Matt Hauser and Leonie Periault Hammer in Hamburg

Matt Hauser defends his WTCS Hamburg title in style. Photos: Kevin Mackinnon

The 24th edition of World Triathlon’s flagship event might have got rained on at times, but that hardly dampened the enthusiasm of the crowds and it certainly didn’t diminish the intensity the athletes displayed in the fast and furious sprint event in the heart of Hamburg. Both the men’s and women’s races were won thanks to dominating runs as Australia’s Matt Hauser took his second WTCS win of the 2025 season (he also won in Yokohama) to go along with his runner-up finishes in Abu Dhabi and Alghero.

For the women it was Leonie Periault who, as she put it after the race, “this was my day” – so much so that she simply ran away from Paris gold medalist and reigning world champ Cassandre Beaugrand.

Leonie Periault takes her second WTCS title thanks to a stellar run.

Hamburg loves its triathlon events – there are routinely huge crowds on hand for the IRONMAN race in early June and the course is always lined with thousands for the World Triathlon event in July. This year was no different, despite the rain.

And, if today’s exciting racing wasn’t enough, tomorrow we get to look forward to the World Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships, which will include 21 teams.

Hauser Races with Confidence

In a season that has only included wins or silver medals, it comes as no surprise that Hauser would arrive in Hamburg to defend his title brimming with confidence. From the gun the Australian surged to the front and kept the pressure on the rest of the field throughout the day.

The men are off.

Here’s how the Aussie described the day in our post-race chat:

“It was a bit of a wild one,” Hauser said after the race. “The weather brought its own issues and offered a bit of slippiness out of there on the bike. Unfortunately, a few guys came down in our pack, but we were able to work really well together and consolidate a bit of a 20 second gap.”

“So, I was really happy with how my bike legs were and then to be able to run that fast off that tough bike … I’m really happy with that,” he continued. “Lead from the front (in the water) and then I wanted to drill the first bit of the bike and try and consolidate a bit of the gap, which the boys did. We worked really well together and then on that run I just wanted to see how I felt in that first lap, and it felt really good. My breathing was really good on that first lap, so I decided to push on and treat it like a bit of time trial and not look behind me until the last little bit. I saw Vasco (Vilaca) still there and I wanted to try and kick home and make sure I had enough in me for the win.”

“I don’t want to leave anything for chance,” Hauser said when asked why he went so early. “I know I have a good sprint – I know it back myself in the sprint – but I don’t want to leave it down to that. I want to get a bit of a gap before that and consolidate a bit of a lead into the blue carpet. I was able to do so and celebrate accordingly with the amazing crowds here in Hamburg.”

OK – while that does a pretty good job of describing the day, here’s a few more details in words and pictures:

Alessio Crociani was first out of the water with Hauser just behind.

Hauser pushed at the start but it was Italy’s Asessio Crociani who would lead the way out of the water ahead of Hauser. Brazil’s Miguel Hidalgo was out about six seconds later along with American Chase McQueen, Britain’s Max Stapley and Portugal’s Vilaca.

Henry Graf.

Germany’s Henry Graf ripped through transition and got himself in with the leaders, then made a bold move to try and break away, earning lots of cheers from the German crowds. France’s Tom Richard would go down on the wet roads on the second lap, while Graf would go down on the final lap, but recovered quickly enough to join the lead pack of 11 that hit T2 with a lead of roughly 30 seconds on the large chase pack.

Hauser remained aggressive throughout the race.

The race for the medals appeared to be done for the men in the chase pack as they hit T2

Out on the run it looked like Hidalgo might be in the mix for the win early on, but it wasn’t long before Hauser and Vilaca separated themselves from the rest of the lead group and charged ahead. Hauser’s 13:50 5 km run split was enough to give him a seven-second lead over Vilaca, with Crociani taking the sprint over Hidalgo to grab the final spot on the podium. Graf would round out the top five.

You can see the full results here.

Periault Powers Away from Beaugrand and Potter

Periault hits the blue carpet with a solid gap to Beaugrand and Potter.

Unfortunately it was pouring rain for pretty much the entire run and finish, so I didn’t have the chance to get the same race details from the Frenchwoman after the race. In our quick chat she described “a good swim, a good run and a solid bike.”

“I was surprised because my sensation was very, very good and I wasn’t tired,” she continued. “It was an amazing day.”

That’s a bit of an understatement considering she able to run away from two of the best runners in the sport – both Beaugrand and Potter have run 5 km on the road in under 15 minutes. (We reported on Beaugrand’s French record earlier this year, while Potter ran 14:41 at the Podium 5 km race in 2021, which would have been a world record were it not for the lack of doping control at the race and issues with the timing company’s credentials.)

The women’s start.

Unlike the men there were a couple of women who were able to open up some real time from the chase group behind in the water as Italy’s Bianca Seregni and Germany’s Lisa Tertsch, who arrived in Hamburg leading the WTCS series, hit the ramp with a lead of 14 seconds on the group led by Beaugrand, who had Luxemburg’s Jeanne Lehair and Potter close behind her.

Tertsch made a go at getting away, but it wasn’t long before she was caught and eventually a huge lead group of 35 were working their way around the technical 20 km, six-lap course in the heart of Hamburg’s downtown.

Gwen Jorgensen.

After an excellent swim that saw her exit the water just ahead of Taylor Spivey, 2016 gold medalist Gwen Jorgensen would struggle in T1 and miss the group, effectively putting her out of contention.

Let the 5 K road race begin.

As the large group hit T2 initially it looked like another Frenchwoman, Emma Lombardi, had dialled in the perfect transition as she blasted out onto the run course, but it wasn’t long before Beaugrand was in front. Then, suddenly, Periault was at the front, and almost as quickly she was pulling away, running a 15:28 five km split to Beaugrand’s 15:37 and Potter’s 15:35..

“I don’t know what happened to me for the first time, but when Leonie passed me I didn’t have another gear,” Beaugrand told World Triathlon after the race. “It doesn’t happen that often, but here we are. I am happy that it was Leonie who beat me today. My goal was just to stay at the front on the bike, to avoid accidents, and I put a lot of energy on that, maybe too much, but I stayed safe. It might have taken a bit too much of energy from me, but I am really happen with second today.”

Potter wasn’t able to stay with Beaugrand over the final few hundred meters, but was able to hold off Belgium’s Jocelyn Vermeylen. Sweden’s Tilda Mansson would take fifth.

Taylor Spivey would finish as the top American in 10th.

You can see the full results here.

We’ll have more from WTCS Hamburg tomorrow, including coverage of the Mixed Relay World Championships.

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