Switzerland’s Max Studer repeated last year’s shock victory at WTCS Weihai in brilliant style as he ran away from the field but it was a day to forget for reigning world champion Matt Hauser as the big Aussie faded into 10th on the run after an earlier crash on the bike.
Studer’s breakthrough win came in China just under 12 months ago and racing again where he does much of his training he produced a remarkable performance in what was his first WTCS race of 2026.
Studer took control from a three-man front group just before the final 2.5km run lap after David Cantero (ESP) slipped on the rain-soaked roads. The Swiss star crossed the line in 1:41:08, 10 seconds ahead of Cantero, with Canadian veteran Tyler Mislawchuk a fine third, his first WTCS podium in seven years.
Hauser had been hoping for his fourth win of the campaign to give him a perfect score heading into the Grand Final in Pontevedra but his tumble on the bike proved costly as he wasn’t his usual dominant self on the run and crossed the line just over a minute adrift in tenth.
There is one more regular-season race to come – WTCS Karlovy Vary in a fortnight’s time.
Here’s how the race played out…
Swim – Hóbor strings it out
Hungary’s Zalán Hóbor set the pace from the start of the 1.5km swim, leading one of two lines through the opening lap as Chase McQueen (USA) and Blake Bullard (USA) followed in his wake, while Hauser headed the other group.
Hóbor continued to turn the screw on the second lap, opening up a length or two as the field became increasingly strung out behind him.
He was first out of the water in 18:12, followed by McQueen and Bullard, with New Zealand’s Saxon Morgan fourth and Hauser fifth, seven seconds off the pace.
Defending champion Studer was safely positioned in 16th, 13 seconds down, before the unusually long run towards transition shook up the order further, with Alberto Gonzalez-Garcia (ESP) among those making significant ground as he moved from 10th to fourth.
Bike – Up and down day for Hauser
Any small gaps were quickly neutralised on the bike and by the end of the second of eight laps Hauser was setting the pace at the head of a huge 33-man front group.
The Australian was frequently prominent at the front – both pushing the pace and keeping himself away from potential trouble on the slippery roads.
But around halfway there was suddenly no sign of the world champion at the head of the race and he was spotted off the back of the pack.
It soon emerged that Hauser had crashed on the approach to transition towards the end of lap four, leaving him with work to do to regain contact.
Remarkably, he managed exactly that in double-quick time and things looked back on track when he emerged from T2 fractionally ahead of the rest.
Run – Action replay for Studer
Hauser immediately put himself back at the sharp end and it wasn’t long before a leading quartet had formed, with Studer, Spain’s David Cantero and Japan’s Kenji Nener joining the Australian.
Four became five during the first of four 2.5km laps as Mislawchuk bridged across, with the leaders opening an eight-second advantage by the end of the lap.
But it was Mislawchuk who then began to apply the pressure. His surge strung out the leading group and only Studer and Cantero were able to respond, while Hauser and Nener slipped backwards.
That left a leading trio of Mislawchuk, Studer and Cantero, with a seven-man chase group of Hauser, Nener, Nicola Azzano (ITA), João Nuno Batista (POR), Callum McClusky (AUS), John Reed (USA) and Solomon Okrafo-Smart (GBR) seven seconds behind.
The front three continued to extend their advantage and had built a gap of around 15 seconds when the race took a dramatic turn late on the third lap.
Cantero suddenly lost his footing on the treacherous surface – appearing to slip on either a road marking or tape just before transition – and hit the ground hard. Studer did brilliantly to avoid being brought down himself, while Cantero was quickly back to his feet and very much still in the race.
Studer then made his decisive move, surging clear early on the final 2.5km lap as Cantero settled into second and Batista began closing on Mislawchuk in the battle for the final podium place.
There was no catching Studer, though, as the Swiss star powered to a remarkable second successive victory in Weihai, with Cantero holding on for second and Mislawchuk resisting Batista’s late challenge to complete the podium.
Behind them, Hauser continued to lose ground after his earlier exertions and eventually crossed the line in 10th.
That did move him up five places into second in the overall standings but Portugal’s Vasco Vilaca still leads by 354.24 points as we head towards the Grand Final
“After a long time with no racing I wasn’t sure how my fitness was going to be but the race panned out perfectly for me,” said a delighted Studer afterwards.
“I had a perfect swim, it was then a big bike group but that was good as it meant I could save some energy for the run.
“I got lucky twice on the bike though as I slipped but didn’t crash – unfortunately Matt went down and then David Cantero did too just before the last lap on the run.
“I felt a bit like a soccer player jumping over him and again got lucky!”
WTCS Weihai 2026 results
Saturday 29 August 2026 – 1.5km / 40km / 10km
Elite Men
| Position | Athlete | Nationality | Swim | Bike | Run | Overall | Gap to winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Studer | SUI | 18:25 | 51:50 | 29:24 | 1:41:08 | — |
| 2 | David Cantero Del Campo | ESP | 18:32 | 51:49 | 29:29 | 1:41:18 | +0:10 |
| 3 | Tyler Mislawchuk | CAN | 18:26 | 51:53 | 29:35 | 1:41:25 | +0:17 |
| 4 | João Nuno Batista | POR | 18:24 | 51:57 | 29:47 | 1:41:41 | +0:33 |
| 5 | Nicola Azzano | ITA | 18:22 | 51:55 | 30:04 | 1:41:54 | +0:46 |
| 6 | Callum McClusky | AUS | 18:40 | 51:50 | 30:00 | 1:41:55 | +0:47 |
| 7 | John Reed | USA | 18:25 | 51:55 | 30:03 | 1:41:59 | +0:51 |
| 8 | Solomon Okrafo-Smart | GBR | 18:29 | 51:48 | 30:12 | 1:42:02 | +0:54 |
| 9 | Alberto Gonzalez Garcia | ESP | 18:22 | 51:54 | 30:21 | 1:42:08 | +1:00 |
| 10 | Matthew Hauser | AUS | 18:19 | 51:54 | 30:26 | 1:42:10 | +1:02 |
WTCS standings after Weihai
| Position | Athlete | Races completed | Series points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vasco Vilaca (POR) | 4 | 3850.00 |
| 2 | Matthew Hauser (AUS) | 4 | 3495.76 |
| 3 | Miguel Hidalgo (BRA) | 4 | 3040.67 |
| 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 | Alberto Gonzalez Garcia (ESP) | 4 | 2383.43 |
| 10 | Charles Paquet (CAN) | 3 | 2319.81 |
