We Noticed: Long and Alexander Tops in Gulf Coast, Chengdu Excitement and More

A Photo Finish in Chengdu

It took officials a while to figure out who the winner was in the women’s race at the Chengdu World Cup as defending champion Valentina Riasova (AIN – the designation used for Russian and Belarusian athletes competing as independent athletes), Laura Lindemann and Kate Waugh all found themselves in a sprint for the win as they hit the blue carpet. After Fanni Szalai and Mathilde Gautier led the way out of the water with a bit of a gap, the race turned into a 5 km road race after about 50 athletes hit T2 within a few seconds of each other. Riasova went to the front and pushed the pace early, whittling down the lead group, but as she neared the finish line she was joined by the German anchor of the gold-medal winning mixed relay team and Waugh, who was starting her 2026 race season after winning the T100 Triathlon World Tour last year. Once officials had finally deciphered the finish-line photo they gave the nod to Lindemann ahead of Riasova, with Waugh rounding out the podium.

The men’s race proved almost as dramatic as Aussie Luke Willian took the sprint over France’s Nils Serre Gehri. As with the women, a huge pack formed on the bike, which led to a footrace deciding the day. Australian Luke Schofield pushed the pace early, but it was a drive at the front by Willian that separated the podium finishers from the rest of the field. The Australian would hold on for the win, with Canadian Tyler Mislawchuk rounding out the podium in his first race of the season.

Spain dominated the mixed relay in Chengdu as Ana Carballo Gómez, Pelayo González Turrez, Sara Guerrero Manso and Antonio Serrat Seoane took the win in 1:22:22. They were 11 seconds up on the British squad that included Sian Rainsley, Max Stapley, Jessica Fullagar and Jack Willis. Our podcast guest from last week, Tyler Mislawchuk, competed in the second leg of the mixed relay as the Canadian team that also included Isla Britton, Sophia Howell and Martin Sobey managed to just eke out the last spot on the podium ahead of the United States as Sobey got to the line just ahead of Braxton Legg.  

Long, Alexander Take 70.3 Gulf Coast

Sam Long was the prohibitive favorite going into Saturday’s IRONMAN 70.3 Gulf Coast event, so shortening the swim from 1.9 km to 1 km (thanks to rough swim conditions) and making it a down-current point-to-point effort only made things more inevitable. In the women’s race Grace Alexander held off a late charge from Vittoria Lopes to take the women’s title.

American Greg Harper led the men out of the water in 7:10 with countryman Marc Dubrick about five seconds down. Long trailed by roughly 90 seconds coming out of the water, but a speedy 1:49:32 bike split enabled him to move to the front by 30 miles of the ride. Long would pull clear of Benjamin Zorgnotti and Seth Rider heading into T1, starting the run roughly 20 seconds up on his countrymen, with Dubrick almost three minutes down starting the run.

Long continued to pull clear, easily holding off Rider for the win, while Dubrick used the day’s fastest run to move into third.

It was hardly a surprise to see super-swimmer Lopes lead the women out of the water, but Alexander held her own, hitting the white sandy beach seven seconds behind the Brazilian. Collegiate star Clare Dasso was third into T2, 38 seconds behind Lopes, while Danielle Lewis was over 90 seconds behind as she started the bike.

Once on the bike Lewis would steadily move through the field and eventually catch Alexander, gapping her countrywoman by 34 seconds into T2, with Lopes starting the run in third, but almost four minutes behind.

Lewis held her own through the early stages of the run, but stomach issues would slow her down and Alexander moved to the lead. Lopes made a concerted charge on the run and would steadily gain time, passing the struggling Lewis and setting her sites on the top of the podium. In the end the Brazilian would end up 20-seconds short, with Lewis hanging on for the final spot on the podium.

Draper and Curridori Win Challenge Salou

After three Challenge Family wins last year (Gran Canaria, Samarkand and Almere), Brit Will Draper added another win to his Challenge resume thanks to a dominating bike leg that saw him pull clear of the rest of the field. He cruised through the run to take the tape ahead of countryman Jack Hutchens, who took the run duel over France’s Arthur Berland.

After threatening to retire last year, Elisabetta Corridori appears to have changed her mind after nailing a Kona slot with her podium finish at IRONMAN Arizona. With two wins in her first two races of 2026, it sure seems like a good call – the Italian followed up her win at the Peniscula Infinitri with a close 40-second win over Aussie Milan Agnew in Salou.

Spain’s own Marta Sanchez led the way out of the water and through the first half of the bike, but then appeared to finally feel the effects of her recent third-place finish at IRONMAN Texas as she found herself with company heading into T2. Curridori quickly made her stamp out on the run course and Aussie Milan Agnew wasn’t able to keep up, but was able to stay well clear of the rest of the field to take second. Sanchez managed to find an extra gear to pull clear of Juliette Lucet to hold on to the final spot on the podium by just 10 seconds.

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