Women's Race
Cassandre Beaugrand of France set herself up as a home country favorite for Olympic gold with a decisive move down the home stretch to fend off final challenger Lisa Tertsch of Germany by three seconds in a nail biting finale to the 10km run at WTCS Cagliari.
The race for the gold whittled down to four women atop an all-star field, including Beaugrand, Tertsch, Beth Potter of Great Britain and Emma Lombardi of France. Defending world titlist Potter looked in charge until the final 500 meters when Beaugrand dug in for a decisive final push at the conclusion of her 33:09 run.
Beaugrand started with an 11th-best swim that put her 10 seconds behind swim leader Maya Kingma of Netherlands. Beaugrand held a smooth pace on the bike, finishing 12th-best just 2 seconds from the front. After the first lap of the run, Beaugrand settled into the leader of the front pack. On the third lap, Potter tucked in third behind Potter and Emma Lombardi. Then Beaugrand made her winning surge in the final meters.
It was Beaugrand’s first World Triathlon Series gold at the Olympic distance and comes at a perfect time to peak two months away from a home role at the Paris Olympic Games. Tertsch, who posted a race-best 33:08 run, settled for silver while Potter, closing with a third-fastest 33:17 run, held on for the bronze.
RESULTS
1. Cassandre Beaugrand FRA S 19:03 T1 00:47 B 54:04 T2 00:24 R 33:09 TOT 1:47:25
2. Lisa Tertsch GER S 19:07 T1 00:48 B 53:59 T2 00:27 R 33:08 TOT 1:47:28
3. Beth Potter GBR S 19:00 T1 00:49 B 54:05 T2 00:22 R 33:17 TOT 1:47:31
4. Emma Lombardi FRA S 18:59 T1 00:43 B 54:11 T2 00:21 R 33:20 TOT 1:47:32
5. Jeanne Lehair LUX S 19:10 T1 00:47 B 53:57 T2 00:22 R 33:36 TOT 1:47:51
6. Georgia Taylor Brown GB S 19:10 T1 00:50 B 53:554 T2 00:24 R 33:47 TOT 1:48:03
7. Sophie Coldwell GBR S 19:08 T1 00:46 B 54:01 T2 00:24 R 33:48 TOT 1:48:06
8. Flora Duffy BER S 18:58 T1 00:47 B 54:08 T2 00:23 R 33:54 TOT 1:48:08
9. Nina Eim GER S 19:11 T1 00:44 B 53:58 T2 00:24 R 33:58 TOT 1:48:13
10. Kate Waugh GBR S 19:08 T1 00:45 B 54:00 T2 00:23 R 34:05 TOT 1:48:19
11. Taylor Knibb UASA S 19:023 T1 00:47 B 54:04 T2 00:28 R 34:07 TOT 1:48:26
12. Katie Zaferes USAA S 19:10 T1 00:48 B 53:57 T2 00:22 R 34:18 TOT 1:48:33
15. Taylor Spivey UASA S18:57 T1 00:48 B 54:08 T2 00:25 R 34:27 TOT 1:48:44
21. Kirsten Kasper USA S 19:02 T1 00:44 B 54:07 T2 00:30 R 35:29 TOT 1:49:50
DNF Summer Rappaport S 19:07 T1 00:53
Men's Race
The Men’s race of the Cagliari World Triathlon Championship Series looked like the 2023 edition as Alex Yee of Great Britain and Hayden Wilde of New Zealand once again dominated the field and delivered another battle for the ages. The Briton found extra gear a few meters from the finish and broke the finish tape with a margin of two seconds ahead of the Kiwi. It was exactly as it happened last year.
It was also a breakthrough performance by Csongor Lehmann of Hungary who took third and earned the first WTCS podium of his career.
Yee started with a 16th place, 14 seconds deficit after the swim. Super runner Yee quickly moved to the front after a 50:49 bike split. Yee then battled elbow to elbow with perennial rival Hayden Wilde of New Zealand before prevailing in a last lap surge. Yee finished with a race–best 29:12 10 run which was just one second faster than Wilde’s final 10k.
Defending Olympic champions were differing levels off their 2021 form. Kristian Blummenfelt took 31st place, 4:46 off Yee’s finish. By contrast, Flora Duffy has made a good return to form, taking 8th place, 43 seconds behind Beaugrand’s winning form.
RESULTS
1. Alex Yee GBR S 18:42 T1 00:35 B 50:549 T2 00:19 R 29:12 TOT 1:39:44
2. Hayden Wilde NZL S 18:43 T1 00:35 B 50:58 T2 00:19 R 29:13 TOT 1:39:46
3. Csongor Lehmann HUN S 1u8:35 T1 33s B 51:08 T2 00:18 R 29:55 TOT 1:40:27
4. Vetle Bergsvik Thorn NOR S 18:38 T1 00:34 B 51:04 T2 0:22 R 29:59 TOT 1:40:36
5. Ricardo Batista POR S 18:46 T1 00:34 B 50:57 T2 00:21 R 30:02 TOT 1:40:27
6. Pierre Le Corre FRA S 18:31 T1 00:36 B 51:10 T2 00:24 R 30:00 TOT 1:40:39
7. Charles Paquet CAN S 18:43 T1 090:35 B 50:59 T2 00:27 R 30:02 TOT 1:40:43
8. Luke Willian AUS S 18:52 T1 00:32 B 50:53 T2 00:20 R 30:13 TOT 1:40:50
9. Vincent Luis FRA S 18:36 T1 00:34 B 51:06 T2 090:20 R 30:22 TOT 1:40:57
10. Jonas Schomburg GER S 18:33 t1 00:36 B 51:07 T2 00:23 R 30:29 TOT 1:41:07
16. Leo Bergere FRA S 18:35 T1 00:34 B 51:06 T2 00:21 R 31:55 TOT 1:42:30
17. Matthew McElroy USA S 18:56 T1 00:32 B 52:47 T2 00:19 R 30:07 TOT 1:4239
20. Seth Rider USA S 18:43 T1 00:36 B 50:57 T2 00:23 R 32:19 TOT 1:42:56
38. Darr Smith USA S 18:45 T1 00:36 B 52:55 T2 00:23 R 33:07 TOT 1:45:43
40. Morgan Pearson USA S 18:33 T1 00:33 B 52:59 T2 00:24 R 33:51 TOT 1:46:17