HUATULCO, Mex.— Tyler Mislawchuk confirmed he is the king of Huatulco.
The Canadian completed his drive for five podiums at the World Triathlon Cup in the Mexican city, and he did it in style, with a victory on Sunday morning.
Heading into the popular World Cup race as the favourite, the 31-year-old veteran of the Canadian Triathlon Team did not disappoint while putting together a terrific 750-metre swim, a safe 20-kilometre bike capped off with a brilliant five-kilometre run.
Mislawchuk broke the tape in a time of 53:21 for the fourth World Triathlon Cup victory of his career.
“It was another hot, fun day in Mexico. I’m pretty stoked with the win. Anytime you can win a race at this level you have to be pretty happy,” said Mislawchuk following his ninth career World Cup podium. “It was my fifth time back and the fifth time was a charm. It feels just as good as the first win here.”
The Oak Bluff, Man. resident won two other times in Huatulco (2021, 2019) and had two silver medal finishes (2023, 2022). One of the most accomplished Canadian triathletes ever also won the Olympic Test event prior to the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Mislawchuk took control in his office in the early morning Huatulco heat while toeing the line in the beach start swim alongside a 60 of the world’s best triathletes. He completed the one-lap swim in third place and quickly took control of a large pack of riders that formed for the four laps on the relatively flat bike course.
Mislawchuk bounced around in the large pack of nearly 50 riders that also included his teammates Mathis Beaulieu (Quebec City), Leandre Binette (Saint-Christophe d’Arthabaska, Que.) and Liam Donnelly (Campbellville, Ont.).
Mislawchuk was third off his bike into T2 before bolting onto the run course for the two-lap test. The cagey veteran led the way until midway through the final lap when American Sullivan Middaugh briefly jumped ahead, but the talented Canadian used his experience to hold off the charge.
“When Sully caught me, I thought I would try to relax, get some water in, refocus and do one last surge,” said Mislawchuk. “I figured I’d go as hard as I could, I didn’t want to leave it to chance with a sprint finish today because you never know what would happen.”
The plan worked.
Mislawchuk quickly regained the lead and pulled away to finish nine seconds ahead for his second podium of the season.
He also battled to the bronze medal at a World Triathlon Cup in Chengdu, China to open his season.
“It was an epic battle out there – super fun,” he said. “I’m definitely not the youngest guy anymore, but maybe the experience paid off having been at the course a few times before.”
Middaugh settled for second at 53:29. Brazil’s Vinicius Avi Santana won the battle for the bronze with a time of 53:36.
Mathis Beaulieu, who snagged his first career podium two years ago in Huatulco when he claimed the silver, was solid in sixth place on Sunday with a time of 53:44. Liam Donnelly also battled into the top 10, placing eighth at 53:56. Leandre Binette rounded out the Canadian men’s contingent in 24th at 54:54.
Sidney Clement, of West Vancouver, was the top Canadian woman on the day. The 21-year-old placed 19th at 1:01:12. Isla Britton (Montreal) was 29th at 1:02:24, while Emy Legault (L’Île Perrot, Que.) did not finish the race.
Mexico’s Ana Maria Valentina Torres Gomez won the women’s sprint race with a time of 1:00.07.
