With the countdown to next month’s World Triathlon Championship Finals already underway, it is perhaps not overly surprising that this final event of the WTCS has been somewhat relegated in importance.
However, while only two of the top ten ranking Elite Men and four of the top ten Elite Women are set to line up in Weihai this weekend, there is a real buzz that this could be one of the most exciting and closely-competed races of the season so far.
With so many of the star names missing, focus will turn elsewhere in the field, giving new faces the opportunity to shine and pick up invaluable ranking points ahead of the season-defining finale in Wollongong on October 15.
Here is all you need to know about the race…
Start time and how to watch live
The Elite Men’s race will start on Friday, September 26 at 09:00 local Weihai time, which corresponds to 02:00 in the UK, 21:00 on the East Coast of America on Thursday evening and 18:00 on the West Coast, again on Thursday.
The Elite Women will enter the water at 11.45am local time, which is 04:45 in the UK, 23:45 on the East Coast (Thursday) and 20:45 West Coast (Thursday).
All of the action will be screened live on the official platform TriathlonLive.TV
Elite Men racing in Weihai
While the likes of Matthew Hauser (AUS), Miguel Hidalgo (BRA), Vasco Vilaca (POR), and Csongor Lehmann (HUN) have all decided to settle for their current series points total and stay at home to prepare for the World Championship Finals next month, there is still a feast of top talent on show for this race.
German Henry Graf, fresh from his first WTCS win at Karlovy Vary a fortnight ago, is the highest-ranked entrant, currently sitting fourth in the standings, while tenth-placed Ricardo Batista of Portugal is the only other in the top ten to be present. They will understandably start the race among the favourites for a podium finish.
Morgan Pearson of the USA will also be expected to challenge. Starting as the only previous WTCS gold medalist in the field, his experience could prove vital as he leads a strong American contingent which also includes John Reed, Seth Rider and Darr Smith.
With British pair Hugo Milner and Ben Dijkstra no longer participating, the three-man GB line-up consists of Connor Bentley, Max Stapley and Jack Willis, with the latter returning to the course where he logged a personal best WTCS finish of 9th last time out.
Neither Hayden Wilde nor Alex Yee – who both competed at this event in 2024 – are in the field. As far as the standings go, Hauser sits clear on the top with a perfect 3,000 points, with Hidalgo second (2,780.63) and Vilaca in third (2,775.00).
Elite Women racing in Weihai
Four of the highest-ranked Elite Women will line up in Weihai, including second-placed British athlete Beth Potter, who will be hoping to secure some useful points in her pursuit of leader Cassandre Beaugrand of France.
As with the men’s rankings, the best three finishes are converted into points and taken to the World Championship Finals in Wollongong next month. Whatever they achieve in Australia will be added to their season’s tally and the WTCS World Champion will be crowned.
Potter’s recent win at Karlovy Vary puts her on 2,780.63 points, just 144.37 behind Beaugrand’s 2,925.00 – with the French athlete not competing in Weihai. Also not on the start line are third-placed Jeanne Lehair (LUX) and fourth-placed Leonie Periault (FRA), meaning there is a huge opportunity for the Brit.
The other three top-ten competitors are fifth-placed Lisa Tertsch (GER), seventh-placed Taylor Spivey (USA), and tenth-placed Bianca Seregni (ITA).
Spivey, who won silver behind Potter at Karlovy Vary last month, leads a strong-looking USA contingent that includes the likes of Erika Ackerlund, Gina Sereno and Danielle Orie – indeed, Sereno could be one to watch given her happy memories at the race; her eighth-place last year in Weihai remains her best WTCS finish.
Course and distance
This Olympic-distance event will see competitors face a 1.5km swim, 40km bike and a 10km run on what is a relatively compact course around the Weihai coastline – with the winners each collecting 1,000 points.
Diving out into the Yellow Sea, a single lap of the swim route measures 0.75km. Two laps of this counterclockwise will see them complete the total distance required.
The bike segment consists of eight 5km laps along the seafront, past Weihaigang Park and out towards Jingyuan Residential District before heading back to the transition area situated by the Weihai Tourist Wharf.
And the run also follows a similar, but shorter, path with four laps of the 2.5km course leaving the athletes with a sprint to the finish gate at the main venue by the Wharf.
The average temperature in Weihai in September is 22-27C.
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