Elite

Taylor Knibb Breaks Down Her WTCS London Race

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by USA Triathlon

USA TRI Elite Taylor Knibb at WTCS London.

USA TRI Elite Taylor Knibb at WTCS London.

Taylor Knibb turned heads once again at the 2026 World Triathlon Championship Series London on July 25, leading a breakaway on the bike for the third straight World Triathlon race — following similar moves at World Cup Edmonton and World Cup Tiszaujvaros. 

Knibb and Great Britain's Tilly Anema built a gap of their own off the front, putting on a bike leg masterclass before Anema crashed and left Knibb to hold the advantage alone. A late charge from the chase pack narrowed the margin heading into T2, and Knibb was caught by the field's fastest runners to cross the line in seventh place. 

We caught up with Knibb just minutes after the finish to talk through the race.

USA TRI Elite Taylor Knibb at WTCS London. (Photo by Finn Stapley/USA Triathlon)

How are you feeling right now?

My legs are starting to tighten up, but otherwise I'm feeling great. I'm honestly shocked.

When did you realize you could get a top-8 finish?

Right when I crossed the finish line. On that last turn, the group I was with was in ninth, and I could see a couple of people charging hard behind us. I thought, "oh that's rough" — but we held on.

The swim start had one of the longest waits we've seen. How did you feel coming out of that?

I kept thinking, are they going to have us stand up? I just told myself: 'focus, stay ready.' Someone was right on me for the first 200 meters, but by the first buoys, I was in third or fourth, which felt great.

I'd previewed the swim course earlier and knew the back stretch was rough — so I knew I could either make up a lot of time there or swim it well. I was thrilled with how it went, and I never had to fight through the field.

We talked (before the race) about a potential breakaway, and you said that might not be realistic in a WTCS format. How does it feel to have pulled it off today?

I can't wait to talk to my coach about this one. Going into the last two laps, I knew the gap could either balloon out, drop to nothing, or hold — so it's a bit of a gamble. I decided I had to commit all the way through; after putting in that much effort, I didn't want to give it up.

I think it actually helped me settle into T2, which isn't my strongest transition. It put me into a better group off the bike, and I could build my own pace on the run. I can't run with the top three yet, but I stayed with the next group — and I don't think I'd have been there without that lead.

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