Bogen backs up bold  ‘Stop Hayden’ war cry but Wilde pleased with illness impacted podium at T100 San Fran

🦠 It took a sick Hayden Wilde to stop Hayden Wilde.

Asked his tactics before T100 San Francisco, Rico Bogen was blunt. “Stop Hayden. I think if you want to win, you have to stop Hayden.”

To his credit, the German went out on Saturday and backed it up. But in fairness to the defending champion, Wilde dived off the San Francisco Spirit in the grip of an illness that had already cost him a return to WTCS racing at Alghero the previous weekend.

Third place, 3:49 behind Bogen’s winning 3:17:25, is Wilde’s worst result in the T100 the past two seasons save for that 8th in Dubai last November, an anomaly born of a lap-counting fiasco and long since filed away. In the context of what Wilde was dealing with this week, Saturday’s podium finish was something closer to damage limitation done well.

The Whakatāne 28-year-old was measured and typically honest afterwards.

“It was a tough day out there, just battling all day,” he said.

“To be fair, full respect to Rico, I think even on a good day, it would have been damn hard to beat him today. He was pushing it up there in the front and there was not much I could do out there. The only thing I could really do was just be smart and just get as super aero as possible because I just wasn’t pushing the power I wanted to. I turned around and had a good run.”

On the illness that changed the complexion of his week: “It’s frustrating because I was in great form getting into the last two weekend races. It is what it is and it’s just how you bounce back and get into it.”

And on simply getting himself to the start line and defending his series position: “I wanted to come respect the race, and I know that if I didn’t turn up, it was going to be hard to defend the title. So honestly, I’m actually pretty happy with the podium. I wasn’t expecting too much today and it puts me in a good position here to get to the Qatar final, and I can’t complain about that.”

That last line is the key one. The Race to Qatar standings confirm Wilde remains comfortably in front — 61 points to Jake Birtwhistle’s 36 and Bogen’s 35 after two rounds. Three regular season races remain: the Ekoï French Riviera T100 on September 19, Saudi Arabia in November (TBC), and the Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final in Doha on December 11. Athletes count their best three regular season finishes plus the final, meaning Wilde holds meaningful breathing room. His San Francisco 26-point haul — which earned him USD$30,000 ($NZ51,756) from the $275,000 prize purse — is safely banked.

For Bogen, who skipped Singapore and arrived in San Francisco with a point to prove, it was a masterclass. He demolished the field on the six-lap bike course, building a 2:33 gap to compatriot Lasse Nygaard Priester – a T100 debutant who’d been sidelined with a heart issue — at T2, and then held on despite Priester whittling away on the run. A 30-second equipment-outside-the-box penalty for Priester in T2 ultimately made the difference, the German crossing 1:06 back in 3:18:30 for a memorable debut second place. Bogen’s back-to-back San Francisco win moves him to third in the standings.

Wilde is next scheduled to race at WTCS Quiberon on June 20-21, a sprint distance event that also doubles as the first Mixed Team Relay in the LA 2028 Olympics qualification window.

2026 SOKIN T100 SAN FRANCISCO — MEN’S RESULTS

T100 RACE TO QATAR STANDINGS (after Round 2)

Remaining rounds: Ekoï French Riviera T100, September 19; Saudi Arabia, November TBC; Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final, Doha, December 11. Athletes count best three regular season results plus the final.