the sun, there was no cloud cover, it was rough.
“You would climb, your heart rate would go to 165 and I don’t usually see those numbers on the bike, and then you try not to pedal downhill, but you have to, and you try and drop it below 150. I was between 150-160 which is high for me riding.
“On the climbs I was averaging 380 watts, and for most of the flats and descents around 280-300 watts – you just had to be very conservative and make sure you didn’t overdo it, I had power limits within and I knew if I started creeping over 400 watts on the climbs I would probably get into trouble.”
Maintaining a steady heart rate on the run was also a key to victory for Wilde, and he indicated there was more in the tank if needed as he executed a plan to finish the race in a “good state”.
“It was making sure I was in control and going at a pace where I could keep below a certain heart rate that I knew would get me through the 18km in a pretty relatively good state,” he concluded.
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