WTCS Weihai 2026: Hauser and Beaugrand, for the lead
Five Spaniards will compete in the Chinese event.
The WTCS Weihai 2026 will be held on August 29 over a standard distance, with Matthew Hauser and Cassandre Beaugrand as favorites and five Spaniards on the starting lists.
The Chinese event will bring together 55 men and 55 women in the penultimate round of the World Triathlon Series regular season, before Karlovy Vary and the Grand Final in Pontevedra.
The World Triathlon Championship Series is the circuit that decides the short-distance triathlon world titles each season through a points-based ranking. At this stage of the season, any result can change the chances of the favorites reaching the Final.
Matthew Hauser may leave Weihai as leader
Matthew Hauser is the clear favorite in the men's race. The reigning world champion has won all three races he has finished in 2026 and is currently third in the rankings with 3.000 points.
The Australian is behind Vasco Vilaça, leader with 3.850 points, and Miguel Hidalgo, second with 3.040,67. Both will be absent in Weihai, so a third place or better result would allow Hauser to surpass the Portuguese driver's current total.
However, the Australian's past performance in this scenario suggests avoiding overly optimistic predictions. Hauser finished 19th in Weihai in 2024, his worst result in the World Series since 2022, and did not participate in the 2025 edition.
Among his main rivals will be Max Studer , last year's winner. The Swiss rider usually resides in China and returns to a race he knows particularly well.
John Reed, third in 2025, will also be competing, along with Csongor Lehmann, who comes fresh off a podium finish in London. Luke Willian, Tyler Mislawchuk, Hugo Milner, and Solomon Okrafo-Smart complete the group of contenders for the top spots.
The race will also mark the return to the World Series of German Lasse Lührs , who missed virtually the entire 2025 season due to injury, and Hungarian Márton Kropkó, absent since he had to abandon the race due to injury in Samarkand.
Four Spaniards in the men's race
Spain will have Alberto González García, David Cantero del Campo, Izan Edo Aguilar and Roberto Sánchez Mantecón in the men's competition.
Alberto González is arriving at the peak of his season. His fifth-place finish at the WTC London allowed him to climb 24 positions and reach eleventh in the rankings with 1.985,64 points.
The driver from Malaga already finished fourth in Weihai in 2024, which was his best result in a WTCS event at the time. Another strong performance could put him in the top 10 before the final stretch of the championship.
David Cantero returns to the World Series at a venue where he will have the opportunity to regain his competitive edge against the elite. The Spaniard already knows what it's like to stand on a WTCS podium and also won the Florianópolis World Cup at the end of 2025.
Izan Edo and Roberto Sánchez Mantecón complete the Spanish team in a race where the difficulty of the course and the standard distance can make a difference from the cycling segment onwards.
Beaugrand needs to complete its fourth result
The women's race will bring together the last three world champions: Beth Potter, Cassandre Beaugrand and Lisa Tertsch.
Potter leads the ranking with 3.641,45 points, just 5,19 more than Tilda Månsson, who will not compete in Weihai. Tertsch is in third place with 3.497,08 points and will have the opportunity to close the gap on the leader.
Cassandre Beaugrand 's situation is different. The Frenchwoman has won her last three appearances —Alghero, Quiberon and London—, but only has three results and is currently sixth with 3.000 points.
Beaugrand needs to score a fourth point before the Grand Final. If the triathletes ahead of her don't improve their times, a sixth-place finish would be enough to provisionally take the lead.
Experience in Weihai works in favor of her two main rivals. Lisa Tertsch won the 2024 edition and Beth Potter triumphed in 2025, while Beaugrand will be competing at this venue for the first time.
Tanja Neubert, who finished third last year, Jeanne Lehair, Kate Waugh, Roksana Slupek, Tilly Anema, and Sian Rainsley are among the top contenders. The list also includes Rio 2016 Olympic champion Gwen Jorgensen.
Sara Guerrero, the only Spanish woman in the women's start
Sara Guerrero Manso will be the only Spanish representative in the women's competition.
The Galician triathlete achieved her first World Cup victory in November 2025, leading the Spanish sweep in Florianópolis . In 2026, she was also part of the team that won the mixed relay at the Chengdu World Cup.
Weihai will offer Guerrero a new opportunity to measure himself against the top players on the circuit and improve his results in the World Series.
Among the potential surprises is China's Anqi Huang . It will be her debut in a WTCS event after winning five of her seven international competitions held since 2024, all of them in China.
Important absences for the ranking
Absences can be as decisive as results. In the men's category, Vasco Vilaça, Miguel Hidalgo, and Ricardo Batista , three of the top five finishers in the championship, will not be competing.
Henry Graf, Dorian Coninx and Charles Paquet will also be absent, and will have to look for the points they still need in Karlovy Vary before the Final.
In the women's race, Tilda Månsson, Leonie Périault, Jolien Vermeylen, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Emma Lombardi, and Taylor Spivey will be absent. Their absence opens the door to significant changes within the top 10.
WTCS Weihai 2026 Schedule
Both races will take place on Saturday, August 29. Weihai is six hours ahead of mainland Spain during summer time.
| Career | Time in Weihai | Time in Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Male Elite | 09:00 | 03:00 |
| Female Elite | 12:00 | 06:00 |
The competition can be followed live and on demand through TriathlonLive , the official platform of World Triathlon.
Following Weihai, the 2026 WTCS calendar will continue on September 13 in Karlovy Vary. The season will conclude with the Finals in Pontevedra, scheduled for September 23-27.
The Chinese race could leave Hauser and Beaugrand at the top of their respective standings, as well as bring Alberto González closer to the top 10 before the last two races of the championship.
This content has been created with the support of AI tools and reviewed by the Triathlon News editorial team.
