{"id":796222,"date":"2026-07-12T02:35:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T02:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/796222\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T02:35:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T02:35:27","slug":"wtcs-hamburg-exciting-races-stolen-bikes-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/796222\/","title":{"rendered":"WTCS Hamburg: Exciting Races, Stolen Bikes and More"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"I\u2019ll take two! Leonie Periault defends her title in style! Photos: Kevin Mackinnon<\/p>\n

As if the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) Hamburg isn\u2019t always a big enough event on its own, this year the drama started days ahead with a couple of stolen bikes. Not just any bikes, mind you \u2013 Beth Potter, one of the race favourites and her training partner Sian Rainsley, came perilously close to not being able to race.<\/p>\n

According to Rainsley, she got up at 6 am on their travel day out of St Moritz, opened the garage to grab her bike, and was shocked to find it completely empty. <\/p>\n

She walked back upstairs to pass on the distressing news, after which came the police report and the harsh reality that they had a race in a couple of days. She and Potter were told to head to the venue anyway and start working out contingencies \u2014 borrowed kit, someone else\u2019s spare bike, whatever could be scraped together. Athletes and staff kept offering help, which took some of the edge off.<\/p>\n

The break came from Rainsley\u2019s partner and Nora, a Swiss triathlete friend, who tracked the bikes through an AirTag, passed the location to police, and traced them to a car. Nora drove out and hauled the bikes back herself \u2014 \u201can absolute superstar,\u201d Rainsley said.<\/p>\n

The bikes arrived the next morning, barely inside the window before the race. In just 24 hours the pair had moved from an empty garage to receiving their bikes \u2013 a stressful 24 hours, though. <\/p>\n

Once that drama had been settled, we still had some action to keep an eye on before we could get focused on the racing here in Hamburg. <\/p>\n

The two reigning Olympic gold medalists, Cassandre Beaugrand and Alex Yee, weren\u2019t in Hamburg today because, as we had reported earlier this month, the pair were running at the prestigious Monaco Diamond League track and field meet. <\/p>\n

Beaugrand would set a new French national record in the 3,000 m, running 8:32:86. While that was well off the winning pace of Agnes Ngetich, who was just a few seconds shy of the world record with her 8:08:95, it is still plenty fast and, well, faster than any other woman from France has gone of the distance, let alone any other French triathlete.<\/p>\n

Yee wouldn\u2019t have nearly as much fun \u2013 he would run well short of his own 13:13:89 personal best, stopping the clock in 13:27:79 for 12th. <\/p>\n

Hat Trick for Hauser<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Once we did finally get to race day Hamburg provided all the regular excitement that we\u2019ve come to expect from one of the longest-running WTCS events on the circuit. The crowds here in Hamburg are second to none, and thanks to the beautiful weather this year was no different. <\/p>\n

\"\"Devay leads out of the water, with Hauser close behind.<\/p>\n

Hungary\u2019s Mark Devay was first out of the water, but Hauser was right on his heels as the pair pounded up the ramp to the transition area. It took a few laps, but eventually a decent sized lead group of about 20 got together that included all the usual suspects \u2013 Hauser, Portugal\u2019s Vasco Vilaca (who we profiled heading into the race) and Germany\u2019s Henry Graf remained aggressive throughout, enabling the group to stay well clear of the chasers \u2013 they would hit T2 45 seconds ahead.<\/p>\n

That chase group included Hayden Wilde, who was making a big step down in distance from all the T100 racing he\u2019s been doing. The Kiwi has been battling some health issues over the last month, so it probably shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise that he wasn\u2019t quite firing on all cylinders today, which wouldn\u2019t have been good news for any of the men riding with him in the chase pack.<\/p>\n

\"\"The lead group through 2.5 km.<\/p>\n

A 45-second cushion over 5 km is more than enough for the likes of Hauser, Vilaca and Graf, but it was Canadian Charles Paquet who gave things a go halfway through the second of two laps on the run. Hauser was more than ready to deal with that challenge, though, and shortly afterwards made his move, pulling clear and driving to the finish for his third-straight win here in Hamburg. Vilaca hung tough for his third-straight runner-up finish, with Graf thrilling the German crowd taking the final spot on the podium.<\/p>\n

\"\"One last look, but nothing to worry about here \u2026 Hauser and Vilaca go 1-2 for the third year in a row.<\/p>\n

