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 first man out in 8:16. Simon Westermann and Dylan McCullough were right with him as they made the run to T1.
McCullough was the best of the leaders through transition and exploded out onto the bike. The New Zealand athlete hammered the opening kilometre, forcing the rest of the field to chase.
After a strong swim put him within 10 seconds of the lead, Hellwig was close to the front. The winner in Chengdu a week prior quickly jumped onto McCullough’s wheel and soon found himself in control of the race. In total, nine men made the initial front pack.
A massive effort from Samuel Dickinson saw him power into the lead group. Dickinson had exited the water in 8:28 and his time had been matched by Fabian Meeusen and Russell White. Only the British athlete was able to pedal to the front with a rapid burst.
Last year, Dickinson won the bronze medal at the Tongyeong World Cup. However, for much of 2023 he had spent an unfortunate year beset by injury. Intent of making up for lost time, he helped set a furious tempo at the front.
Meanwhile, last year’s winner, Matthew McElroy, lost ground in the swim. Exiting with him were WTCS race winner Jacob Birtwhistle and the World U23 champion Simon Henseleit. Lasse Nygaard Priester, a recent World Cup medallist, also lost time.
Together, though, they formed a powerful chase group and the leaders had their work cut out to stay ahead.
Or so it seemed until Ricardo Batista dropped an almighty turn at the front. The Portuguese athlete had crashed at the World Cup in Tangier earlier in the month but any lingering psychological effects were not visible. He rode confidently and put the chasers on the back foot.
Jonas Schomburg, Aiden Longcroft-Harris and Jack Willis completed the lead group of nine and each worked well, taking their turns at the front.
Hellwig and Westermann used the uphill section to push the pace while the British duo of Dickinson and Willis likewise combined well. Over the first two laps, the leaders nudged their advantage to over half a minute. With over twenty athletes in the chase pack, though, they had to stay alert.
Towards the end of the bike, McCullough returned to the front for another big push. His riding skills were as on point as his colour coordination, with his purple bike matching the purple aspects of his New Zealand tri-suit. The chasers were thus shut out of the race and Schomburg led into T2.
Willis and Dickinson moved into an early lead on the run and then the wait began.
Some 35 seconds later, Henseleit led the chasers into transition. With a hefty gap to make up over the 5km run, they began their charge.
At the front, Batista and Hellwig knocked down the lead of Dickinson and Willis as the hill on the first lap approached. McCullough and Westermann also lurked on the fringes of the group as six men remained in contention. The chasers were already making solid progress but as the second and final lap arrived, they had plenty to do.
McCullough led through to bring up the final lap with Hellwig next in line. The German athlete looked totally at ease. He had already shown his strength in the first two disciplines but now he looked hardly out of breath.
While his rivals tried to hide grimaces behind stern looks, Hellwig looked completely comfortable, as if he could have attacked at any second. In Chengdu, he had relied upon a late sprint to win and possibly could have waited to repeat the tactic.
Instead, he moved to the front to take charge and the rest of the lead pack stretched into a line behind. As he wound up the pace, Hellwig cut the rest of the pack away, with only Batista able to half hang on.
The hill arrived and Hellwig pushed again. And like that, the race was over.
Dickinson rallied to close some of the gap to Batista as a tantalising medal came into view. Hellwig, though, was gone.
The German athlete powered away and flew to a second straight win. Having also won a silver medal at the WTCS Final in Pontevedra, it really has been a triumphant few weeks for Hellwig. He did not appear troubled in the slightest in Tongyeong and, if he starts next season the way he has ended this one, he could soon become a dark horse for an Olympic medal next summer.
Batista took the silver medal with a similarly classy performance. Although he could not match Hellwig at the last, he will nonetheless be happy with another podium finish. Batista started his year with a medal at the World Cup in New Plymouth in March and now has ended it with another podium. Next week he will take on the Miyazaki World Cup, the site of his first ever World Cup medal in 2022.
Dickinson matched his bronze medal from last year to round out the podium while McCullough took a well-earned 4th place. Willis then came home in 5th place and held off the charging Mislawchuk, the quickest runner of the chase pack.
You can view the full results here.
