How to watch the World Triathlon Championship Series Grand Final
The 2024 WTCS culminates in Torremolinos, Spain, on 17-20 October. Here’s everything you need to know to catch all the action…
We’re almost at the end of another scintillating World Triathlon Championship Series, with just the Grand Final, on a new course, to go.
Can Alex Yee finally add that missing title to his ever-expanding trophy tally? And will fellow Paris champion Cassandre Beaugrand become only the second woman in World Triathlon history to take the title in the same year as winning Olympic gold?
Here we take a look at what’s happened so far in the series, how to watch all the action at the final race of the season, and look at who could win those all-important world crowns.
What’s happened in the 2024 series to date?
Abu Dhabi was set to kick the season off on 8-9 March 2024, but unfortunately the event had to be cancelled. Yokohama instead started the racing in May, and saw first-time wins in both events – Morgan Pearson for the men and Léonie Periault for the women.
Next up was Cagliari at the end of June, where several federations made their final team selections for the Paris Olympic Games. Alex Yee set his stall out with a convincing win over Hayden Wilde, while home favourite Cassandre Beaugrand took her first Olympic-distance win when it mattered.
In the final race before Paris in Hamburg, Germany, it was a repeat podium from Cagliari in the women’s race as Beaugrand once again got the better of Beth Potter. Matt Hauser, meanwhile, chalked up his second WTCS victory.
The penultimate race of the season saw dominant displays from both Yee in the men’s event and Lisa Tertsch in the women’s, the latter also marking the young German’s first-ever WTCS victory.
What happened in the 2023 WTCS?
The first round in Abu Dhabi on 3 March saw double GB gold, as Beth Potter notched up her first-ever WTCS win and Alex Yee put in a masterclass performance to take his fifth WTCS victory.
The second-round spoils in Yokohama went to Potter’s teammate Sophie Coldwell – her first WTCS victory – and NZ’s Hayden Wilde.
The third round in Cagliari, Sardinia, was yet another Brit double as Georgia Taylor Brown rediscovered that world-beating form to take her first win of the season and Yee once again got the better of the field to make it two wins from two race starts.
Montreal hosted the fourth round where Potter reigned supreme yet again. In a slightly depleted men’s field, Aussie Matt Hauser took his first-ever WTCS win.
Round five took place in a familiar venue but with an entirely new format for the German city of Hamburg – the eliminator, which has so far only been contested in Montreal. The race also acted as the first-ever World Super Sprint Champs.
Taking the top honours were Hayden Wilde and Cassandre Beaugrand, for their second and first wins of the season, respectively.
The penultimate race took place in Sunderland, UK, for what could be the last WTCS outing for some time on UK shores.
But back on the race course it was a French sweep as Pierre Le Corre beat teammate Leo Bergere in a sprint to take his first WTCS win; Cassandre Beaugrand made it two in a row; and Team France outshone the field to win the Mixed Team Relay.
Pontevedra, Spain, hosted the Grand Final, with Alex Yee leading the rankings and poised to become the first British world champion since Jonny Brownlee back in 2012. However, a terrible swim for the Brit saw him eventually finish in 29th place and fifth in the overall standings.
Taking the spoils was Dorian Coninx, a surprise victory for the Frenchmen who had been in fifth place heading into the Final.
For the women, Beth Potter started as No.1 and finished No.1, leading from almost start to finish to take her first world title.
When and where is the next WTCS taking place?
The fifth and final round of the 2024 WTCS takes place in Torremolinos, Spain, from Thursday 17 October. It’s a first-time WTCS visit to the popular Spanish tourist trap.
Which events are taking place in Torremolinos?
Torremolinos will be hosting the World Age-Group, Junior, U23 and Paratriathlon Championships, as well as the final elite men’s and women’s Olympic-distance WTCS races.
Which athletes are racing in Torremolinos?
As it’s the final one of the season, the answer is easy – all of the World Triathlon Series athletes will be in attendance as both elite world titles are still very much up for grabs.
To see the full start lists head here.
Who can win the men’s world title in Torremolinos?
Over to World Triathlon to explain this head-scrambler…
Each athlete’s three best scores across WTCS events, the Paris Olympic Games and the Continental Championships are aggregated to give their current total. Having been worth up to 1,000 points, Weihai was among the most important races of the season so far.
A win at the WTCS Final, though, will be worth 1,250 points, creating space for even more changes to come.
Unbeaten in the Series this year and the men’s individual Olympic champion, Alex Yee’s run has proved a weapon too great for any of his rivals to match this year. In Weihai, he produced perhaps the most complete performance of his career to continue his perfect 2024 record.
With three wins and the maximum available 3,000 points to his name, he has soared to the top of the men’s standings with no one else in sight. Of course, everything could go wrong for him at the Series Final and he will need to look no further than the 2023 Final in Pontevedra for a cautionary tale.
A silver medal for Léo Bergere in Weihai has similarly guided him up the rankings. The Frenchman stood fifth in the rankings prior to the race, two places behind Yee, and has now moved up to second overall.
However, his 2,572.08 points put him quite a way back of Yee and his focus at the WTCS Final may be on defending his newly-acquired position.
