With exactly one month to go until the World Triathlon Series Championships Finals descend on the shores of Wollongong, Matt Hauser has finished up the WTCS main tour with a tough battle in the Czech Republic overnight.
Going into the Olympic Distance race as number one overall on the WTCS rankings and sitting on the maximum points after dominating the podium throughout the series, he predicted pre-race the Karlovy Vary course would be brutal and all eyes would be on a breakaway after the swim.
As it turned out it was Germany’s Henry Graf who fired the breakaway gun in the early stages of the bike leg with one of Hauser’s main rivals Miguel Hidalgo battling to chase him down until the finish line.
Coming out of the swim in the lead, Hauser was in the front pack on the bike and run legs just behind the breakaway pair, finishing 60 seconds behind the winner in 8th position.
“I was really tested out there today which I feel was something that I needed ahead of Wollongong.”
“In reflection I’m really proud of my efforts on a course where two years ago, it would’ve been a rough day out for me. I felt like the first half of the race went by in a frantic flash, settled into my rhythm in the main pack and felt good through the first half of the run before some cramps held me in third gear for the rest of the day.”
“Looking forward to flying home now and getting stuck in for the final few weeks prep. It’s always nice getting a good beating to lock back into focus for the finale!”
Emma Jeffcoat unfortunately did not finish the women’s race with an incident on the bike leg ending her race.
As the countdown to the World Triathlon Championship Finals heats up, AusTriathlon will announce its Para and Elite Teams for Wollongong this week.
