There were so many stories to follow from the races at WTCS Karlovy Vary that we are going to do this a little differently. Across two spellbinding races, in less than enchanting weather, several teams saw multiple athletes enjoy superb days out. As a result, we will break this article down by countries, with a his and hers section for each, to try and capture enough of the plethora of star turns.

GREAT BRITAIN

The only place to kick things off is with Georgia Taylor Brown’s first Series win in over three years. All the way back at the start of the Series in Samarkand, there were signs that Karlovy Vary could be the course to best suit the 2020 world champion as she launched a solo break on a fairly flat circuit in Uzbekistan. So it proved as she broke away in the Czech Republic with two other riders. With the WTCS Final in Pontevedra set to also pose a challenging course, we will see if Taylor-Brown can repeat the trick.

If Taylor-Brown’s success was largely built on the bike, Alex Yee’s silver medal was earned almost entirely through the run. Over the years in Karlovy Vary, a 10km time in the 30-minute range has been enough for victory on the course; anything under 30:30 has always been highly competitive. Then last year, Hayden Wilde (NZL) ripped a 29:48 split from the chase pack to earn the top split of the 2020s at the venue.

Yesterday, Yee blew that a way with a scarcely believable 29:16 split. That was only 1 second away from entering the top-25 all-time Series splits on a course no one has any business being fast on. As if we needed any further proof, the Olympic champion’s running really is from another galaxy. Not to be missed is that Ricardo Batista (POR) also clocked 29:36 to beat Wilde’s 2025 time as he took 4^th. Watch out for the rising Portuguese star in Pontevedra.

AUSTRIA

Therese Feuersinger was another to profit from the breakaway in the women’s race as she held on for 5^th place and a massive personal best finish after a gutsy effort on the run. Prior to WTCS Karlovy Vary, Feuersinger had a personal best of 10^th, which came at the similarly tricky course in Alghero last year. Clearly the hillier races are right up her street.

Team Austria saw an even bigger personal best for Tjebbe Kaindl as he rocketed to a maiden Series medal in 3^rd place. Kaindl was originally part of the four-man breakaway that escaped up the road before turning the tables on his breakaway partners to arrive in T2 alone. His previous best came in Karlovy Vary last year as he snuck into the top-10 for the first time, and Kaindl has beaten that on multiple occasions in 2026. At this point, he might just be the strongest man of two wheels in the Series which should put him in the hunt for future medals.

HUNGARY

Márta Kropkó finished right behind Marta Pintanel Raymundo (ESP), who earned a huge personal best of her own in 7^th place, to come away with 8^th. Last time out, in Alghero, Kropkó entered the top-10 for the first time by placing 10^th and the World U23 Championship medallist is continuing her upward trajectory.

While Kropkó has progressively improved on each of her recent visits to Karlovy Vary (2024 yielded what was at the time her best World Cup finish while last year saw her hit a WTCS personal best), no one loves the city as much as Márk Dévay. The Hungarian was yet another athlete to score a new best result as he placed 6^th. Like Kaindl, he enjoyed a WTCS personal best there in 2025 while he also achieved a first World Cup medal at the race back in 2023. Yesterday saw all the classic hallmarks of a Dévay race: rapid swimming, brutal power on the bike, and a dogged determination on the run. He will almost certainly have a return to Karlovy Vary already pencilled into his 2027 calendar.

GERMANY

Lisa Tertsch deserved plaudits for repeating her bronze medal from last year, but attention must also go to the first Series top-10 for Franka Rust. The World Cup medallist crossed in 9^th and was the highest finisher from outside the original breakaway group of nine that arrived in the town centre. With simply making the German team getting increasingly difficult due to the depth of talent available, her result (and the attendant world ranking points) could have a big impact on Rust’s ability to start at the early Olympic selection races in 2027.

While Rust enjoyed a breakthrough, Tim Hellwig took another step forward in his comeback from injury. After winning back-to-back World Cup silvers at the start of the season, Hellwig has been rediscovering his footing in the WTCS. It came together yesterday as he placed 5^th in what was his highest finish since the 2023 Series Final. That just so happened to be in Pontevedra where he placed 2^nd; might something similar be on the cards in two weeks?

FRANCE

This bit involves some slight cheating as we focus on the absent Cassandre Beaugrand. Since neither of her world title challengers gained ground, Beaugrand was one of the big winners in Karlovy Vary. Now, even if Beth Potter (GBR) wins in Pontevedra, Beaugrand will need to place 3^rd to seal the title. The last time she finished outside the top-2 was in Pontevedra in 2023 (where she finished 3^rd) so all things considered things are looking rosy for the Olympic champion.

The final word belongs with Dorian Coninx. After an assist on the bike by the powerhouse Leo Bergere, the WTCS Quiberon winner held off a charging Yee to become only the fourth man - after Yee, Vasco Vilaca (POR) and Matthew Hauser (AUS) - in the past three years to win more than one WTCS race in the same season. Wilde is another to have achieved the feat this decade, as did Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) in 2021, making this a truly elite club.

Coninx could join the rarer-still club of triple winners within a season should he strike gold in Pontevedra (only Yee in 2022 and Hauser in 2025 have done that in the 2020s). Given it was where he won the 2023 Final as he snatched the world title in the most dramatic of ways, and factoring in his 2026 form, it would be brave to discount him.