One year after the biggest aquabike race in history at the 2024 standard distance world championships in Torremolinos, I expected a significant drop in number of aquabike athletes at this year’s race in Wollongong, Australia. With the vast majority of aquabike athletes being in North America or Europe the remote location of the 2025 edition I would not have been surprised if the number of competitors was cut to half. Boy was I wrong. With about 450 athletes being signed up for the race in Downunder we will see not only a big but also quite competitive field of athletes fighting for the world championship titles. However, the large number of participants also comes with a downside.
The Swim
The race starts with a 1500 metres one-lap swim off Cove Beach with the first wave of aquabike athletes starting at 10am. While the first and last 250 metres of the course crosses the protected harbour, one kilometre is done in the open ocean waters. There will be sight buoys separated less than 200 metres, so orientation should not be a big issue. Water temperatures are currently below 20°C. With no heat wave expected the next few days it clearly looks like a wetsuit legal swim.
The Transition
From the swim exit it’s only a short run across the beach, crossing a street and into transition. The overall distance you have to run from exiting the water through transition all the way to the mount line is only 350 metres and most should be on soft ground (sand and mostly grass).
The Bike
At last years race in Torremolinos many athletes did not have a quite enjoyable experience on the bike course. Apart from quite some crashes especially the more competitive cyclists could not “ride to their full potential” as one athlete described it. A three lap 13 km course is just not suitable for such a big race. But guess what… Wollongong will be no different. OK, the number of competing athletes is a bit smaller and other than in Spain there will be a little break of 25 minutes between the last triathlon wave and the first wave of aquabikers. So yes, the number of athletes on the course at the same time will be smaller than last year. But certainly, still way too much to provide a fair, drafting free race for all athletes.
The course is fairly flat, most of it out and back following the coastline, but also with some technical sections. As always on shorelines there is a chance of some winds coming in from the sea. Though the majority of the course does not run directly alongside the shore and should have at least some protection, with only few parts more exposed the wind.
The Finish
After the disaster at last year’s race in Spain, where the finish line at the dismount line was approached on a much too narrow road, at least there shouldn’t be too many issues at the aquabike finish in Wollongong. The World Triathlon changed their competition rules for this year, now requiring the aquabike finish to be between 100 and 200 metres before the dismount line. According to the current version of the course maps the finish line is now about half a mile away from the dismount line. With only 160 metres after the last corner and more than 600 metres of straight road after the finish line I’m struggling to understand the reasons for placing it that far away. Nevertheless, this is certainly a much safer solution than we had last year.
The Weather
According to the forecast as it is today, it looks like a perfect day for racing, mostly sunny with some clouds. Temperatures are predicted to be 24°C at the time the first wave of aquabike athletes will start the race at 10am, going up to around 27°C in the following hours. Some winds are predicted to come from North, so you start each lap with some headwind, heading towards the end of the lap or the finish with a tailwind.
The Favourites
Despite some of the strong guys from Europe missing, the field of competitors in the men’s aquabike race is stacked with some super strong athletes from around the world but of course most of all from Australia and New Zealand as our multisport discipline enjoyed increasing popularity in those countries over the last few years.
The Men’s Race
From the many strong Aussie athletes who will race in Wollongong, two of them are certainly amongst the big race favourites. Christo Ball was runner up at last year’s long distance world’s in Townsville and will certainly be eager to take the overall title this year. One his main rivals will be his fellow countrymen Hayden Armstrong, winner of this year’s aquabike race at the Challenge Canberra with a remarkable performance.
The very first standard distance aquabike champion will be racing for his second title in Wollongong. Irishman Nigel Fanning took the overall win in Abu Dhabi 2022 with an equally strong performance in the swim as well as on the bike.
But also the first ever long distance aquabike world champion will be at the start line. Stephen Sheldrake won the race in Canada back in 2017. He was third three years ago in Abu Dhabi and will certainly be amongst the podium contenders in Wollongong.
So will be the second strong Kiwi athlete in the race. Terence Jack was second in Torremolinos last year. Just as in Spain the strong swimmer will have quite some traffic between him and some of the strong cyclists who will exit the water with a bit of a time gap.
Other strong swimmers who are likely to be amongst the first athletes out of the water are the two Australians Chris Grueninger and Christopher Wilson. They not only share their strength in the first discipline, but are both also not amongst the strongest cyclists. However, with traffic on the bike course certainly being an issue once again, the stronger cyclists will have a hard time catching the fast swimmers.
One of them could be reigning African champion Jean De Villiers. The South African took the national and continental title last April and will have his first appearance in a world championship race next week.
Two other Aussies to watch could be Sam LEVICK and Luke SCHOFIELD, who took #1 and #2 at the final rehearsal at the Tri Wollonging Festival earlier this year.
Two of the dark horses in the race might be Troy Drinan and Trent DAWSON, who both showed some remarkable performances in local aquabike races in Melbourne. We can look forward to seeing how this translates to the international stage.
The Women’s Race
In the Women’s aquabike race in Wollongong the field of competitors will be a bit less international. So, most of the big favourites in the race are Australian aquabikers.
Hayley Lyall was the clear winner of last year’s national championships as well as in the standard distance aquabike race at the Challenge Canberra two weeks later. If she’s in the same form as last November, she will be hard to beat at the World’s as well.
Her main contender might be Bec Stedman. In March 2024 she took a superb win in the aquabike race at Ironman 70.3 Geelong but apparently suffered from a severe injury later that year. Let’s hope she’s back to full strength for next week’s race.
An athlete who just proved to be in good shape is Hannah Gibson, winner of the aquabike race at the Ironman 70.3 Western Sidney a few weeks ago.
Rebecca Speed won the women’s race at the Tri Wollonging Festival earlier this year and should also be able to compete for the top places next week.
The clear favourite for the swim is definitely Lauren Wilson. She showed an absolute remarkable swim performance at last year’s Tri Husky Festival and should not be much slower than the fastest men in the race. She might not be one of the strongest cyclists but should have a significant gap after the swim. With the faster cyclists having to fight their way through a expectedly busy bike course she might be able to hold on to one of the top spots.
Other strong athletes from Australia to watch out for are Kelly Wright, winner of the Hervey Bay 100 last year and Kate Gayner who came in 14th at last years long distance world’s in Townsville.
So what about the international competition? One we should mention is US athlete Melissa Langworthy, multiple podium finisher in her age group in national and world championships. New Zealand’s Amanda Woodd finished 4th overall at this year’s long distance world championships in Spain, closely followed by Hayley DAVIS. The race in Wollongong will probably be more suitable for the strong swimmer from Great Britain, who should have the better chances to make it onto the overall podium this time.
All the best and good luck to all the aquabike athletes racing at the world championships Downunder!
Some helpful links:
2025 Aquabike Standard Distance World Championships Wollongong Race Details