Crown Racing closed out the 2025 Supertri League Series with a silver overall team finish, led by Bahrain Victorious 13’s Vasco Vilaça who took podiums both on the day as well as overall.
The men’s racing kicked off the afternoon with Vilaça joined by teammates Ricardo Batista, Roberto Sanchez-Mantecon, and last-minute substitute Aurelien Jem for three consecutive, non-stop supersprint triathlons. The Portuguese star, who entered the finale ranked second overall after third in Toronto and second in Jersey, recovered from a slow first swim to fight back into contention. He ultimately finished third on the day to secure silver in the overall standings.
“It was really hard for me seeing Seth [Rider] in the front together with Csongor [Lehmann] helping each other,” Vilaça said post-race. “I had to do the work by myself. I didn’t get that much help. I kind of feel like I kept the same gap the whole time — around 10 seconds. I did my best.”
Batista crossed the line just behind Vilaça to secure a surprise third overall in the series. He said, “I was not expecting to finish third in the series. I think I had no podium during the season but I had a couple of good finishes, and it’s really nice to finish on the podium in my first Supertri season.”
Sanchez Mantecon finished 10th while Jem was eliminated, leaving Crown Racing only 20 points behind the series leaders halfway through the day’s racing. The women’s event was set to decide the final standings.
Georgia Taylor-Brown lined up alongside Miriam Casillas Garcia, as well as Supertri debutants Aspen Andersen and Elena Polaert. After exiting the first swim in third, Taylor-Brown pushed the pace early on the bike before being reeled back by the field. The multiple Olympic medalist and three-time Supertri champion stayed in the fight throughout, narrowly missing the podium but securing third overall in the series.
“I was just really focused on trying to hang onto third, and yeah, I just about did that,” Taylor-Brown said. “This is better than I could have expected. I was hoping to maybe scrape a top six in the series considering the work I’ve done this year, so I’m really, really happy. I’ve just enjoyed every minute of it and it’s been fun to get out there and go hard.”
With the furious pace up front, Polaert was the first Crown Racing athlete eliminated, followed by Andersen, who crashed earlier in the race. Casillas Garcia was the last to bow out in 10th on the day but secured 6th overall in the series.
Crown Racing’s runner-up finish marked the end of a demanding season that tested the team’s grit and determination.
All eyes now turn to Kona, Hawaii, where the world’s best female long-course triathletes take on the Ironman World Championship – the final year the women race separately from the men. Kat Matthews returns in pursuit of gold after taking silvers in 2022 and 2024, while Taylor Knibb is looking to improve on her fourth place in 2023 and India Lee makes her long-awaited debut on the Big Island.
