Hayden Wilde wins an unforgettable IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship

New Zealand triathlon star Hayden Wilde once again showcased his class in Nice today, winning the 2026 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship after a race featuring one of the deepest fields ever assembled in the event’s 20-year history. It was his first world title over the distance, after he finished runner-up at the 2024 Worlds in Taupō, New Zealand.

Wilde came out of the water in 22nd after the opening 1,900 metres, just 16 seconds behind the leader of the first group, which contained 27 athletes. That leader was American Seth Rider.

The New Zealander began picking off rivals from the opening kilometres on the bike, showing patience and determination on the climbs. He reached the summit of Col de Vence in seventh, just 37 seconds off the lead.

On the descent into Nice, Wilde then turned up the pace and quickly joined the five-man lead group (more on that below). With the second-fastest bike split of the day, he reached T2 in second, just 11 seconds behind surprise leader, Italy’s Michele Bortolamedi .

Wilde quickly erased that deficit in the opening kilometres of the run and appeared to be managing his effort midway through the half marathon. But defending champion Jelle Geens and Norway’s Kristian Blummenfelt were charging, forcing Wilde to lift his pace again to hold off the two chasers.

The New Zealander ultimately held on to win in 3:50:51, 18 seconds clear of Blummenfelt. Reigning IRONMAN 70.3 world champion Jelle Geens took third.

It’s awesome to be able to put together a race like that. I was running down the Promenade and, around 15K, the legs felt really good. I thought, “Yes, we’ve ticked that box since Taupō, now I just keep moving forward.” Then I got to 19K and really had to dig deep. There was still a 32-second gap, so I was doing the maths in my head. I thought I needed to hold around 3:10/km to win. Kristian would have had to run under 3:00/km to catch me. I told myself: keep going, keep going, get through this little rough patch and enjoy the downhill. I’m still barely taking it in, to be honest, but it feels really good to have pulled it off.

He completed the final run without a watch on his wrist, making it harder to manage his effort. “Coming out of T2, I had all my stuff in my hands and I hit my watch. I think I sent it all the way to the marina, which was pretty frustrating. Looking back at the race, it wasn’t a perfect race for me. There were a few mistakes, but I’m really happy with how I managed the run,” he continued. “With five kilometres to go, I managed to hold on. The final two kilometres were really hard, but Kristian has a great saying: ‘It’s worse to lose.’ And yes, that’s clearly the case. So being able to hold that gap is really special.”

© Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / IRONMAN

Kristian Blummenfelt gave everything to the finish line, falling just a few metres short of victory.

I think I lost the race on the bike descent. I couldn’t stay with Gustav Iden, Marten Van Riel or Nick Thompson. The three of them got away, and I thought I was going to lose even more time. I was two minutes down at the top and thought I might lose another two minutes on the descent. But it was pretty positive when I heard it was only two minutes thirty. My legs felt good during the final part of the bike, so I thought I had a strong run in me and I was pretty happy with my performance. But losing a race like that on a descent to Hayden is obviously mixed feelings. Two and a half minutes at the start of the half marathon is a lot, even though I managed to make up that gap in Geelong six months ago. It was another epic battle. It’s just a shame to be on the wrong side of it this time.

Blummenfelt nevertheless made a strong case for the upcoming IRONMAN World Championship in Kona. “There are four weeks left until the big one in Hawaii, so I just need to refocus. I think the others, like Casper Stornes and Gustav Iden are already looking ahead after this race, because they didn’t get the result they were hoping for.”

The reigning world champion, Jelle Geens, fought his way onto the podium after coming into T2 in 12th place.

I think I had a good swim. I was close enough to the front and the sensations were pretty comfortable. There was a lot of passing in the first part of the bike. But once we hit the climb, the pace was really high. I think I was missing a few watts at that point and reached the summit with too big a gap. I managed that section poorly and couldn’t make it into Gustav’s group before T2. I wanted to fight for the win and started the run at a very high pace before having to slow down. Congratulations to Kristian and Hayden, their races were really impressive.

© Bartlomiej Zborowski / IRONMAN

Sixty of the world’s best male professional triathletes started at 7 a.m. this morning in the azure waters of the Mediterranean. A large lead group formed quickly, with Germany’s Cedric Osterhold, Italy’s Michele Bortolamedi and Switzerland’s Ben Faeh setting a fast pace over the first 700 metres without dropping the pre-race favourites, including Belgium’s Marten Van Riel and Jelle Geens, Germany’s Rico Bogen, Norway’s Casper Stornes and Kristian Blummenfelt, and New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde, all safely positioned in the lead group.

© Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / IRONMAN

© Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / IRONMAN

American Seth Rider surged in the final metres to exit the water first in 23:28, just two seconds ahead of Bortolamedi. England’s Sam Dickinson and South Africa’s Jamie Riddle rounded out the front positions. The race was already incredibly tight, with the first 27 triathletes leaving the water within just 22 seconds.

Bortolamedi was first onto the bike course, but it was Riddle, Australia’s Josh Ferris, and Germany’s Jonas Schomburg and Lasse Nygaard Priester who took control during the opening kilometres of the 90-kilometre course. As in the swim, the battle for position intensified as the climb approached. Stornes, Wilde and Geens were keeping a close eye on one another and sat inside the top 10 as the field reached Col de Vence.

© Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / IRONMAN

© Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / IRONMAN

© Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / IRONMAN

France’s Simon Viain recorded the fastest climb up Col de Vence in 26:37, but it was Bortolamedi who reached the summit first. Once over the top, the triathletes began the descent towards Nice. This was where Wilde showed the full extent of his bike skills, rapidly closing down the five men at the front. Iden also made the most of his descending ability, passing several riders ahead while Stornes and Rider stayed on his wheel.

As the leaders plunged towards Nice, Bortolamedi launched one final acceleration to enter the second transition first, closely followed by Wilde, Bogen, Priester and Ferris. Iden posted the fastest bike split of the day in 2:16:43, but entered T2 54 seconds behind the leader.

All the leading contenders started the run at a blistering pace. Wilde took the lead in the first kilometre before Priester caught him four kilometres later. Geens and Blummenfelt also set off hard, with the Belgian gaining nine places after 25 minutes while the Norwegian moved up to fifth. By the 16-kilometre mark, both men had moved into podium position.

© Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / IRONMAN

© Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / IRONMAN

© Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / IRONMAN

© Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / IRONMAN

© Bartlomiej Zborowski / IRONMAN

© Bartlomiej Zborowski / IRONMAN

As Blummenfelt and Geens rapidly closed in, Wilde found another gear in the closing kilometres of the half marathon. He held off the Norwegian, who came to within 18 seconds of the New Zealander. Hayden Wilde thus became the first New Zealander since 2008 to win the IRONMAN 70.3 world title.

© Bartlomiej Zborowski / IRONMAN