How to watch the World Triathlon Championship Series Grand Final Pontevedra
The 2023 WTCS comes to a close at the Grand Final in Pontevedra, Spain, on 23-24 September. Here’s everything you need to know to catch all the action…
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Pontevedra, Spain, is set to host the seventh and final round of the 2023 World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) over the weekend of 23-24 September. Here’s what you need to know…
What’s happened in the 2023 WTCS so far?
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.
WTCS 2022* recap
Hamburg, September 2021
Winners – Laura Lindemann and Tim Hellwig
Abu Dhabi, November 2021
Winners – Jelle Geens and Flora Duffy
Yokohama, May 2022
Winners – Alex Yee and Georgia Taylor-Brown
Leeds, June 2022
Winners – Hayden Wilde and Cassandre Beaugrand
Montreal, June 2022
Winners – Alex Yee and Georgia Taylor-Brown
Hamburg, July 2022
Winners – Flora Duffy and Hayden Wilde
Cagliari, October 2022
Winners – Alex Yee and Georgia Taylor-Brown
Bermuda, November 2022
Winners – Flora Duffy and Vincent Luis
Abu Dhabi Final, November 2022
Winners – Flora Duffy and Leo Bergere
*The 2022 season officially started in Hamburg in September 2021
Which events are taking place in Pontevedra?
As well as age-group world championship races, Pontevedra will be hosting the 2023 World Triathlon Paratriathlon Championships, the 2023 World Triathlon U23 Championships, and the 2023 World Triathlon Elite Championships Finals.
Which athletes are racing in Pontevedra?
Start lists are now live and include, as you’d expect, the very world’s best as they going chasing a world title.
The top-five men currently reads: Alex Yee, Hayden Wilde, Vasco Vilaca, Léo Bergere and Dorian Coninx.
Bergere is the defending men’s champ and could take a second title in Spain – given last year’s shock result, anything could happen!
The top-five women heading into this weekend’s final are: Cassandre Beaugrand, Beth Potter, Emma Lombardi, Taylor Spivey and Summer Rappaport.
Flora Duffy won last year’s title but has been injured for the 2023 season. As is 2022 runner-up Taylor-Brown, so a new women’s champion will be crowned in Spain.
For a more in-depth look at the start lists, check out our guides to who will win the men’s and women’s titles.
Who can win the World Triathlon title?
There’s plenty left to race for at the Grand Final, with multiple athletes still in with a chance of winning the title or landing silverware.
Take a look at who can win the men’s race here or find out who needs to do what to win in the women’s race in our preview.
The 2023 WTCS Grand Final Pontevedra course
The elite and U23 races are both standard distance, and start with a two-lap, 1.5km swim between the Puente de los Tirantes and the pedestrian walkway.
After T1, athletes hit the eight-lap, 40km bike through the Pazo de la Cultura to the Avenida de Compostela. The route is mostly flat with a small climb of medium-low difficulty and a small descent.
From T2 they start the four-lap, 10km run along Avenida de Buenos Aires, Serra, Don Gonzalo, Curros Enríquez, Michelena, Peregrina, Ferrería, down to La Leña, Sarmiento, Cruz Roja and arrive at the CGTD area.
The 2023 World Triathlon U23 Championship course is exactly the same.
The 2023 World Triathlon Paratriathlon Championship course
The Paratriathlon Championship races start with a one-lap, 750m swim between the Ponte de los Tirantes and the pedestrian walkway.
From T1, they start a four-lap, 19.6km bike leg through the Pazo de la Cultura to the Avenida de Compostela, arriving at the Lérez roundabout and return to T2.
The three-lap, completely flat 5km run goes through Tafisa, Buenos Aires to Cobián Roffignac, Cruz Roja and CGTD.
How can I watch the 2023 WTCS Grand Final Pontevedra?
You can watch all races live on TriathlonLive.tv, while UK audiences can also stream live coverage via BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport, the BBC Sport app and the BBC Red Button.
When do the 2023 WTCS Grand Final Pontevedra events start*?
*All times are local, which is 1hr ahead of the UK.
Saturday 23 September
9am – 2023 World Triathlon Paratriathlon Championships
2:20pm – 2023 World Triathlon U23 Men Championships
5:20pm – 2023 World Triathlon Elite Men Championships Finals
Sunday 24 September
2pm – 2023 World Triathlon U23 Women Championships
4:45pm – 2023 World Triathlon Elite Women Championships Finals
World Triathlon 2023 Championship Series
The 2023 series will have visited seven different locations during the season, starting in Abu Dhabi in March and culminating at the Final in Pontevedra, Spain, in September.
WTCS 2023 overview
- 3 March: WTCS Abu Dhabi, UAE (sprint)
- 13 May: WTCS Yokohama, Japan (standard)
- 27-28 May: WTCS Cagliari, Italy (standard)
- 24-25 June: WTCS Montreal, Canada (sprint, mixed relay)
- 13-16 July: WTCS Hamburg, Germany (super sprint & mixed relay world champs)
- 29-30 July: WTCS Sunderland, UK (sprint, mixed relay)
- 22-24 September: WTCS Grand Final Pontevedra, Spain (standard)
Paris 2024 Test Event
- 17-20 August: Paris, France (standard, mixed relay, paratriathlon)
Paratriathlon
- 3 March: Abu Dhabi, UAE (para cup)
- 18-19 March: Devonport, Australia (para series)
- 13 May: Yokohama, Japan (para series)
- 2-4 June: Madrid, Spain (European para championship)
- 10-11 June: A Coruna, Spain (para cup)
- 17-18 June: Besancon, France (para cup)
- 8-9 July: Montreal, Canada (para series)
- 14-15 July: Long Beach, USA (para cup)
- 15 July: Swansea, UK (para series)
- 19-20 Aug: Paris, France (para cup)
- 23-24 September: Pontevedra, Spain (world para championship)
- 7-8 October: Alhandra, Portugal (para cup)
Top image credit: Wagner Araujo/World Triathlon
Authors
Liz has been with 220 since 2007. In that time she’s reported live from almost every major tri across the globe, including the Ironman Worlds, 70.3 Worlds, ITU Worlds, Challenge Roth, the 2014 & 2022 Commonwealths, the London Olympics and the Rio Paralympics, to name but a few. Unsurprisingly, she’s our go-to pro-athlete expert on the team. When not covering races, you’ll find her whipping words into finely-crafted shape for both the mag and website.
