 Of the eight World Triathlon Series races in 2018, Zaferes finished on the podium in six of them, taking two silvers (Yokohama and Montreal), and four bronze (Bermuda, Leeds, Hamburg and the grand final in Gold Coast).At the season opener at Abu Dhabi, the race was contested with the bike and run legs on the Yas Marina race track.Zaferes crashed hard within the tunnel section (believed to be caused by a combination of fuel / oil on the roadway and (rare) rainfall immediately prior to / during the race) and was unable to continue, registering a DNF.