This was our preview of the 2024 WTCS Grand Final in Torremolinos-Andalucia – you can click here for a full report on how Hayden Wilde won the race but Alex Yee was crowned world champion for the first time.
The WTCS season is rounded off today (Sunday October 20) as the Elite Men’s race takes place in Torremolinos with the world title up for grabs.
A British man hasn’t been world champion since Jonny Brownlee in 2012 but Alex Yee has a glorious chance to end that wait in Andalucia.
We have already enjoyed three days of spectacular action – including a memorable victory and world title for French superstar Cassandre Beaugrand on Saturday. Now, later today, the spotlight falls on the Elite Men.
Read on to find out who’s racing and when – as well as the various permutations in terms of who needs to do what to be crowned world champion…
Start time and how to watch live
The Elite Men’s race takes place today – Sunday October 20 – with the horn sounding at 17:00 local time. This corresponds to 16:00 in the UK, 11:00 on the East Coast of the United States and 08:00 Pacific if you are on the West Coast.
All the action will be available to watch live via World Triathlon’s subscription service, Triathlonlive.tv.
Elite Men racing in Torremolinos
Surprises in the WTCS finale have been the order of the day in recent years – just ask great rivals Alex Yee (GBR) and Hayden Wilde (NZL) who are still both seeking a maiden World Triathlon Championship title.
Yee led going into last year’s showdown (by 57 points) while Wilde’s advantage the year before was 118 points but neither emerged triumphant as French duo Dorian Coninx and Léo Bergere overcame huge deficits to claim the glory.
However Yee is in a fantastic position to become world champion as well as Olympic champion to match Kristian Blummenfelt’s feat from 2021.
The best three WTCS results this season (including the Olympic Games) count and he has a perfect 100% record, all at Olympic distance too – so the maximum 3,000 points haul.
That means he leads by over 400 points from Bergere and a top six finish (1,250 points are on offer to the winner here) will be enough for the Brit who looked as good as ever when winning WTCS Weihai last time out with a brilliant all-round display. He’s also part of a big British party, with no fewer than six other athletes on the start line and potentially there to try and help if needed.
Bergere and Wilde both need another big turnaround – but it’s not impossible.
If Bergere wins and Yee is seventh or worse then a second world title is his, while Wilde needs to win, with Yee out of the top seven and Bergere third or lower.
A Wilde win with Bergere second – and Yee eighth or lower – would see the Frenchman take the title by just one point!
Moving away from those in title contention and this marks the last WTCS event for the great Vincent Luis (FRA) before he steps up in distance.
Click here for the full start list.
Latest standings ahead of the race
As explained above, here’s how it’s all looking:
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Events | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Alex Yee | GBR | 3 | 3000.00 |
| 2. | Léo Bergere | FRA | 3 | 2572.08 |
| 3. | Hayden Wilde | NZL | 3 | 2476.40 |
| 4. | Matthew Hauser | AUS | 3 | 2301.40 |
| 5. | Luke Willian | AUS | 3 | 2112.24 |
| 6. | Pierre Le Corre | FRA | 3 | 2110.36 |
| 7. | Csongor Lehmann | HUN | 3 | 1964.21 |
| 8. | Miguel Hidalgo | BRA | 3 | 1930.81 |
| 9. | Alberto Gonzalez Garcia | ESP | 3 | 1829.45 |
| 10. | Vincent Luis | FRA | 3 | 1804.01 |
| 11. | Charles Paquet | CAN | 3 | 1750.86 |
| 12. | Morgan Pearson | USA | 3 | 1719.95 |
| 13. | Vasco Vilaca | POR | 3 | 1557.57 |
| 14. | Kenji Nener | JPN | 3 | 1507.13 |
| 15. | Vetle Bergsvik Thorn | NOR | 3 | 1502.90 |
| 16. | Ricardo Batista | POR | 3 | 1498.49 |
| 17. | Marten Van Riel | BEL | 3 | 1295.91 |
| 18. | Casper Stornes | NOR | 3 | 1121.15 |
| 19. | Antonio Serrat Seoane | ESP | 3 | 1045.48 |
| 20. | Takumi Hojo | JPN | 3 | 1041.44 |
Course and distance
We’re racing over the Olympic distance which is a 1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10km run.
The swim is a beach start and then a two-lap affair off Los Alamos and Canuela beaches, with the average water temperature for this time of year 18.9ºC so likely wetsuits.
A hillier course than the norm last time in Weihai made for a much more absorbing bike section but this time it’s described as “technical and flat” with just one small (20 metres) spike up after the first kilometre in each of the eight 5km loops.
And then on the run we’ve got four out-and-backs along the pan-flat promenade.
