Cameron Wurf finished in second place in Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz but it could have been so much better for the Hobart veteran who left the final transition with a nine-minute lead.

After nearly eight hours in the Spanish sun, the 38-year-old was overtaken by fellow Aussie Nickolas Kastelein with just three kilometres to go and finished less than a minute behind the winning time of 7:52:50 and 90 seconds ahead of third-placed Dominik Sowieja.

"I couldn't even win the Aussie Cup," Wurf joked on Instagram.

"Couldn't imagine anyone I'd be happier to be beaten by in an ironman by 38 seconds. Fantastic consolation prize is I've qualified for the Kona so I'm very relieved and happy about that.

"It's been a hectic year thus far - I've been racing around the world like a cat on a hot tin roof. Excited to get stuck into whatever the rest of the season throws at me."

Wurf has been racing across Europe this year for pro cycling team INEOS Grenadiers.

Some 2500 triathletes from 65 countries tackled a 3.8km swim, 180km ride and full marathon through the centre of the capital of Euskadi.

Meanwhile, further east in Europe, Jake Birtwhistle finished 39^th in the World Triathlon Championship Series race in Hamburg.

The Riverside 27-year-old was not selected in the Australian team of Matt Hauser, Sophie Linn, Natalie Van Coevorden and Luke Willian which then won a silver medal in the mixed relay.