Orian Coninx wins the 2026 WTCS Karlovy Vary after halting Alex Yee's comeback
Dorian Coninx won the 2026 WTCS Karlovy Vary in 1:50:50 after being part of the decisive breakaway on the bike and withstanding Alex Yee's late comeback. Tjebbe Kaindl completed the podium, and Antonio Serrat was the best Spaniard, finishing 16th.
The men's race on Sunday, September 13, closed the regular season of the World Triathlon Championship Series before the Grand Final in Pontevedra, on a day marked by rain, wet asphalt and several falls.
Coninx won by ten seconds over Alex Yee , second in 1:51:00, while Tjebbe Kaindl finished third 17 seconds behind and achieved the first Austrian podium in history in a WTCS event.
Coninx and Bergere break away from the bike race
The swimming began with Chase McQueen and Miguel Tiago Silva among the top positions, while Alex Yee and Miguel Hidalgo lost ground in the 1.500 meters.
Alessio Crociani was the first out of the water, with Dorian Coninx and Vetle Bergsvik Thorn close behind. Once on the bike, Coninx quickly took the lead, followed by Jules Rethoret, Márk Dévay, and McQueen.
The rain turned the 40-kilometer cycling leg into one of the key moments of the race. The urban circuit included seven laps and a climb with gradients of up to 20%, as well as particularly treacherous asphalt.
Léo Bergere attacked on the climb during the second lap, and only Coninx was initially able to respond . Márk Dévay joined shortly after, and Tjebbe Kaindl eventually closed the gap to form a powerful leading group of four.
Behind them, there was no coordinated response. Panagiotis Bitados tried to link up on his own, while the group of Miguel Hidalgo and Ricardo Batista lost ground, and Alex Yee's group managed to get more than two minutes behind the leaders.
Kaindl attacks before T2
In the second half of the cycling leg, the four leading men continued to increase their advantage. Kaindl used the final lap to attack and reached the second transition with a lead of around 12 seconds over Coninx, Bergere, and Dévay.
The Austrian had also completed one of the best cycling splits of the day, with 1:01:55.
Kaindl managed to maintain the lead during the first 2,5 kilometers of the running race, while Bergere and Dévay began to lose contact.
Coninx takes the lead and Yee launches the comeback
Coninx caught up with Kaindl during the second of the four laps of the race and took the lead.
Behind them, Alex Yee began a remarkable comeback. The Briton had started the final 10 kilometers approximately 2:10 behind the leader and made up around 40 seconds during the first lap alone.
Yee ended up posting the best running split with 29:16 , but the initial effort caused his progress to lose speed during the second half of the segment.
With about 1.500 meters to go, Coninx still held a lead of around half a minute. Yee managed to overtake Kaindl and move into second place, but the Frenchman maintained a sufficient margin to cross the finish line first in 1:50:50.
Yee finished ten seconds behind and secured his first WTCS podium since 2024, while Kaindl secured a historic third place for Austria with 1:51:07.
Ricardo Batista also staged a remarkable comeback , running in 29:36 to finish fourth, ahead of Tim Hellwig and Márk Dévay.
Coninx's second WTCS victory in 2026
The victory in Karlovy Vary is the second of the season for Dorian Coninx, who had already won the WTCS Quiberon 2026.
The result also allows the 2023 world champion to advance to fourth position in the WTCS ranking before the Grand Final.
Antonio Serrat, best Spaniard
Antonio Serrat Seoane finished in 16th position with a time of 1:52:44 , 1:54 behind the winner.
The Galician swam in 16:52, completed the cycling segment in 1:04:03 and closed the race with a running split of 30:57.
Pelayo González Turrez finished in 33rd place with a time of 1:59:55 . His splits were 16:29 in swimming, 1:07:35 in cycling, and 34:57 in running.
The worst news for the Spanish team was the withdrawal of David Cantero . The Valencian rider, who arrived in Karlovy Vary after his second-place finish in Weihai, suffered a crash during the cycling segment and was unable to continue.
WTCS Karlovy Vary 2026 Men's Top 10
| Pos | Triathlete | Country | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dorian Coninx | From | 1:50:50 |
| 2 | Alex Yee | GBR | 1:51:00 |
| 3 | Tjebbe Kaindl | TUE | 1:51:07 |
| 4 | Ricardo Batista | POR | 1:51:18 |
| 5 | Tim hellwig | GER | 1:51:47 |
| 6 | Márk Dévay | HUN | 1:51:55 |
| 7 | martin sobey | CAN | 1:51:56 |
| 8 | mitch kolkman | NED | 1:51:58 |
| 9 | Yanis Seguín | From | 1:52:03 |
| 10 | John Reed | USA | 1:52:12 |
The full standings for the WTCS Karlovy Vary 2026 can be found in our results news.
Pontevedra will decide the World Cup
Karlovy Vary has concluded the WTCS regular season. The next event will be the Grand Final in Pontevedra, from September 23 to 27 , where the 2026 world titles will be decided.
Coninx will arrive in Galicia strengthened by his second victory of the season, while Yee returns to the podium of the World Series and Kaindl signs the best WTCS result of his career in the Czech Republic.
This content has been created with the support of AI tools and reviewed by the Triathlon News editorial team.
