A race which had been advertised as the long-awaited return to battle for star trio Matt Hauser, Hayden Wilde, and Alex Yee ended with one of them not starting and two others recording DNFs as Portugal’s Vasco Vilaca took advantage to seal his second win of the season.
With Kiwi Wilde having pulled out on Friday due to illness, the smart money was on a much-anticipated battle for the line between last year’s WTCS champion Hauser (AUS) and the reigning Olympic champion Yee (GBR).
However, Yee never truly threatened to enter the race for a podium place and eventually pulled out on lap one of the run, while Hauser crashed out spectacularly on lap two of the bike course and called it a day as he entered T2.
That was not the end of the drama, however, in this first race of the new Olympic qualification period, as Vilaco and Brazilian Miguel Hidalgo raced each other for gold, and the rest were left fighting for the bronze.
Here’s how the race panned out…
Swim – Hauser gets off to a flyer as Yee struggles
As with the women’s race earlier in the day, the men waded out to their knees for a sea start due to the condition of the sand being too loose for a safe running entry.
This clearly suited Hauser as he used his huge frame to stride out into deeper water and throw himself into the surf to take an early lead with Henry Graf (GER) and Alessio Crociani (ITA) for company.
With the wind having picked up considerably from the morning’s race, the sea conditions were a great deal choppier than they were for the women, but that did not seem to bother the leaders as they continued to power through the waves.
When it came to exiting the first leg, Crociani, Graf and Hauser were pretty much in a line; however, the Italian seemed to stumble as he was climbing to his feet and took a face-full of water just as he was looking to make his move to T1.
Yee was way back in 28th position as he headed for the bike, and it was already becoming apparent that he would need something very special to drag himself back into contention.
Hauser was looking seriously good at this stage, and as he climbed into his saddle alongside Crociani, it seemed he was in the ideal position to drive on for another victory.
The streets of Alghero, however, had other ideas.
Bike – Hauser horror as he crashes out
What was looking like the perfect day for Hauser soon turned into a nightmare as the burly Aussie lost control on an early corner of the second bike lap, and as the wheels went from under him, he went skidding across the road and crashed into the barriers.
While most of the riders behind him were able to avoid following a similar fate, Graf was unfortunately caught out, and he would pay the price as he dropped down the field from initially sitting in fourth.
Hauser did get back up and attempted to rejoin the race, but with his grazed and scuffed skin glistening in the searing heat, he probably already knew that his day was done. Slipping to almost three minutes back, he would eventually call it a day as he entered T2 in last place.
By now, there were 27 riders in the lead pack, with Hidalgo and Vilaca handily placed right where they wanted to be. Yee was back in another chunky second group, which was a full 30 seconds behind as they entered lap four of the nine.
Had things stayed like this for a while longer, then it could have been possible for Yee to have made up some ground, but the British athlete was then caught up in the second major crash of the day, and this seemed to remove all the wind from his sails.
The unlucky Graf was at fault this time as he tumbled on lap six, hitting the tarmac for a second time in the same race. This time, however, his fall was a lot more severe, and there was no escaping it for those coming up behind him.
As the German slid into the kerb, Spain’s David Cantero del Campo ploughed straight into him before hitting the deck himself. Hugo Milner (GBR) also fell, and as his bike lay prone on the road, it was Yee who needed to take evasive action as he was forced to ride over his compatriot’s back wheel.
Whether that caused some damage to the Briton’s own bike wasn’t clear, but he dropped to more than a minute behind the leaders and was well adrift as the 10km run started.
Run – Vilaca sprints away to win again
With Hauser calling it a day at T2 and Yee clearly struggling, it was Hidalgo and Vilaca who looked to make the most of their unexpected opportunity and set out at a fierce pace.
Australian Luke Willian did try to stay with them but was soon wishing he hadn’t as he struggled to keep up with two athletes who seemed to be running a completely different race to the others in what was by now a sweltering Sardinian afternoon.
As Hidalgo and Vilaca powered away, Yee was first seen slowing up and was then reported to be walking before the news came that he too had recorded his own DNF midway around lap one of the course.
The fight for gold and silver would clearly come down to the Brazilian and the Portuguese athletes, but there was a serious battle going on behind them for the bronze, with Ricardo Batista (POR), Dorian Coninx (FRA), Charles Paquet (CAN), Tom Richard (FRA) and JoĂŁo Nuno Batista (POR) all hoping to be able to grab the final podium spot.
Vilaca, who, up until his opening win of the season in Samarkand, had found it so difficult to record a victory on the WTCS circuit, secured another win with 400m to go as he surprised Hidalgo with a kick of pace that left the Mexican trailing.
As Vilaca took the win, Hidalgo caused a late scare as he seemed to pull up with an injury metres from the line, but he had plenty of time to hobble home as Ricardo Batista broke away from the chasers to make it a gold and bronze for Portugal.
WTCS Alghero men’s results
Saturday 30 May 2026, 1500m / 40km / 10km
| Position | Athlete | Nationality | Swim | Bike | Run | Total time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vasco Vilaça | POR | 00:18:03 | 00:55:45 | 00:30:27 | 01:45:16 |
| 2 | Miguel Hidalgo | BRA | 00:18:00 | 00:55:46 | 00:30:46 | 01:45:35 |
| 3 | Ricardo Batista | POR | 00:18:09 | 00:55:39 | 00:30:53 | 01:45:45 |
| 4 | Dorian Coninx | FRA | 00:17:57 | 00:55:45 | 00:30:57 | 01:45:46 |
| 5 | Charles Paquet | CAN | 00:18:01 | 00:55:43 | 00:30:57 | 01:45:49 |
| 6 | Tom Richard | FRA | 00:18:03 | 00:55:41 | 00:30:59 | 01:45:50 |
| 7 | JoĂŁo Nuno Batista | POR | 00:18:11 | 00:55:37 | 00:31:01 | 01:45:53 |
| 8 | Yanis Seguin | FRA | 00:18:07 | 00:55:39 | 00:31:13 | 01:46:04 |
| 9 | Alberto Gonzalez Garcia | ESP | 00:18:05 | 00:55:44 | 00:31:23 | 01:46:14 |
| 10 | Diego Moya | CHI | 00:18:10 | 00:55:35 | 00:31:29 | 01:46:18 |
| 11 | Luke Willian | AUS | 00:18:05 | 00:55:40 | 00:31:34 | 01:46:22 |
| 12 | Csongor Lehmann | HUN | 00:17:59 | 00:55:48 | 00:31:37 | 01:46:25 |
| 13 | Vetle Bergsvik Thorn | NOR | 00:18:03 | 00:55:43 | 00:32:04 | 01:46:56 |
| 14 | Márk Dévay | HUN | 00:18:03 | 00:55:38 | 00:32:11 | 01:47:02 |
| 15 | Tjebbe Kaindl | AUT | 00:18:21 | 00:56:52 | 00:31:02 | 01:47:14 |
