The results are in. This week we put out two polls to find out our readers’ views on who the 2022 world champions will be.
A whopping 57% of voters went for the current Series leader Georgia Taylor-Brown. Taylor-Brown has had a fantastic season in which she has won three WTCS races. Moreover, in the two WTCS races she did not win, she still picked up second place. After such a season, it is easy to see how she has so much support.
The TriStats pick for the win, Flora Duffy, received 35% of the vote. Like Taylor-Brown, Duffy also has three WTCS golds to her name this season. She currently finds herself 69 points behind Taylor-Brown by dint of a bronze medal in her fourth scoring event.
Beth Potter picked up 2% of the vote while 6% said the winner would be someone from outside the current top-4. Realistically, given the points that would need to be made up, it is unlikely that neither Duffy nor Taylor-Brown win the world title. However, it would only take one mishap or crash to bring the likes of Potter into the picture.
48% Back Wilde to Win the Men’s Title
While the gap was slightly narrower for the men, more voters felt comfortable backing the current WTCS leader over his challenger. Hayden Wilde received 48% of the vote against 31% for Alex Yee.
Wilde has had a breakout 2022. In May, he won his first ever WTCS medal by taking silver in Yokohama and he has not looked back since. Wins in Leeds and Hamburg followed, as did another silver in Montreal.
His rival, Yee, beat him in both Montreal and Yokohama and went on to win gold too in Cagliari. However, after only finishing 5th in Bermuda, Yee has lost the upper hand to Wilde.
As perhaps two of the best runners in the sport, the clash between Yee and Wilde will be hard to call.
Jelle Geens picked up 5% of the vote. Meanwhile, both Leo Bergere and someone outside the top-4 received 8% each. As with the women’s field, it will require serious misfortune for Wilde or Yee to be denied the Series title.
Either way, it will be fascinating to see how the races in Abu Dhabi unfold.
