Year: 2023

There are times when an athlete finds a run of form in which everything they touch turns to gold. Right now, Tim Hellwig is in that kind of form. A case could be made that he would have won the Tongyeong World Cup in almost any scenario (short of something like a mechanical or meteor strike jeopardising his race). In actuality, he continued his brilliant run with a complete performance in which he did not put a foot wrong. The wetsuit swim stretched the field as Jamie Riddle was the…

The cold air of Tongyeong offered the clearest sign yet that the triathlon season is coming to its close for 2023. As the athletes lined the pontoon in their wetsuits, the temperatute stood at 10 degrees (Celsius), leaving several to shiver a little. For some, getting going in the conditions proved a challenge. However, at the front of the race Yuko Takahashi crackled into life instantly. The Japanese athlete got off to a fast start and took an early lead. Margot Garabedian of Cambodia set the pace at the front…

Form is a funny thing. More often than not, an athlete has it right up until they don’t. Even the best run of form comes to an end at some point so when it arrives it has to be exploited. At the Tongyeong World Cup, two women in particular lead the expectations in the race for the gold medal. Both are in great form and have reasons that make their current run of results particularly sweet. Claire Michel seems to have shaken off the run of injuries that previously bogged…

Tim Hellwig is on a roll. Across the landscape of international triathlon, he is someone that can lay claim to being in the best form around. A win at last weekend’s Chengdu World Cup came after he earned the silver medal at the WTCS Final in Pontevedra. Prior to that, he earned top-8 finishes at WTCS Hamburg and the Paris Test Event while also finishing 4th at WTCS Montreal. At almost every opportunity this year, Hellwig has stepped up and the WTCS race winner (from Hamburg in 2021) will arrive…

The European season may be ending, but the race at the European Cup in Alanya played to a similar tune as that seen earlier in the year. Back in March, at the European Cup in Melilla, the French men’s team locked out the podium. Seven months later, they were up to the same antics in Alanya. For many of the athletes starting it had been a long year and there were some tired bodies lining the beach. While the sea temperature exceeded 26 degrees (Celsius), the athletes nonetheless brought their…

Brasilia was the race that refused to be decided. At every step of the way in the men’s race, an athlete would step up to take control of proceedings only for someone else to pop up on their shoulder and take over. Although the group of potential winners remained small over the Olympic distance event, the race kept the identity of its winner well-hidden until the very last minutes. Charles Paquet got off to a good start in the swim and earned an early lead. Amid a strong crosswind, conditions…

Alice Betto’s comeback to elite triathlon is truly gathering steam. In the summer, she made her first international start in nearly two years at the European Games, finishing 9th. Having gotten her return off to a good start, she has scarcely put a foot wrong since. A WTCS appearance in Sunderland followed, before she finished 13th at the Paris Test Event and 10th at the WTCS Final in Pontevedra. Then she added an 8th place at the Rome World Cup last week. At the Brasilia World Cup, though, Betto soared…