PosAthleteNationTotal timeSwimT1BikeT2Run1Matthew HauserAUS00:50:0700:08:31 (2)00:00:33 (=38)00:26:27 (=29)00:00:20 (=3)00:14:18 (1)2Vasco VilacaPOR00:50:10 +0:0300:08:46 (13)00:00:32 (=15)00:26:13 (=13)00:00:22 (=22)00:14:19 (2)3Henry GrafGER00:50:15 +0:0800:08:51 (=20)00:00:32 (=15)00:26:05 (2)00:00:23 (=38)00:14:25 (4)4Nils Serre GehriFRA00:50:19 +0:1200:08:51 (=20)00:00:32 (=15)00:26:09 (7)00:00:20 (=3)00:14:30 (=5)5Charles PaquetCAN00:50:20 +0:1300:08:49 (=16)00:00:33 (=38)00:26:06 (=3)00:00:24 (=46)00:14:30 (=5)6Connor BentleyGBR00:50:24 +0:1700:08:49 (=16)00:00:32 (=15)00:26:12 (12)00:00:22 (=22)00:14:31 (7)7Vetle Bergsvik ThornNOR00:50:27 +0:2000:08:43 (=8)00:00:32 (=15)00:26:14 (=16)00:00:22 (=22)00:14:37 (12)8Alberto Gonzalez GarciaESP00:50:32 +0:2500:08:50 (=18)00:00:32 (=15)00:26:07 (5)00:00:20 (=3)00:14:45 (=16)9Tim HellwigGER00:50:33 +0:2600:08:44 (=10)00:00:33 (=38)00:26:13 (=13)00:00:22 (=22)00:14:43 (13)10Tom RichardFRA00:50:37 +0:3000:08:41 (=6)00:00:34 (=46)00:26:16 (19)00:00:22 (=22)00:14:45<\/p>\n

Periault Defends in Style<\/p>\n

While she might not be the French record holder over 3,000 m on the track, France\u2019s Leonie Periault was more that quick enough on the run today to take a second title here in Hamburg. The Frenchwoman was well back after the swim, which was led by Italy\u2019s Bianca Seregni with Hungary\u2019s Fanni Szalai and Germany\u2019s Lisa Tertsch, the reigning world champion, close behind. Those three would make a go at getting clear, but eventually would be swallowed up by the huge group of 35 that formed at the front, ensuring that the race would come down to the run. <\/p>\n

\"\"Seregni leads the way to T1.<\/p>\n

\"\"Fanni Szalai did everything she could to help the three-woman break stick, but would eventually be caught by the main group.<\/p>\n

Despite all the drama with her bike, Potter would put herself in an excellent position off the bike and would be second out onto the run course behind Switzerland\u2019s Cathia Schar, but it was Periault and Tertsch who quickly moved to the front to set the pace. Sweden\u2019s Tilda M\u00e5nsson had a terrible transition and had to work her way through the pack to try and get in contention. <\/p>\n

\"\"Bike stress and all, Potter put herself in a great position starting the run.<\/p>\n

\"\"Then there were two. The German looks back halfway through the run, only to realize it\u2019s a race between her and Pariault for gold.<\/p>\n

Into the second lap Periault started to apply pressure and would pull clear of Tertsch, which left a spirited battle for the final podium spot between M\u00e5nsson, American Taylor Spivey and France\u2019s Emma Lombardi. There was not stopping Periault as she flew to the win, with Tertsch thrilling the Hamburg crowd with second and M\u00e5nsson finding another gear to keep Spivey off the podium.<\/p>\n

\"\"Mansson would take third ahead of Spivey.<\/p>\n

\"\"Sixth was enough to move Potter into first place in the WTCS standings. Good thing they found that bike! <\/p>\n

PosAthleteNationTotal timeSwimT1BikeT2Run1Leonie PeriaultFRA00:55:5100:09:59 (=27)00:00:37 (=41)00:28:56 (=9)00:00:23 (=15)00:15:56 (1)2Lisa TertschGER00:55:56 +0:0500:09:36 (4)00:00:33 (=4)00:29:20 (28)00:00:21 (=3)00:16:06 (3)3Tilda M\u00e5nssonSWE00:56:03 +0:1200:10:05 (=36)00:00:36 (=34)00:28:49 (2)00:00:35 (52)00:15:58 (2)4Taylor SpiveyUSA00:56:05 +0:1400:09:48 (7)00:00:35 (=24)00:29:04 (=25)00:00:25 (=32)00:16:13 (4)5Emma LombardiFRA00:56:08 +0:1700:09:57 (=18)00:00:33 (=4)00:28:58 (=13)00:00:26 (=41)00:16:14 (5)6Beth PotterGBR00:56:15 +0:2400:09:55 (=14)00:00:34 (=15)00:28:58 (=13)00:00:22 (=6)00:16:26 (9)7Roksana SlupekPOL00:56:18 +0:2700:09:57 (=18)00:00:36 (=34)00:28:59 (=15)00:00:25 (=32)00:16:21 (6)8Jeanne LehairLUX00:56:19 +0:2800:09:54 (=11)00:00:33 (=4)00:29:02 (=22)00:00:22 (=6)00:16:28 (10)9Fanni SzalaiHUN00:56:19 +0:2800:09:30 (2)00:00:36 (=34)00:29:26 (31)00:00:25 (=32)00:16:22 (7)10Diana IsakovaAIN00:56:23 +0:3200:09:55 (=14)00:00:38 (=48)00:29:00 (=18)00:00:25 (=32)00:16:25
\n Tags:World Triathlon Championship Series<\/a>WTCS Hamburg<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019ll take two! Leonie Periault defends her title in style! Photos: Kevin Mackinnon As if the World Triathlon…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":796223,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82],"class_list":["post-796222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=796222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/796223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=796222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=796222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=796222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}