On a day in which two-time defending WTS World Champion Flora Duffy showed she had not fully recovered from a foot injury, Cassandre Beaugrand of France unleashed a killer run to execute a shocking upset victory at WTS Hamburg.
Finishing the bike leg in 16th place, 5 seconds behind surprising bike leader and two-time Olympic medalist Nicola Spirig of Switzerland, Beaugrand unleashed an astonishing 7:40 split for the 2.5 kilometer lap - 15 seconds faster than the next best effort by Laura Lindemann of Germany and 19 seconds better than fellow podium contender Katie Zaferes of the U.S. That gave Beaugrand a 20 seconds lead on Zaferes, 21 seconds on Spirig and Stimpson, and 24 seconds on 8th place runner Lindemann.
Like everyone else in the field, Beaugrand cooled off, making the final lap in 8:08, still faster than anyone else - 6 seconds better than Lindemann and 11 second quicker than Zaferes. Beaugrand thus finished with a by-far women's best 15:48 run in an overall time of 58:06, 30 seconds ahead of Lindemann, who edged Zaferes by one second for the runner-up spot.
Spirig, making a relatively rare WTS appearance two years after her silver at the Rio Olympics, made up for a 25th place, 34 seconds deficit after the swim with a blitzkrieg 31:21 bike split that brought her to the lead. From then on, Spirig’s 6th-best 16:30 run split brought her home in 4th place, 36 seconds behind Beaugrand and 5 seconds behind 3rd place finisher Zaferes.
Flora Duffy, who withdrew before the start at WTS Leeds due to a lingering foot injury, entered Hamburg hungry for a comeback and expressing hopes for a return to her winning form. However, a 6th-best 9:35 swim, a 16th-best 31:52 bike split and a 10th-quickest 16:53 run gave her 10th place, with more recovery necessary if she is to make a run at a WTS three-peat.
Beaugrand’s finish, a career best by the 21-year-old, was far better than her 8th place at 2018 WTS Yokohama, 29th at WTS Abu Dhabi and 8th at the 2017 WTS Grand Final at Rotterdam. Beaugrand did show sprint distance promise with her 1st at the 2014 French National Sprint Championship and 2nd at the 2014 ITU World Grand Final sprint distance in the Junior Woman category. Showing early promise, she made the French national team for the 2016 Olympics, finishing 30th.
With her 3rd place finish today and 3rd at Leeds, 2nd at Yokohama and 3rd at Bermuda, Katie Zaferes increased her lead in the 2018 WTS standings. Zaferes now leads the Elite Women with 3493 points after 4 races, 854 over Rachel Klamer of Netherlands, 914 over Vicky Holland of Great Britain, 997 over Flora Duffy of Bermuda and 1013 over Kirsten Kasper of the U.S.
WTS Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany
July 14, 2018
S 750m / B 20k / R 5k
Results
Elite Women
1. Cassandre Beaugrand (FRA) 58:06 R 15:48
2. Laura Lindemann (GER) 58:36 R 16:09
3. Katie Zaferes (USA) 58:37 R 16:17
4. Nicola Spirig (SUI) 58:42 R 16:30
5. Kirsten Kasper (USA) 58:44 R 16:26
6. Non Stanford (GBR) 58:45 R 16:25
7. Jodie Stimpson (GBR) 58:48 R 16:34
8. Natalie Van Coevorden (AUS) 58:59 R 16:41
9. Taylor Spivey (USA) 59:05 R 16:48
10. Flora Duffy (BER) 59:10 R 16:53
2019 ITU World Triathlon Series Rankings
Elite Women
1. Katie Zaferes (USA) 3493
2. Rachel Klamer (NED) 2639
3. Vicky Holland (GBR) 2579
4. Flora Duffy (BER) 2496
5. Kirsten Kasper (USA) 2480
6. Laura Lindemann (GER) 2434
7. Yuko Takahashi (JPN) 2324
8. Taylor Spivey (USA) 2110
9. Yuka Sato (JPN) 1896
10. Jessica Learmonth (GBR) 1867
