Elite Australian triathlete Luke Willian named world champion in Wollongong

After an intriguing battle with his nearest elite men's rivals in the swimming and cycling legs, the 27-year-old powered ahead to become a world champion in Wollongong.

Willian finished in a time of 0:52:51 to claim an almost 20-second win from South Africa's Jamie Riddle (0:53:14) while Chile's Diego Moya was third.

Fellow Australians Callum McClusky and Jacob Birtwhitle finished fifth and sixth respectively.

Saturday marked the first time that the prestigious World Triathlon Cup has been held in Australia in four years. The Cup's elite men's and women's races were the headline events of this weekend's Wollongong Triathlon Festival.

"All of the (top) guys were racing today, except for Matty Hauser, who had to unfortunately pull out due to food poisoning," Willian told the Mercury post-race.

"But it was a tough field and a fast race, and the conditions made it especially tough - that wind was pretty brutal across the top of the hill. But it feels pretty special.

"The crowd was awesome, it was five or six deep here at the finish line - I don't think I've seen that at home in a long time.

"To see World Cup racing back in Australia - and people turn out for it - is really special."

This year's World Triathlon Cup was seen as a crucial step for Aussie triathletes in their bid to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Olympic qualification points were on offer in Wollongong, with Willian's win helping him take a giant leap towards being selection for Australia's triathlon team later this year. Only a handful of squad position are up for grabs.

Willian will now turn his attention towards next month's World Triathlon Championship Series in Yokohama, Japan.

"You're always trying to put yourself in front for contention," he said.

"Yokohama is coming up and you want to carry all of the best form that you can into that race. So I'm looking in good stead to try and push myself, and get that spot sorted."