After second in Boston and silver at the Paris Olympic Games, New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde has returned to the top of the podium at supertri Chicago with a decisive win ahead of France’s Léo Bergere and Vasco Vilaça of Portugal.
Having witnessed Britain’s Alex Yee belatedly stride to victory in both Boston and Paris, Wilde looked hungry for gold from the get-go in supertri’s Chicago debut, regularly pushing the pace at the front of the bike course in the nine-discipline multisport race.
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The 26-year-old made the decisive move at the start of Stage 3’s run leg before crossing the line in determined fashion to lay down a marker for the rest of the 2024 series.
Wilde would score valuable points for his Crown Racing team, while his nemesis Yee would finish 44secs back in eighth in a blow for the Brownlee Racing squad.
“I’m super stoked to be back on the top of the podium, it’s been a long time,” said Wilde at the finish.
“We talked with the team and I just had to do what I don’t do. I was an absolute pussy out there and I actually hated the racing as it’s not me, but the team needed the big points and it was a hot day. I was scared coming into today because of how Paris went in the heat.”
Wilde's main rival of late, Yee finished surprisingly in eighth place.
It was part of supertri’s Michigan bow, with the race now part of the Chicago Triathlon, the largest urban triathlon in the US and one that’s been running for over four decades.
Huge crowds and the backdrop of Chicago’s skyscrapers greeted athletes on the supertri format, formerly known as the Enduro,