Hayden Wilde Unstoppable, Georgia Taylor-Brown Untouchable at Dubai T100

After earlier wins this season at the T100s in Singapore and the French Riviera, Hayden Wilde has now notched a third T100 Triathlon victory. He heads into the Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship final (December 11-12) with a perfect record, and an IRONMAN 70.3 world title won in Nice to go with it.

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His compatriot Kyle Smith was also impressive today, up front on both the swim and the bike. Over the first ten kilometers of the run, he set the pace and took control of the race. In the past two months, the Kiwi had already taken third at the Ekoï French Riviera T100 Triathlon and won Challenge Barcelona. His second place in Dubai confirms he is in excellent form.

© T100 Triathlon

Germany's Mika Noodt completed the men's podium with bronze. For him, the Dubai T100 Triathlon marked a deeply emotional return to racing, after a serious collision with a camera motorbike in mid-July and a long rehabilitation.

© T100 Triathlon

A tight pack out of the water

The swim leg of the Dubai T100 Triathlon took place off Al Mamzar beach. Unsurprisingly, Dutchman Menno Koolhaas, known for his swimming strength, took charge over both laps and led the field at the halfway point. He was closely tracked by Germany's Rico Bogen, France's Enzo Bourdon, Spain's Antonio Benito López, Switzerland's Andrea Salvisberg and Hayden Wilde, among others. At that point, seventeen athletes were still together, separated by only tiny gaps.

On the second lap, Bogen took over from Koolhaas at the front and was ultimately first out of the water. Under his push, the lead group gradually stretched out. Even so, Koolhaas, Benito López, Estonia's Henry Räppo, Hayden Wilde, Andrea Salvisberg, France's Quentin Barreau and Mika Noodt all reached transition within just eleven seconds of each other.

Out of the water, athletes faced a 600-meter run to the first transition. Wilde used it to get past Bogen. But it was Koolhaas who had the quickest transition among the leaders, getting the Dutchman onto his bike first.

Five men break clear on the bike

The bike course was four laps on the fast, flat roads of the beautiful Al Mamzar site. In the opening kilometers, several riders took turns at the front, but Hayden Wilde soon began to dictate the pace. After the first twenty kilometers, gaps started to open up. Only Kyle Smith, Mika Noodt, Andrea Salvisberg, Rico Bogen, Australia's Kurt McDonald and Henry Räppo were still within fifteen seconds.

Conditions were ideal: a perfectly clear sky and no wind kept the pace very high, with an average speed well above 46 km/h. A real battle among the favorites then developed between Smith, Bogen, Wilde, Salvisberg and Noodt. Those five managed to stay together, giving nothing away to their rivals. They shared the work at the front, within the drafting rules, and kept stretching their lead over the rest of the field.

With 25 kilometers of the bike leg to go, only Räppo was still within a minute of the quintet. Everyone else had already conceded at least a minute. Rico Bogen was first to rack his bike in T2, closely followed by the four men who had ridden with him the whole way.

A Kiwi duel on the run

The German also started the four-lap, 18-kilometer run through Al Mamzar Park in front. But Wilde passed him within the first few meters. The Kiwi even dropped a gel along the way, then deliberately turned back to pick it up.

From the very first lap, it was clear victory would not be handed to him. Perhaps a little dulled by his third place yesterday at the WTCS Abu Dhabi, Hayden Wilde was immediately joined by Kyle Smith.

The two Kiwis lifted the tempo considerably, with Smith doing much of the pacing. Behind them, Bogen, Noodt, Salvisberg and Räppo were still lurking, strung out over a minute.

With ten kilometers to go, Salvisberg and Noodt caught Bogen, now a minute behind the two leaders. The three were left fighting for third. Up front, Smith kept pushing hard in the hope of dropping Wilde, but it wasn't enough. A kilometer later, it was Wilde who threw in the decisive surge, then built his gap on Kyle Smith on the way to winning the Dubai T100 Triathlon. We later learned he had raced with a broken toe. Smith took a solid second, while Mika Noodt completed the podium in third.

The French pair Quentin Barreau and Enzo Bourdon finished 16th and 19th.

With this result, Hayden Wilde extends his lead in the T100 Race To Qatar standings to 105 points. Kyle Smith is second with 63 points, ahead of Australia's Jacob Birtwhistle in third with 59.

Georgia Taylor-Brown's triumphant return to the T100 circuit

In the women's race, Britain's Georgia Taylor-Brown won the Dubai T100 Triathlon and in doing so took the lead in the overall T100 Race To Qatar standings, overtaking Switzerland's Julie Derron.

It was her first win since Pamplona at the Spain T100 last May. She had finished third at the previous round in Vancouver, Canada.

She won by 10 seconds over New Zealand's Nicole Van Der Kaay, who unleashed an impressive final sprint to cap a superb race and take her best T100 result to date.

© T100 Triathlon

Despite a strong comeback through the field to grab third on the day, Switzerland's Julie Derron could not hold on to her lead ahead of the Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship final on December 11-12.

© T100 Triathlon

Sara Perez Sala dominates the swim

The swim leg of the Dubai T100 Triathlon was held off Al Mamzar beach. Spain's Sara Perez Sala went to the front from the gun and split the field early, catching out Switzerland's Julie Derron, the overall leader. By the end of the first swim lap, a group of four had formed at the front: Britain's Kate Waugh and Georgia Taylor-Brown, Sara Perez Sala, and Germany's Bianca Bogen. They held more than 30 seconds over the chasing group, which included Julie Derron.

Sara Perez Sala was first out of the water and onto the 600-meter run to the bike park, with Taylor-Brown, Waugh and Bogen right behind. Julie Derron was about 50 seconds down, but took back five in transition.

Georgia Taylor-Brown isolates Julie Derron on the bike

The bike course was four laps on the roads of the beautiful Al Mamzar area. Taylor-Brown, Waugh and Bogen quickly passed Sara Perez Sala and set a hard pace at the front, stretching the gap to Switzerland's Julie Derron. At the start of the last bike lap, Kate Waugh had been dropped and was more than two minutes down. Nicole Van Der Kaay and Germany's Caroline Pohle had by then joined the fight for the lead. Pohle reached T2 first and started the run with 15 seconds on Van Der Kaay, 26 on Sara Perez Sala and 36 on Georgia Taylor-Brown. Julie Derron, for her part, had clawed back 30 seconds and began the final discipline about two minutes down.

Taylor-Brown takes the lead in the first third of the run

Within the first five of the 18 run kilometers around Al Mamzar Beach Park, Georgia Taylor-Brown moved to the front, passing Sara Perez Sala, Caroline Pohle and Nicole Van Der Kaay in turn. The Kiwi stayed within 30 seconds of the Briton and crossed the line just 10 seconds back, thanks to a strong kick in the final meters. Meanwhile, Julie Derron worked her way up the field, passing Sara Perez Sala and Caroline Pohle to take third.

France's Audrey Merle finished a strong sixth.

After this race, Georgia Taylor-Brown leads the T100 Race To Qatar with 96 points. Julie Derron drops to second with 90 points, while Nicole Van Der Kaay climbs to third with 63.