supertri Chicago 2024: It’s Alex Yee vs Hayden Wilde again as Olympics rivalry hits new heights

The new supertri season started with a bang in Boston last weekend with that absorbing battle between Alex Yee and Hayden Wilde.

Just as he had at the Olympics on July 31, it was Yee who came out on top with the gold medal, but this time after the finish line it was a shrug from Wilde rather than an arm around the shoulder!

That was following the eye-catching, arms-folded, ice-cool celebration from Yee after his finishing kick left Wilde and the rest trailing in his wake.

It is seconds out for round two this weekend, and in the women’s race can Jeanne Lehair make it two out of two?

She bounced back in brilliant style from that desperate bad luck with the bike mechanical in Paris.

Remember it’s Enduro format throughout this year’s supertri series – as it was for her previous victory in London last year. So read on for all you need to know ahead of what’s sure to be another thrilling race day.

And there will also be around 9,000 age-group athletes in action over the course of the weekend as it’s part of the supertri owned and operated Chicago Triathlon, the largest short-course triathlon in the USA and one which has been running for more than 40 years.

Start time and how to watch live

Racing takes place on Sunday August 25, 2024.

Women’s PRO race: 12:43 local (coverage starts 12:30), that’s 1843 UK and 1943 CET.

Men’s PRO race: 13:56 local (coverage starts 13:45), that’s 1956 UK and 2056 CET.

You can sign up to watch the races for free on the supertri website here and this page also gives full details of broadcasters in your region.

Pro Women – who is racing?

The opening race in Boston had been expected to strongly feature Olympic champion Cassandre Beaugrand and reigning world champion Beth Potter, who took two bronzes in Paris.

However that showdown didn’t materialise – Beaugrand was never a factor in eighth while Potter was eliminated and finished outside the top 10.

Instead it was British duo Georgia Taylor-Brown and Kate Waugh who battled it out for the win with Jeanne Lehair.

It would be easy to say the fact Lehair was the only one to have the short chute made the difference – more to the point, she was clearly strongest when it mattered most.

She thrives in the Enduro format and has to be a leading contender again.

Jeanne Lehair got the better of Georgia Taylor-Brown in Boston [Photo credit: supertri]

And there’s a funny connection between herself and Potter this weekend as a couple of years ago at SLT Munich, Lehair bought a ticket for the Ed Sheeran concert next door to the venue for what she thought was after the race.

It turned out to be the evening before, but she went along anyway and it didn’t do any harm as she finished a strong fourth the day later.

Potter has taken that a stage further since last Sunday though – flying back to London to take in Taylor Swift at Wembley before heading to Chicago and ready to roll again in supertri!

Given that, the women’s start list is unchanged from Boston:

Brownlee Racing: Beth Potter, Olivia Mathias, Jess Fullagar and Alice Betto

Crown Racing: Cassandre Beaugrand, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Kate Waugh and Barbara De Koning

Podium Racing: Jeanne Lehair, Fanni Szalai, Vittória Lopes and Léonie Périault

Stars & Stripes: Katie Zaferes, Taylor Spivey, Kirsten Kasper and Cathia Schär

Pro Men – who is racing?

It’s hard to get away from the Alex Yee vs Hayden Wilde dynamic.

For all the talk about that celebration, the one thing that Wilde was clearly unhappy about in Boston was the perceived lack of work his rivals did on the bike.

It’s seconds out for round two in Chicago! [Photo credit: supertri]

This is a man who has a 5k track PB of close to 13:20, but he’s finding it very, very difficult to outrun Yee at the moment – will the tactics change in Chicago?

Dorian Coninx joined them on the podium in Boston and he and his Podium Racing team are now boosted by the arrival of fellow Frenchman Léo Bergere, last year’s Super League overall men’s champion.

That duo have raced brilliantly together on many occasions so keep a close eye on them.

That’s the only change to the line-ups too, with John Reed dropping out for Bergere:

Brownlee Racing: Alex Yee, Connor Bentley, Sergio Baxter Cabrera and Hugo Milner

Crown Racing: Hayden Wilde, Vincent Luis, Max Stapley and Vetle Bergsvik Thorn

Podium Racing: Matt Hauser, Dorian Coninx, Kenji Nener and Léo Bergere

Stars & Stripes: Chase McQueen, Seth Rider, Vasco Vilaça and Tim Hellwig

Course and format

As we’ve said, the format in Chicago is Enduro which is three back-to-back triathlons (all in swim-bike-run order), with no breaks in between.

Not everyone will make it to the finish either, because should an athlete fall more than 90 seconds behind the race leader at any point – as Potter and others did in Boston – they will be eliminated.

Part of the famous Chicago Triathlon weekend, the downtown location has become synonymous with the sport.

So big crowds and impressive backdrops await the start and finish at Queens Landing and the bike and run, which take place on a narrow loop on the lakefront.

Each stage will consist of a 300m swim (one lap), a 4km cycle (four laps) and a 1.6km run (two laps).

Beginner’s guide to supertri

‘Normal’ rules do not apply in supertri and a small short cut, aka ‘Short Chute’, can be earned during the racing for being first across the line at various points.

You can earn a Short Chute in Chicago as follows:

the first athlete across the mount line after the swim on Stage 1

the first across the mount line after the bike on Stage 1 (i.e. after T2)

the first across the dismount line after the run on Stage 1

Short Chutes are won for a team and awarded to an athlete during the race by their team manager. Short Chutes are to be taken on the first lap of the run in Stage 3. No team can win more than one Short Chute.

Paris Olympics gold medallists Alex Yee and Cassandre Beaugrand are both in action again [Photo credit: supertri]