This weekend the French city of Toulouse hosted the fourth and penultimate race of the Super League Triathlon Series (SLT), which saw competitors take on the Triple Mix format over a series of three stages.
Taking place over the cobbled streets of Toulouse for the first time, the race favoured the technically-skilled, being packed with narrow roads, tight corners and sharp ascents.
American star Taylor Spivey arrived hoping to duplicate her success on home soil in Malibu just two weeks ago, which saw SLT rival Georgia Taylor-Brown take a tumble on the bike leg.
Meanwhile, men's series star Hayden Wilde would have been keen to retain his winning streak from Malibu and London against fierce competition from French hopeful Dorian Coninx and Munich winner Matt Hauser.
Who won the men's race at Super League Toulouse?
Establishing his strength from the get-go, Wilde reinforced his substantial series lead on the competition as he took the win ahead of Coninx and Japan's Kenji Nener.
Hauser managed to hold on to fourth place after an unfortunate race which saw him get caught up in a crash on the bike leg and having to serve a five-second penalty for not putting his trainers in his transition box.
Wilde admits it was a tough race: “I had some good swims today and waited for the last round to put my head down and go for it on the bike. That gave me a good buffer and it was great to run away with it."
Wilde's success in Toulouse sees him establish his leading position in the overall standings ahead of the Grande Finale at the end of the month in Neom. The Kiwi now boasts a series total of 58 points – that's a huge 17 ahead of Hauser in second position.
Who won the women's race at Super League Toulouse?
Taylor-Brown came out on top for both stage one and three of Super League's Triple Mix format race on Sunday, tallying up a winning total of 15 points, ahead of previous stage winner Spivey and teammate Sophie Coldwell.
The Olympic silver medallist admitted: "It hurt a lot today and I really wasn't sure what my body would do... I'm so happy with this performance."
This brings the SLT grand points total for Taylor and Spivey to 56 each, as they go into the fifth and final race neck and neck in line for the overall win. Meanwhile in overall third place is Coldwell with a total of 39 points for the series, while fellow Brit Beth Potter sits close behind with 36 points.
What format did they race in Toulouse?
The Triple Mix involves three stages with three disciplines in each, the order of which is changed each time to keep athletes and spectators on their toes.
This year saw stage one kick off in the Garonne River with the traditional order of swim, bike, run.
After a two-minute rest, the second stage commenced with athletes setting off up a sharp incline from the riverbank for an initial run leg, followed by bike and swim.
Finally, a four-minute breather was followed by the final pursuit-style race, starting with a bike leg, a swim and then the final fast run to the finish line.
When's the next Super League Triathlon event?
The next and race and Grand Finale is in Neom, Saudi Arabia, on 29 October.
Top image credit: Darren Wheeler - That Cameraman/Super League Triathlon
