With two races remaining in the WTCS schedule, the race is on for the 2022 world championship. Racing returns to Bermuda after the 2021 race was cancelled due to concerns around covid. This race will play a crucial role in deciding who wins the world title. If an athlete who is chasing the #1 spot falters in Bermuda then the title could be all but clinched before we get to Abu Dhabi.

The race for the World Title

Athletes compete over the World Triathlon Championship Series to win individual races and accumulate ranking points for the world title. They are ranked on their top 4 performances across the year, plus any points from the championship race in Abu Dhabi. The winner of each WTCS race is awarded 1000 points and they are reduced by 7.5% for each position after. The points for the championship race are increased to 1250 for the winner. It is important to remember that the championship points are on top of the best 4 results from the year. This means a poor result in Abu Dhabi by one of the title chasing athletes could have a significant impact.

Taylor-Brown too far ahead for Duffy to catch?

With two races to go, the women’s title looks like it is between Georgia Taylor-Brown and Flora Duffy. Taylor-Brown is in pole position with a near perfect ranking of 3925, the only blemish on her record is the 2nd place to Cassandre Beaugrand in Leeds. Duffy will need a strong performance in Bermuda to close the gap and pile on the pressure heading to Abu Dhabi. Will she have enough in the tank after racing the Ironman 70.3 World Championships?

Taylor Knibb returned to WTCS racing in Cagliari after being out with a running injury and not racing since May. She has three races to her name and we could see her climb into the top 5 with a good result in Bermuda. She is unlikely to challenge for the world title but could be in a battle for third. She is another athlete who raced at the Ironman 70.3 world champs so it may be too much to ask for a podium in Bermuda.

Yee in hot pursuit of Wilde

The men’s title also looks to be between two athletes, Hayden Wilde and Alex Yee. But with Yee missing much of the season due to injury he needs a strong result in Bermuda to get on a level pegging with Wilde before the championship final. As Wilde has decided not to race in Bermuda, Yee needs to finish in the top 4 in Bermuda to keep his fait in his own hands in Abu Dhabi. A top 4 finish will mean that, as long as he is in the top five in Abu Dhabi, if he finishes ahead of Wilde then he will take the title. If his finishes higher than 4th in Bermuda then his odds of taking the overall title will increase further.

The Course

The swim is a two lap course with an Australian exit after the first lap. The first lap covers 700m and the second lap covers 800m, the athletes will turn left on the second lap to exit the water near Queen Street.

The bike course is 8 laps of 5k. It is a mixture of fast flat sections, technical turns and short sharp climbs. Each lap the athletes climb up the newly named Flora Duffy Hill. Total elevation across the 40k is 384m. The only other climb is near the end of the lap when the athletes turn up Bermudian Road. The climbs should break up the group and give the opportunity for some athletes to breakaway. The course should benefit the strong riders as it will be harder for athletes to sit in the whole way round.

The run course is 4 laps of 2.5k across mainly flat roads. There is one small climb near the finish as the athletes run up Burnaby Street before two lefts turns and descending Queen Street to the finish.

Men’s Preview – Yee vs the field

Before we discuss the contenders for the race it’s worth mentioning who isn’t racing. As already mentioned, Hayden Wilde (#1) is not racing. French trio Léo Bergere (#2), Pierre Le Corre (#5) and Dorian Connix (#21) have decided to save themselves for Abu Dhabi. Similarly Matt Hauser (#10) and Jonathan Brownlee (#40) are skipping Bermuda after the gruelling Super League schedule.

Alex Yee is the firm favourite heading into Bermuda, especially with the names that aren’t racing. He broke away on the run in Cagliari and was able to fight through cramps to take the win. He has won every individual race he has finished this year. If he is in touch coming off the bike then he should be able to run through to take the win.

Yee will be up against training partners Vincent Luis and Jelle Geens. Luis is returning to racing after suffering an injury that has kept him sidelined since July. Geens had a disappointing results in Cagliari and will be hoping that his training block at altitude with Luis will provide a better result in Bermuda. Luis will be at the front of the race from the gun, expect to see him leading the swim along with Mark Devay and Jamie Riddle.

Bermuda will see the return to WTCS racing for the Norwegian duo of Gustav Iden and Kristian Blummenfelt. The pair have dominated long course racing since they stepped up post Olympics. This race may come too soon after the two world championship races in October, so expect to see stronger performances in Abu Dhabi. It will be interesting to see if Blummenfelt can reassert himself on the bike, the likelihood is the pair will be further back than usual after the swim.

Mario Mola DNF’d in Cagliari so will be hoping for a better performance this weekend. The veteran was narrowly beaten by Yee at the French Grand Prix, will he be able to run him down this time round?

Lasse Lurhs has has two top 4 performances in his last three races. Expect to see him battling it out for another top 5 finish. With many big names not racing this is another great opportunity to accumulate points.

Predictions
I expected to see Alex Yee break away again in Bermuda. This race doesn’t have as much fire power as Cagliari but if Vincent Luis is back in form in his first race back then it could be closer than I expect.
1. Alex Yee
2. Vincent Luis
3. Lasse Luhrs
4. Jelle Geens
5. Kristian Blummenfelt

Women’s Preview – Can anyone spoil Duffy’s homecoming?

Flora Duffy will be racing on home soil for the first time since winning the Olympics in 2021. However she is coming off the Ironman 70.3 World Championships so will be carrying fatigue into the race.

Only two of the top 10 ranked athletes are not racing in Bermuda. Georgia Taylor-Brown has decided not to race as she already has 4 strong performances ranking her #1. Cassandre Beaugrand has also decided to focus on Abu Dhabi, will she lose places in the rankings because of this? The other notable absence is Emma Lombardi (#11), she had a great performance in Cagliari and looks like she has a bright future ahead.

Duffy will be up against Beth Potter, Taylor Spivey and Sophie Coldwell. They are all coming off an intense period of racing and travel as they competed in the Super League series. They all had strong performances across the series and will all pose a threat to Duffy.

Taylor Spivey shone in Super League and was the deserved runner up in the series. She raced at Cagliari and didn’t quite have the run speed over the 10k distance. Similar story for Sophie Coldwell, she was able to hang with Knibb and Taylor-Brown on the bike but faded on the run. This pair will be at the front of the race from the start and expect to see them joined by Summer Rappaport and Vittoria Lopes coming into T1.

Beth Potter has had a strong season, sitting #4 in the rankings. She had a hit and miss time in Super League but made the podium in the final race. She will always be a threat on the run but the question is if she can keep in touch on the bike. This task got a lot harder with the return of Taylor Knibb.

Taylor Knibb will be aiming to top Duffy in back to back races after taking the Ironman 70.3 world title in St George. She swam with the front pack and dominated on the bike to take the win. She has had more time running since the WTCS race in Cagliari so could be set for another podium if she can manage the fatigue from St George. She will look to push the bike again and assert her strength.

Predictions
With all the contenders battling fatigue it could be a war of attrition on the run. It will be interesting to see how the different athletes perform stepping down to the Olympic distance from 70.3, or up to the distance from Super League.
1. Taylor Knibb
2. Flora Duffy
3. Beth Potter
4. Taylor Spivey
5. Sophie Coldwell