Alberto González wins in Tongyeong as Xinyu Lin takes a second World Cup in a row
The Spaniard turned his Beijing bronze into a win by seven seconds over Max Studer. In the women’s race, Lin held off her teammate Anqi Huang by three seconds for another Chinese one-two.
Alberto González García of Spain won the Tongyeong World Cup in South Korea on 24 October, leaving the second transition in front and holding off Switzerland’s Max Studer by seven seconds over the sprint distance.
González finished in 50 minutes 3 seconds. Studer, who had beaten him in Beijing a week earlier, was second in 50:10 and Keller Norland of the United States took the first World Cup medal of his career in third, in 50:17.
In the women’s race China’s Xinyu Lin won for the second weekend running, in 56:42. Her teammate Anqi Huang was three seconds behind and France’s Mathilde Gautier was third, two seconds further back.
A lesson learned from Beijing
Both races were held in heavy rain over a 750 m harbour swim, 19.8 km on the bike and a hilly 5 km run. World Triathlon’s report described conditions “that made the bike look like an extension of the swim”.
Hungary’s Márk Dévay was first out of the water in the men’s race and pushed the pace on the opening bike lap. A breakaway formed that included González, the Americans Chase McQueen and Seth Rider, France’s Jules Rethoret and Ben Dijkstra, racing internationally for the Netherlands for the first time. Studer was left in the chase group.
In Beijing on 17 October, González had been drawn into a running battle and finished third. This time he went straight out of T2 and attacked the first of the two run laps.
Studer led the chasers past what was left of the breakaway and ran 18 seconds faster than González over 5 km, according to World Triathlon, but the gap was too big to close. It was González’s first World Cup win since Hong Kong in March 2024.
“I went so hard from the beginning,” González told World Triathlon. “Today I’m so happy to get the win.”
David Castro Fajardo of Spain was fourth and China’s Xirui Zhang, second in Beijing, was fifth.
Another Chinese one-two
The women raced in wetsuits in chilly water. China’s Yifan Yang led the swim and Gautier joined her in trying to force a break, but the front group grew to include Lin, Huang, Germany’s Nina Eim and Italy’s Paola Sacchi. France’s Léa Houart, the 2025 world junior champion, rode at the front on her World Cup debut.
Portugal’s Mariana Vargem led into T2 and set the pace on the run. Huang had to serve a 10-second penalty at the end of the first run lap, World Triathlon reported, without giving the reason. Lin passed Vargem on the uphill section and went clear.
Huang then chased back through the field, towing Gautier with her, and closed fast on the blue carpet. Lin held on by three seconds.
Huang became China’s second female World Cup medallist, according to World Triathlon, a week after Lin’s breakthrough win in Beijing. Gautier repeated the Tongyeong bronze she won in 2022, and Vargem’s fourth place was her best World Cup result.
What comes next
The late-season World Cup swing continues in Hong Kong, where the individual races are on 7 November, according to Triatlón Noticias.
The bigger short-course meeting of November is WTCS Abu Dhabi on Hudayriyat Island. The race was moved from March and will now be held on 13 and 14 November, alongside the World Triathlon Multisport Championships, with Olympic qualification points on offer.
