The story had looked a simple one. Fresh off opening his 2024 campaign with a win at the Oceania Championships in Taupo, WTCS gold medallist Matthew Hauser was the favourite to deliver gold in front of a home Australian crowd. Then, shortly before the race started, he revealed that he was out of action with food poisoning.
In his absence, Australia needed a new star for the weekend.
Over the 750m swim, Diego Moya served a reminder of the dangers to the home team; he clocked 8:16 to build a notable lead into transition. A small group containing Tayler Reid, Jonas Schomburg and – the leading home candidate – Luke Willian – then followed out of T1. They managed to catch Moya and gradually a front group of ten men came together on the bike. Jamie Riddle, Stefan Zachaeus, Lachlan Jones, Gregor Payet, Martin Demuth and David Martin made up the rest of the group.
The group managed to develop a small lead over the chasers during the first couple of laps of the five-lap 20km course. Richard Murray led the chase group that stood around 15 seconds back. Murray’s teammate Ian Pennekamp then struck ahead from the chase group on his own as the pack lost time.
At the front, Jonas Schomburg was repeatedly aggressive on the slight rise and put some of his fellow leaders on the back foot. By the end of the bike, the leaders carried a lead of around 30 seconds.
Jones assumed the early lead out of T1 as Schomburg found himself out-Schomburged. A few seconds back, Willian led Reid just ahead of the German athlete. Before long, Willian cruised ahead of the fast-starting Jones and then, on the ascent, he dropped Reid too. Once Willian kicked clear on the run, no one could respond.
He had served notice of his form with a 4th place finish at the Hong Kong World Cup. This, however, was another level altogether.
A World Cup winner on home soil in Mooloolaba in 2017 (and a winner in New Plymouth in 2019), Willian truly stepped up as the star the Australian audience needed in Wollongong. His lead became comprehensive and for much of the 5km run there was no one else in sight.
Meanwhile, Reid was hit with a 10 second penalty for not leaving his helmet in his equipment box in T2. Further back, the chasers were closing fast. Murray, Brandon Copeland and Jacob Birtwhistle were ticking off athlete after athlete. Moreover Callum McClusky, the winner of the Napier World Cup, was gaining ground, as were Bradley Course and Gábor Faldum.
Diego Moya found himself hanging the outside medals and waited for his chance to pounce with Reid’s penalty. It was after Willian had long since finished that the final sprint began.
Riddle held off Moya and Reid to take silver. In a mad late dash, Moya claimed a second World Cup medal with his 3rd place while Reid was pipped into 4th. McClusky was then the best of the chasers to take 5th.
As good as Willian’s performance was, McClusky’s showing will have reminded the Australian Olympic selectors of his own fast start to the season. Given the form the two men have recently shown, picking between them in the race to Paris will be no easy task. For now at least, Willian could celebrate his return to the top of the World Cup podium and a weekend in which he stepped up in a big way.
You can view the full results here.
