It is the ultimate aspiration of every athlete coming through the ranks of short distance triathlon to step upon the podium at a WTCS race. Winning a medal in the Series is a major challenge yet in the past couple of years a handful athletes have turned their ambitions into reality.
With WTCS Abu Dhabi a little over three weeks away, today we are surveying some of the candidates that could win their first WTCS medal in 2024. To go with that, we will also suggest the course that we think offers each athlete the best shot at their first medal.
By the nature of the question, any athlete that has already won a medal is not considered. Moreover, we will not include any duplicates from the equivalent list set out at the start of last season. (You can see the 2023 list here).
In no particular order, take a look at five athletes in the men’s Series that could be primed for their breakthrough.
Vetle Bergsvik Thorn NOR (1999)
Thorn could be the next big thing from the Norwegian talent factory. His predecessors, Kristian Blummenfelt, Gustav Iden and Casper Stornes, have all won at least one WTCS medal during their careers and Thorn could be the man to build upon that recent legacy.
Last season, he became the European Games champion and he also won a bronze medal at the Tangier World Cup. That went with the bronze medal he won at the Bergen World Cup in 2022.
Armed with a super finishing kick, as exhibited in Krakow and Tangier, Thorn will likely find himself in a position to utilise it in the WTCS sooner rather than later. To that end, Yokohama could be the race at which he claims his first medal.
His WTCS performances in 2023 were slightly better over the Olympic distance. With the Olympic Games taking up plenty of focus this season, he may be a tad better over the longer format this year too. Yokohama offers a mostly flat course, similar to that on offer at the European Games, and last year the men’s race memorably ended in a bunch sprint for the minor medals.
While plenty of other men will be in the hunt for a medal in Yokohama, Thorn might be the man to sneak ahead.
Ricardo Batista POR (2000)
Batista has a very similar profile to Thorn insofar that he is a World Cup medallist and claimed a Continental title in 2023. Batista dominated the European Championships over the Sprint distance and will enter 2024 buoyed by a superb previous season.
He claimed World Cup medals in New Plymouth and Tongyeong, to go with the bronze he won at the end of 2022 in Miyazaki. More pertinently, Batista showed signs of progress at the WTCS level.
He finished 10th at WTCS Sunderland at which he was part of a small breakaway on the bike. He also finished 14th at WTCS Pontevedra. As it happens, Thorn finished one place ahead of Batista at the WTCS Final.
When it comes to Batista, the question is not whether he can piece together a medal-winning performance. Rather, the question is when will he bring everything together at the top level. He has sometimes lost time in the water but is generally strong enough in the swim to stay out of trouble. His bike and run are also major strengths, though, and if he continues to mature he could make a podium in the near future.
Looking at the 2023 calendar, Cagliari could be his chance to strike. While it is not the most demanding course on paper, Cagliari probably offers the best chance for someone like Batista to animate the race. A breakaway in men’s race in 2022 saw Jonathan Brownlee medal. In addition, the women’s race has also seen field break up in both iterations.
Cagliari, then, could be the kind of race that most suits Batista’s aggressive racing style.
Lasse Nygaard Priester GER (1995)
Priester won three World Cup medals last year (there is a bit of a theme here) and has already come close to winning a WTCS medal in his career.
In 2021 he finished 4th in Hamburg while in 2022 he finished 5th in Leeds. This season, the German athlete could produce his best form yet. He is locked in a battle with Jonas Schomburg for the final slot on the German Olympic team and that internal competition kind nudge him into a new performance level.
Given his need for a fast start to 2024, Abu Dhabi may be the race at which Priester claims his first medal. He has to hit the ground running this year and there is not a better time to do so than at the opening WTCS race. If he arrives on form, he could also catch out some athletes that are saving their best form for later in the year.
Abu Dhabi will also be over the Sprint distance which should play to Priester’s strengths. His two best WTCS results came over the shorter format and it would not be a shock if he was to go one step further this season.
Hugo Milner GBR (1998)
He couldn’t, could he?
Milner has been in elite triathlon for all of five minutes and made his World Cup debut a little over six months ago. To suggest an athlete that has not even made a WTCS debut could medal in a Series race this season looks, on the surface, somewhat far-fetched.
Nevertheless, the are reasons to support Milner’s prospects. At the end of last season, he won the Miyazaki World Cup after exploding on the run. Having logged the fastest run split at previous World Cups, in Japan it finally came together and carried Milner to the win.
Based on pure running times, Milner is one of the fastest triathletes in the world and that advantage is something he will hold over virtually the entire WTCS field. At the top end, there are individuals that can match his speed. Moreover, Milner’s swim and bike will need further development to compete in the Series.
However, he is likely to improve. Even if his swimming could hold him back, it only takes one race to get in the right pack. From there, anything can happen.
In light of how quickly he figured out the World Cup level, he may also make similarly short work of the WTCS. Assuming he gets the chance to make his debut in the first half of the year, Milner could make the podium as soon as WTCS Montreal in September. The course is fairly flat and the race is over the Sprint distance.
Furthermore, it will come after the Olympics which could result in a thinner field as some athletes take a short break after their season target has passed.
It certainly feels fanciful to project Milner as a potential medallist. Yet the case of Jawad Abdelmoula is instructive here. Abdelmoula, a former runner, made his Series debut in 2022 and at only his third race medalled in Hamburg. As much as Milner would be new to the game, then, any early success would not be without precedent.
David Cantero del Campo ESP (2003)
Cantero encapsulates the theme of this list. He won the Valencia World Cup last year (and also took the silver medal in Tangier) and is a fantastic runner. The combination of recent world-level medals and running speed therefore inserts him into the conversation as a possible medal winner.
Like Milner, Cantero has not made his WTCS debut. However, that will change soon as he has been added to the start list for Abu Dhabi. As it happens, Batista, Thorn and Priester will all be starting alongside him.
In general, though, everything that was said about Milner can be applied to Cantero. The Spanish athlete competed internationally on the track as a Junior. Thereafter, he made the step up to the World Cup level look very comfortable.
Cantero’s swim will need a bit of work but given his age that is no surprise. No young athlete ever arrives fully formed and without scope to improve. Should Cantero shore up his swim, he will find himself at the sharp end of WTCS fields very quickly.
All things considered, Hamburg may be Cantero’s chance to shine. It is another flat Sprint distance course and one that rewards running speed. In addition, it falls only a couple of weeks before the Olympics. Some athletes may thus opt out of the event in order to prioritise their Games preparation which could create space for a new medallist.
As the youngest of the men listed here, Cantero could have the greatest challenge in actually medalling. Having not been daunted at any step up in his career so far, though, chances are he will take his arrival in the WTCS in his stride.