The great rivalry between Yee and Hayden Wilde never really got going in Weihai as the latter spent much of the bike in the chase pack and slumped to seventh place. His result stands as his third score of the season, after two silver medals, and leaves him on 2,476.40 points. Wilde therfore has Bergere within his sights.
WTCS Weihai was also not the day Matt Hauser would have envisioned. Having entered the race as the Series leader, the Australian could only muster 19th place. He therefore failed to improve upon his tally of 2,301.40 points and dropped to fourth overall.
If the title does go home with the Brit at the Grand Final, he will become only the second man in tri history to win both the Olympic and the World Triathlon title in the same year [Kristian Blummenfelt was the first].
Who can win the women’s world title in Torremolinos?
Again, over to World Triathlon…
The women’s race at WTCS Weihai could hardly have balanced the season climax up any more deliciously. A first-ever WTCS win for Lisa Tertsch was exactly the result she needed to go alongside her silver medals in Cagliari and Hamburg.
At the same time, Beth Potter claimed the silver medal after having already won three bronze medals. Tertsch and Potter have therefore scythed across the gap to the Series leader, Cassandre Beaugrand, and passed Emma Lombardi for good measure.
Beaugrand’s total of 2,750 points from her wins in Cagliari, Hamburg and Paris mark her out as the clear leader. Note, Hamburg was a sprint so was worth 750 points for a win. While Beaugrand has enjoyed the same unbeaten campaign as Yee, then, she has not maximised her possible points.
Potter now hovers behind her with 2,636.26 points while Tertsch’s number stands at 2,618.75 in third. Although beating Beaugrand has seemed close to impossible at the biggest events of 2024, Potter and Tertsch have given themselves every chance of denying the French athlete the Series crown.
Having opted against racing in Weihai, Lombardi has slipped to fourth overall. A third in Yokohama and fourth in both Cagliari and Paris have earned her 2,438.53 points. Considering the gap to the three women ahead and that each have won three medals this year, Lombardi faces a tall task to match the overall podium finish she achieved in the 2023 season.
Meanwhile, a third-place finish for Georgia Taylor-Brown in Weihai has moved her up to fifth overall with 2,210.01 points. Hers was a first medal in the Series since Cagliari in May 2023.
Like Lombardi, Taylor-Brown faces a challenge to rise onto the overall podium, but it’s by no means impossible, especially if she recaptures the form that took her to the 2020 world title, Olympic silver in Tokyo, and silver at the 2022 WTCS Final.
The 2024 WTCS Torremolinos Junior, U23 and Elite course
The elite and U23 races are Olympic distance, and start with a two-lap 1.5km swim off Los Alamos Beach into the Mediterranean.
The eight-lap 40km bike is mostly flat with a 25m incline on every lap.
The completely flat, four-lap 10km run travels along the sea front and back.
The junior event is half the above
For course maps of each discipline, head here.
The 2024 WTCS Torremolinos Paratriathlon course
How can I watch the 2024 WTCS Torremolinos race?
You can watch all races live on TriathlonLive.tv, while UK audiences can also stream live coverage via BBC Sport, the BBC Sport app and the BBC Red Button.
When do the 2024 WTCS Torremolinos events start*?
*All times are local (CEST), which is 1hr ahead of the UK (BST).
Thursday 17 October
9am – 2024 World Triathlon U23 Women’s Championships
12pm – 2024 World Triathlon U23 Men’s Championships
Friday 18 October
10am – 2024 World Triathlon Paratriathlon Championships
3:15pm – 2024 World Triathlon Junior Women’s Championships
5:15pm – 2024 World Triathlon Junior Men’s Championships
Saturday 19 October
3:35pm – 2024 World Triathlon Elite Women’s Championships Finals
Sunday 20 October
9am – 2024 World Triathlon Junior/U23 Mixed Relay World Championships
11am – 2024 World Triathlon Paratriathlon Mixed Relay World Championships
5pm – 2024 World Triathlon Elite Men’s Championships Finals
2024 World Triathlon Championship Series
The 2024 series will have visited five different locations during the season, culminating at the Grand Final in Torremolinos-Andalucia, Spain, in October.
WTCS 2024 overview
- 8-9 March: WTCS Abu Dhabi, UAE (sprint and mixed relay) – CANCELLED
- 11 May: WTCS Yokohama Japan (Olympic)
- 25-26 May: WTCS Cagliari, Italy (Olympic)
- 13-14 July: WTCS Hamburg, Germany (sprint and mixed relay)
- 27 September: WTCS Weihai, China (Olympic)
- 17-20 October: World Triathlon Grand Final Torremolinos-Andalucia, Spain (standard)
Paris 2024 Olympic Games
- 30, 31 July & 5 August: Paris, France (standard & mixed relay)
Paratriathlon
- 8 March: Para Cup Abu Dhabi, UAE
- 16-17 March: WTPS Devonport, Australia
- 13 May: WTPS Yokohama, Japan
- 18-19 May: Para Cup Samarkand, Uzbekistan
- 15-16 June: Para Cup Besançon, France
- 22-23 June: WTPS Swansea, Wales
- 29-30 June: WTPS Montreal, Canada
- 20-21 July: Para Cup Long Beach, USA
- 1-2 September: Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, France
- 17-20 October: World Triathlon Para Championships Malaga, Spain
Liz Barrett
220 Deputy Editor 
