Matt Hauser went into Saturday afternoon’s WTCS Hamburg at the top of the rankings and every bit the man to beat. As it happened, nobody could hold a torch to the Australian as he detonated a now-trademark surge some 800m out to pull away from Vasco Vilaça (POR) and take the tape for the second consecutive year.
Behind them in third, Alessio Crociani of Italy pulled out an almighty display to take the bronze, having led the swim and as one of those to drive the pack on the bike before the run of his career so far.
‘There was nothing bad on the race today, said Hauser. ‘The weather brought the harsh conditions and the boys brought their strength. I managed to hold off Vasco, who had a really strong run. I just thought let’s play as if this was a time trial and never look back and it ended up paying off for me, so I’m happy. In the first lap I tried to push as hard as possible and on the second, when I saw that it was only Vasco, in the last turnaround I used my long legs and the afterburners and when I looked back in the blue carpet I just saw that I had a bit of a buffer and I could celebrate properly. Kudos to him and also to Crociani for his first WTCS podium.’
The yellow caps of the top 10 athletes all took to the right of the pontoon for the quickest line to the first buoy, but it was the lower-ranked Alessio Crociani on his first Series start since Hamburg 2024 who was carving his way through clear water up ahead.
There was no surprise to see Hauser right up there with him, Alghero winner Miguel Hidalgo also putting together a great swim, Chase McQueen (USA), Max Stapley (GBR) and Vasco Vilaça (POR) just 6 seconds back.
But then it was all change as home-fan favourite Henry Graf, 12th out of the water, stormed transition, boosted his way to the front and soared away to get the crowd on their feet with a 7-second lead all to himself after the first lap of six.
France’s Tom Richard came down on lap two as the slick conditions took their toll, up ahead Hungarian duo Csongor Lehmann and Mark Devay powering on the chasers with Matt Hauser (AUS) and Darr Smith (USA).
Tjebbe Kaindl (AUT) was first to join on the leaders, but as the Kenji Nener (JPN) and Ben Dijkstra (GBR)-led chasers appeared to pull ever closer on laps three and four, suddenly the lead went out again on lap six. Even as Henry Graf came off after pushing just too hard on a slick corner, the gap shot up to 30 seconds with Graf still there as the 11 leaders flew into T2.
Out of transition it was Hauser looking fluid, Hidalgo likewise as they were first out onto the 2-lap 5km run. Suddenly it was Hauser and Vilaça searing clear and set in for a battle just as they did last year.
Crociani and Graf were doing best at holding the pace as the rest of the lead pack were shelled, David Cantero (ESP), Adrien Briffod (SUI) and Ricardo Batista (POR) the next closest, but there was to be no matching the firepower up front.
A decisive surge 800m out from Hauser finally broke Vilaça, Hauser’s 13m50s 5km run helping him to another 1,000 points towards his mission to become men’s world champion on home turf in Wollongong in October.
Vilaça’s fourth Hamburg silver sees him hold firm in third, Crociani with an outstanding first Series bronze. Hidalgo crossed in fourth to hang tough in third in the rankings, Graf crossing with a brilliant, hard-earned fifth place.
Tiszaujvaros World Cup winner a week ago, Csongor Lehmann continued his strong form with sixth, Max Stapley, David Cantero, Ricardo Batista and Adrien Briffod rounding out the top 10.
‘I am just really happy to be back in the podium, getting back some confidence, especially after Alghero,’ said Vasco Vilaça. ‘I had a good block of training, I was doing the opposite than in Yokohama, sitting back, but he is running so fast. I was feeling good beside him, but he was just too fast. I thought that after the U-turn I was going to go for it and sprint him, but I couldn’t. He really surprised me with another really strong kick, but so happy for him. I’m still looking for my first win.’
“I didn’t know what to expect of this race because this is my first Series after the Olympics last summer,’ said Alessio Crociani. ‘I decided to do some long-distance races, but Hamburg is a very spacial race and I really like it. I was very confident on my preparation, and I was feeling great today. The Italian team is working very hard and we will be back very soon.’