Matt Hauser (AUS) and Vasco Vilaca (POR) fought out another terrific duel as the big Aussie again came out on top in a thrilling finish to the men’s race at WTCS London.
The last time a top tier race was held in the UK capital was back in 2015 when home favourite Alistair Brownlee came out on top.
And many eyes were on current Olympic champion Alex Yee (GBR) but he again endured another difficult swim and bike before digging deep on the run to finish in 14th.
Up front the podium was completed by Csongor Lehmann (HUN).
Read on to find out how the race unfolded and click here for our report on another sensational win for Cassandre Beaugrand in the women’s race.
Swim – Yee back in 50th
It was Hauser who led things out early in the 750m swim in the Royal Docks but by halfway it was Márk Dévay (HUN) who had powered his way to the front in trademark style.
And Hauser was overhauled by Jules Rethoret (FRA) for second on what was his WTCS debut.
Dévay was out of the water first in 8:47, just a second and three seconds ahead of Rethoret and Hauser respectively.
Max Stapley led the way for a seven-strong British team in sixth at +7s, Vilaca (+10s) was eighth, Morgan Pearson (USA) was just outside the top 10 but Yee was a distant 50th at +35s.
Bike – Late crash drama
Ahead of them was 20km on the bike over a flat and fast seven anti-clockwise laps and due to the short distance of each lap, the World Triathlon Technical committee had given a rule exception to allow lapped athletes to remain on the bike course.
And we soon had three distinct groups – 13 in the front pack which included Hauser, Vilaca and Pearson. Then 17 seconds back to the middle group and a further 10 seconds to the third one which included Yee.
Groups two and three came together on lap two but they still had 24 seconds between them and the front 13 and the out-and-back nature of the course meant they always had good visibility of each other.
Other top runners in that lead pack included Miguel Hidalgo (BRA) and Lehmann and their advantage was 26 seconds after the third lap.
It was up to 33 seconds after lap four and continued to go up – 41 seconds after five laps. Ollie Conway (GBR) and Yee were on the front of the chasers but, even with their run power, it was already looking out of reach.
When the bell went they had 51 seconds to make up and things went from bad to worse when there was a huge crash which brought down about a quarter of the chasers, with Yee and Conway both getting caught up in it.
So no surprise they were over a minute adrift by T2 so the focus was entirely on those front 13.
Run – Action replay for Hauser
So that group in full was Hauser, Vilaca, Dévay, Stapley, Hidalgo, Lehmann, Rethoret, Pearson, Tjebbe Kaindl (AUT), Luke Willian (AUS), Seth Rider (USA), Tom Richard (FRA) and Alberto Gonzalez Garcia (ESP), who had a 10-second penalty to serve.
And there was a split on the first of three run laps, which featured plenty of time inside the Excel, with Pearson leading the way ahead of Hauser, Vilaca, Lehmann and Gonzalez Garcia, who still had that penalty hanging over him.
And that pattern continued into the last lap but Pearson was the first to drop off the pace, followed by Gonzalez Garcia and Lehmann. All of which meant we had the familiar sight of a Hauser vs Vilaca battle for the win.
And the deja vu continued as Hauser once again proved strongest as he sprinted to an impressive win to ramp up the pressure on Vilaca in the battle for the world title.
Lehmann rounded out the podium, Pearson was fourth and Gonzalez Garcia did superbly to hold on to fifth after serving his penalty.
A mention too for Yee who showed great resilience once again to run up to 14th.
WTCS London 2026 results
Saturday 25 July 2026 – 750m / 20km / 5km
Elite Men
| Position | Athlete | Nationality | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Hauser | AUS | 8:50 | 26:01 | 14:09 | 50:28 |
| 2 | Vasco Vilaca | POR | 8:57 | 25:55 | 14:09 | 50:31 (+0:03) |
| 3 | Csongor Lehmann | HUN | 8:59 | 25:53 | 14:17 | 50:36 (+0:08) |
| 4 | Morgan Pearson | USA | 8:59 | 25:54 | 14:25 | 50:45 (+0:17) |
| 5 | Alberto Gonzalez Garcia | ESP | 9:01 | 25:50 | 14:35 | 50:53 (+0:25) |
| 6 | Tjebbe Kaindl | AUT | 9:06 | 25:48 | 14:35 | 50:53 (+0:25) |
| 7 | Luke Willian | AUS | 8:56 | 25:58 | 14:34 | 50:55 (+0:27) |
| 8 | Tom Richard | FRA | 8:52 | 25:54 | 14:40 | 50:57 (+0:29) |
| 9 | Jules Rethoret | FRA | 8:49 | 26:00 | 14:40 | 50:59 (+0:31) |
| 10 | Seth Rider | USA | 8:58 | 25:51 | 14:42 | 51:03 (+0:35) |
WTCS standings after London (which is race 6)
| Position | Athlete | Nationality | Events | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vasco Vilaca | POR | 4 | 3850.00 |
| 2 | Miguel Hidalgo | BRA | 4 | 3040.67 |
| 3 | Matthew Hauser | AUS | 3 | 3000.00 |
| 4 | Luke Willian | AUS | 4 | 2480.61 |
| 5 | Ricardo Batista | POR | 4 | 2470.62 |
| 6 | Csongor Lehmann | HUN | 4 | 2434.22 |
| 7 | Tom Richard | FRA | 4 | 2429.56 |
| 8 | Henry Graf | GER | 3 | 2407.03 |
| 9 | Charles Paquet | CAN | 3 | 2319.81 |
| 10 | Dorian Coninx | FRA | 3 | 2018.80 |
