Vasco Vilaça edges a supertri classic in Toulouse
Team Stars & Stripes Vasco Vilaça has today scored victory in an instant supertri classic in Toulouse, France. The Portuguese surged to the front on the final run leg of the day to edge his Stars & Stripes’ teammate Tim Hellwig to a breakthrough win, with Crown Racing’s series leader Hayden Wilde finishing third.
The nine-discipline triathlon saw six racers – Vilaça, Hellwig, Wilde, Léo Bergere, Kenji Nener and Vincent Luis – battling at the front of the field for much of the race’s duration. That six would enter the final leg of the day all still in contention for the overall victory in front of huge crowds in the French city.
After victories at the last two 2024 supertri series races in Chicago and London, Crown Racing’s Wilde was strong favourite for another win, but Vilaça and Hellwig wouldn’t back down, breaking the New Zealander with metres to go to record an unforgettable day for their Stars & Stripes squad.
The 24-year-old Vilaça was ecstatic with his debut supertri victory. “I’m just so happy. Finishing next to Tim, who did an amazing run of that last leg, so we could finish side-by-side to bring the points home for Stars & Stripes, means I’m over the moon with this result. I really struggled on the first swim because of the cold. But, from then on, I just gave it everything I had to get to the front. I’m happy to show what I’ve been working for today.”
After crowd-friendly spectacles in 2022 and 2023, Supertri returned to Toulouse in southern France for the fourth and penultimate event on the 2024 Championship Series. The course, arguably supertri’s toughest circuit, witnessed a rare river swim in the choppy, chilly waters of the Garonne, before narrow and twisting city centre bike and run courses continued to challenge the skills and stamina of the supertri triathletes.
The race would see Stage 1 and 2 hosting a 300m swim, 4km bike and 1km run, before a final stage of 300m swim, 4km bike and a 2km final run.
The big news ahead of the race was Alex Yee’s absence due to jury service in the UK, with the Olympic champ unable to add points to his sixth-placed total. Into Yee’s carbon-soled shoes came fellow Brit Jack Willis for the Brownlee Racing squad, with Jonny Brownlee also made a return to supertri racing.
STAGE BREAKDOWN
STAGE 1
The day’s first 300m swim at Port de la Daurade began in the waters of the Garonne river, with the majority wearing wetsuits in a bid to beat the cold and add some neoprene-propelled swim speed (the downside would be a slower transition speed). Chase McQueen was first out of the water and first to cross the mounting line after T1 to scoop a Short Chute for the Stars and Stripes, narrowly ahead of Brownlee Racing’s Jack Willis and Vincent Luis of Crown Racing.
Onto the twisty 4km bike course and a pack of 10 would form at the front by the halfway mark, including series’ leader Hayden Wilde of Crown Racing, with Jonny Brownlee 13secs back on his return to the series. Léo Bergere, first in Toulouse in 2023, was first into transition, and onto the run leg to score Podium Racing a Short Chute.
The 1km run, as has become customary during this 2024 season, saw Wilde take control at the front to snatch a Short Chute for Crown Racing ahead of Stage 2.
STAGE 2
The 300m swim in the chilly 16°C waters saw supertri veteran Luis on home soil and Podium Racing’s Kenji Nener establish a lead at the front and exit the river together.
That pair would take the race to the chasers on the 4km bike leg, establishing a nine-second lead over Wilde and the huge chase pack. The frenetic pace would see that chase pack separate in pursuit of the leaders, but the lead would remain at around 8secs at the halfway mark. The chase pack would consist of Wilde, Bergere and the Stars and Stripes’ pair of Vasco Vilaça and Tim Hellwig, and the gap would be reduced to just 4secs after T2.
Onto the second 1km run and Nener was out first, with Luis and Wilde in close pursuit. Nener was running in his swim cap, while Wilde was donning goggles, and the pair would be level alongside Luis going into Stage 3.
STAGE 3
Just seven seconds separated the six leaders at the start of the final 300m swim of the day, with Luis, Nener and Vilaça creating a mini break at the front some four seconds ahead of Wilde, Bergere and Hellwig. Further back, meanwhile, Jonny Brownlee would be handed a five-second penalty for a transition mishap to further make it a race-to-forget for the Brownlee Racing men’s team.
The final 4km bike of the day saw Luis, Nener and Vilaça holding their lead until the third lap, with the group of six now reunited. Vilaça, Wilde and Bergere would occupy the Short Chutes going into the final run leg, however. Two seconds would separate the six going into T2, with Matt Hauser and the chasers some 20secs back.
The 1km run would begin with Vilaça and Wilde the first to cross the T2 mat. Wilde, with time to adjust his hat and sunglasses, was quick to the fore, but Vilaça and the chasers stayed within his shadow. The Short Chutes didn’t create a major gap between the leaders, but Luis was the first to drop off the back.
Wilde upped the pace further after but the bell but he was unable to shake-off Hellwig and Vilaça, and the trio would continue to lock horns during the final 1km. Wilde couldn’t break the Stars and Stripes’ racers, and Vilaça would take the lead after his second Short Chute to edge ahead of Hellwig and would maintain his slight advantage to the finish line for one of supertri’s greatest-ever finishes.
Hellwig would finish second on the same time as Vilaça, with Wilde three seconds back in the unfamiliar position of third. Bergere, Nener and Luis would round-out the top six.
