Vilaca. Hauser. Graf. Hidalgo. Wilde. Yee. Pearson. Together these WTCS gold medallists from the past two years form the core of the likely candidates for Olympic gold at LA 2028. And for the first time this year, they are all set to go head-to-head.
In 2024, Hidalgo and Graf had not quite reached the breakthrough levels they would hit in 2025, while in that same year Wilde and Yee pursued targets beyond the WTCS. It is therefore only this year, a year in which Vilaca has also attained new heights, that all will be racing on level terms in a battle for the ages. Such is the depth of top-end talent, the iconic 2014 WTCS London finish, where world champions and Olympic medallists Alistair Brownlee, Javier Gomez and Jonathan Brownlee were forced off the podium in a six-man shoot-out, might even be surpassed. Find out all the key details from the men’s start list for the blockbuster return of WTCS London below.
Who’s there?
The headline act of the start list, at least as home fans are concerned, will be Olympic champion Alex Yee (GBR). Already a winner on British soil in Leeds, this will be Yee’s first time racing in the Series in his home city and with his appetite whetted by his exposure to the London Marathon we can expect him to pull out all the stops.
European champion and World Cup winner Oliver Conway (GBR) could present a significant hurdle to Yee from within the same team, while Hugo Milner, Micharl Gar, Jack Willis, Harry Leleu and Max Stapley make up the rest of a deep British squad.
Our current Series leader Vasco Vilaca (POR) will also be on hand with the goal of depriving Yee of a golden homecoming. He will be joined by the usual suspects on the Portuguese team: Ricardo Batista, João Nuno Batista and Miguel Tiago Silva. The Australian team, headed up by world champion Matt Hauser, likewise will be four-strong, with Luke Willian, Callum McClusky and Brayden Mercer set to start.
Miguel Hidalgo (BRA) and Hayden Wilde (NZL) will be part of two-man squads. The former will head to London alongside WTCS medallist Manoel Messias (BRA) while the latter will have Saxon Morgan (NZL) for company.
Elsewhere, whereas Morgan Pearson (USA) will be part of one of the largest teams in London, Henry Graf will be the sole German man starting. Pearson is one of five American men on the start list with Darr Smith, Braxton Legg, Chase McQueen and Seth Rider completing the line-up.
Of course, the intrigue of WTCS London is not confined to the coterie of WTCS gold medallists and there is plenty of talent beyond slated to race. Csongor Lehmann will hunt a third WTCS medal in three years at the head of a Hungarian quartet that also contains Bence Bicsák, Gergely Kiss and Márk Dévay.
WTCS medallists Roberto Sanchez Mantecon and Antonio Serrat Seoane similarly lead a talented Spanish quintet that also contains Izan Edo Aguilar, Alberto Gonzalez Garcia and Sergio Baxter Cabrera.
France will be represented by recent first-time World Cup medallist Tom Lerno as well as Tom Richard, Maxime Hueber-Moosbrugger and Jules Rethoret. Meanwhile, last year’s Asian champion Takumi Hojo heads up a Japanese team that also contains Takuto Oshima, Kazushi Jozuka and Genta Uchida.
Vetle Bergsvik Thorn and Sebastian Wernersen form a two-man team for Norway while Morocco will also have two starters in the shape of Africa Championships medallists Jawad Abdelmoula and Badr Siwane. Our final team with more than one athlete is Austria, who will send the in-form Tjebbe Kaindl and Thomas Windischbauer.
Heading up the club of athletes racing alone for their respective countries is double WTCS medallist Alessio Crociani (ITA). Among this group are also WTCS medallist Charles Paquet (CAN), World Cup winners Arnaud Mengal (BEL) and Shachar Sagiv (ISR), and Diego Moya (CHI), Ian Pennekamp (NED) and Maciej Bruzdziak (POL).
To bring the start list to 55 men, we have Ben Dijkstra (TRI) who will technically be racing on home soil, albeit not for the British team as he has started his switch of sporting nationality.
Who’s not there?
Dorian Coninx (FRA), the winner of WTCS Quiberon in June, and Max Studer (SUI), winner of WTCS Weihai last year, are the only Series gold medallist from the past two years not racing. The presence of Coninx, the 2023 world champion, in particular would certainly have elevated an already tantalising race to even greater heights.
David Cantero del Campo (ESP) is another name to miss out while Denis Kolobrodov (AIN), Yanis Seguin (FRA), Tim Hellwig (GER) and Nicola Azzano (ITA) are the other absentees from the Series top-20. When so much top-end talent is set to race, though, WTCS London nonetheless promises to be a show.
Tune in to TriathlonLive on Saturday 25th July to catch every second of the action live, and view the full start lists here.