With over 250 athletes competing across the weekend in Quarteira, Portugal, the host nation celebrated strong home success in the senior races, while Spain and Switzerland claimed top honours in the junior events.
Portugal dominate men’s elite race
Portugal secured two spots on the podium in the men’s elite race, led by home favourite Vasco Vilaça, who delivered an outstanding performance to win by 20 seconds. Fellow Portuguese athlete João Nuno Batista finished second, while Hungary’s Márk Dévay claimed bronze.
Dévay exited the water first, with Vilaça just six seconds behind. Energised by the home crowd, Vilaça surged ahead with a powerful bike leg before producing the second-fastest run split (29:48) to seal a memorable victory on home soil.
Although Dévay maintained his lead into T2, he was ultimately unable to hold off the charging Portuguese athletes.
Vermeylen opens season with gold
In the women’s race, reigning European champion Jolien Vermeylen made an impressive start to her season, taking the win with a dominant performance.
After leading out of the swim, the Belgian stayed with the lead group on the bike, positioning herself for the final phase of the race.
France’s Ilona Hadhoum entered T2 in first place, but Vermeylen’s exceptional run—25 seconds faster than the rest of the field, proved decisive.
Vermeylen crossed the line in first, ahead of Portugal’s Maria Tomé, who delighted the home crowd with a silver medal. Hadhoum completed the podium in third.
Switzerland claim gold in women’s junior race
A dominant performance from Switzerland’s Anouk Danna on Sunday morning saw her claim her first gold of the 2026 season, following her victory at last year’s Europe Triathlon Junior Cup in Birżebbuġa, Malta.
Finishing almost two minutes ahead of the chasing pack, Danna led from the bike and never looked back, showcasing her intentions for the season ahead.
Spain’s Candela Sánchez Touza claimed the silver medal—her first in the Europe Triathlon Junior Cup—improving on her previous best result of ninth place in Tiszaújváros, Hungary.
Great Britain’s Kitty Scott rounded off the podium, narrowly beaten by Sánchez, who finished five seconds ahead.
Scott has now claimed three podiums in her four starts at international level.
Spain close out the day with a double podium
In the junior men’s race, Spain secured both gold and silver, with Damian Suarez Couto taking the top spot just ahead of compatriot Lucas Riola Delgado.
Spanish athletes made up three of the top five, with Belgium’s Rube Claus finishing fourth and Thibault Rivier clinching the bronze medal.
Suarez, who finished second last year at the Aquathlon World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain, exited the water 15 seconds ahead of Austria’s Jelle Kaindl. Despite briefly dropping behind Riola, Suarez regained ground on his teammate to claim the title in Quarteira.
The full results list from the Elite races can be found here.
The full result list from the Junior races can be found here.
Watch back all the action from the weekend here.