Triathlon Worlds 2026 – WTCS Weihai: Cassandre Beaugrand untouchable, Max Studer back with a bang

The seventh stop of the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) played out this weekend in Weihai, China. France’s Cassandre Beaugrand claimed her fourth win of the season to move top of the overall standings, with the grand final in Spain less than a month away, late September. Switzerland’s Max Studer won the men’s race, completing a triumphant return after a long spell sidelined by injury.

Right from the gun in the women’s race over the Olympic-distance format, Cassandre Beaugrand put herself at the sharp end, exiting the water in third. She then tackled the 40 km bike leg in a group of four, before being reeled in by the chasers on the third lap to form a pack of 17 triathletes.

The two other pre-race favourites, reigning world champion Lisa Tertsch of Germany and 2023 world champion Beth Potter of Great Britain, were right there in the pack. More riders bridged across, and it was ultimately a group of 31 athletes that rolled into T2 together.

Over the final 10 km on the run, gaps opened quickly and Beaugrand laid down the pace. Before the end of the first lap, only Potter and Tertsch could go with the Frenchwoman. The last three world champions were out front together, and with under 2 km to go, Beaugrand and the Brit broke clear and snapped the elastic on Tertsch. A few metres later, Potter cracked too, leaving Beaugrand alone in the lead and never to be seen again. Four wins from four races in 2026 for the Olympic champion. Beth Potter took second, with Lisa Tertsch third.

With that win, the Frenchwoman moves to the top of the world standings with 4,000 points, the maximum possible, as only four races will count towards the final ranking. Britain’s Beth Potter and Sweden’s Tilda Mansson sit next in the standings with 3,775 and 3,636 points respectively. The final in Pontevedra will decide the overall titles in less than a month. Before then, there’s one more stop in Karlovy Vary (Hungary) on 13 September.

Women’s podium

1 Cassandre Beaugrand (France): 1:49:20

2 Beth Potter (Great Britain): 1:49:26

3 Lisa Tertsch (Germany): 1:49:44

Full results

Max Studer defends his title in the men’s race

In the men’s race, there were no French athletes on the start line. Reigning world champion and overall leader, Australia’s Matthew Hauser was the obvious favourite, but ended up 10th.

Switzerland’s Max Studer, who hadn’t started a WTCS race since the 2025 World Championship Finals, kept his cool on a soaked, messy course to defend the title he won here last year. Spain’s David Cantero Del Campo hit the deck in the closing kilometres but managed to get back up and fight for second, his first WTCS podium since last year’s World Championship Finals in Wollongong. Canada’s Tyler Mislawchuk rounded out the podium, his first top three at this level in seven years.

With no gaps made on the bike, the race was decided on the run, unlike the previous two editions. Matt Hauser took the lead straight away, joined by Cantero, Studer, Japan’s Kenji Nener and Mislawchuk. That group of five quickly opened around 15 seconds on the first lap, before the gap came back again at the bell.

They were chased by a group led in particular by Portugal’s João Nuno Batista. From the second lap, Mislawchuk, Studer and Cantero took control, leaving Hauser, who’d led from the start, fighting off the back.

On the third lap, the lead trio worked together and finally carved out a real gap. Behind them, Batista and American John Reed, bronze medallist here in 2025, took up the chase while Hauser was definitively dropped.

At the end of the third lap, Cantero, 22 and already known as one of the best finishers in the field, slipped and crashed. The Spaniard was quick to get back up. Seeing Cantero on the ground, Studer hit the gas one last time.

The Swiss opened up daylight, while Cantero dug deep to come back and managed to pull away from Mislawchuk. But Studer’s surge was too strong. The Swiss crossed the line alone at the front.

Reigning world champion Matt Hauser ultimately finished 10th. A result that could prove very expensive. Hauser arrived in China with a perfect record: three wins from three starts in 2026. With Portuguese athletes Vasco Vilaça and Miguel Hidalgo absent in Weihai, a podium would have been enough to overtake Vilaça on points and take sole control of the WTCS overall. Instead, 10th does move him up to second overall, but Vilaça, who skipped Weihai to focus on a training block, keeps the series lead.

Men’s podium:

1 Max Studer (Switzerland): 1:41:08

2 David Cantero Del Campo (Spain): 1:41:18

3 Tyler Mislawschuk (Canada): 1:41:25

All results