T100 Singapore triathlon results: Hayden Wilde storms to STUNNING debut win

New Zealand’s Olympic triathlon silver medallist Hayden Wilde ran away from the field on his T100 World Tour debut as the short-course superstar claimed a sensational victory in Singapore on Sunday.

The 27-year-old was brilliant on the run en route to a win time of 3:18:11 in the Singapore heat, emulating fellow ‘Hot Shot’ Kate Waugh (who had won the women’s race at a canter on Saturday).

Wilde was solid in both the water and on the bike, but it was his sublime speed in the closing 18km run which earned him a dominant victory.

He was joined on the podium by fellow short-course star Léo Bergere of France – who has enjoyed a strong start to middle-distance career.

T100 world champion Marten Van Riel – off the back of a second place finish at IRONMAN South Africa last weekend – picked off a number of athletes in the final stages of the run to claim third.

Swim – Short-course stars shine

As expected, the short-course stars led from the front in the swim, showcasing their prowess in the water. A group of six – Vincent Luis, Max Stapley, Menno Koolhaas, Van Riel, Tyler Mislawchuk and Bergere – exited the first loop 18 seconds ahead of an 11-strong chase pack.

German Nicholas Mann (1:32) and US superstar Sam Long (3:02) were the two who were dropped early in the swim – the latter notorious for being at the back of the pack out of the water in the T100 format.

Luis (23:43), Stapley (23:44), Van Riel (23:47) and Koolhaus (23:50) were the first quartet out of the water around 15 seconds ahead of Bergere and Mislawchuk. The chase group of now 10 came out a further 25 seconds back – including Bogen in 8th and Wilde in 15th – while the final three of Frederick Funk (1:48), Mann (3:33) and Long (5:37) were cut adrift from the field.

Germany’s Jannik Schaufler meanwhile was awarded a 30-second uniform violation penalty during the swim, which he would later serve on the run.

Bike – Bogen and Wilde advance

Out of transition, a group of eight went to the head of the race, which brought issues on the initial climb up the Benjamin Sheares Bridge. With drafting rules in effect through the RaceRanger system, the octet struggled to maintain gaps – with Wilde particularly upset with the eventual alignment.

German Bogen had advanced to the lead of the field at the 12km checkpoint and opened up a gap of 26 seconds. Some big moves were being made early with Italy’s Gregory Barnaby (+10 places) and Germany’s Mika Noodt (+11) jetting up the standings – Noodt taking the lead of the chase group behind Bogen.

Wilde gained six places by the 20km mark – the New Zealander moving up to third. Conversely, Luis (-12 places) and Mislawchuk (-10) dropped down the standings.

Hayden Wilde was in a league of his own in Singapore [Photo: James Mitchell/T100]

At the back of the field Long, who was expected to make his way through the pack during the bike and run, was in fact struggling to gain on those in front, remaining around five-and-a-half minutes back at the 25km stage.

Bogen continued to lead by 26 seconds from Wilde at the midway point of the bike with France’s Mathis Margirier 45 seconds back, Noodt at 50 seconds, Van Riel at 54 seconds and Barnaby 57 seconds away. Long, by now, had passed the German pair of Funk and Mann but was still struggling to match pace with the leaders.

Wilde was now on the move, however, and closed the gap quickly to Bogen on the sixth loop of nine, splitting away from the chase group behind. At 47.10km, Hayden made the pass on the climb up Benjamin Sheares Bridge, although he was unable to drop his German counterpart.

The head of the race now featured three separate groups – Wilde and Bogen, Margirier and Noodt 20 seconds off the pace, and Bergere, Van Riel and Barnaby holding steady around 60 seconds behind. The rest of the field was now over two-and-a-half minutes down with 20km to go. Margirier then bridged the gap to the lead duo on lap eight.

Bogen (1:49:40) and Wilde (1:49:42) entered T2 in unison, with Margirier (1:50:22) having dropped slightly to stretch ahead of transition. Next in was Noodt (1:51:04) around 94 seconds back, with Bergere (1:52:23), Van Riel (1:52:34) and Barnaby (1:51:44) a further 37 seconds behind.

70.3 World Champion Geens (1:53:12) and American start Long (1:51:28) were 3:34 and 6:48 back respectively heading out on the 18km run leg.

Run – Hayden runs Wilde

Wilde and Bogen did not relent in the early stages of the run, opening a considerable gap of 1:45 to Margirier in third. Bergere quickly leapt into fourth ahead of Noodt, who rounded out the top five after the 4km checkpoint.

Down the field, the chase was on for Long who was setting a sub-3-minute per km pace in the early stages after starting the run in 14th place. Further back, news came that Nicholas Mann was the first casualty of the race recording a DNF, with IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Jelle Geens also dropping out soon after.

Wilde began to assert his dominance, putting 42 seconds into Bogen towards the end of the first run loop, The New Zealander was averaging 3:01 per km pace, faster than his six closest rivals on course.

The Kiwi was unrelenting as he continued to run away from the entire field – by the end of lap two he had extended his lead to just under three minutes. By now Bergere had leapfrogged Bogen into second, with Margirier and van Riel also passing the German as they looked set to battle it out for third.

Wilde continued to maintain that considerable lead for the remainder of the run, recording a breathtaking 1:01:46 split in brutal heat to break the tape.

Despite a sustained effort, van Riel (1:02:38) was unable to close in on the second-placed Bergere (1:02:09) with Dutchman Youri Keulen (1:01:48) and Italy’s Barnaby (1:03:49) completing the top five.