For the second time this season, Olympic gold medal favourites Beth Potter and Cassandre Beaugrand went head-to-head, with Beaugrand coming out on top this time at WTCS Cagliari.
Last month, Potter took the spoils at the supertri E World Triathlon Championship, but was unable to match Beaugrand’s finishing speed in the closing stages of the 10km run in Italy.
Beaugrand, taking her first Olympic distance WTCS win in Cagliari, will draw strength from this result, as will Lisa Tertsch of Germany, who edged out Potter for second place, with the Brit rounding out the podium in third.
“I think it was just in my mind”
After coming under a significant amount of pressure over the second half of the run, Beaugrand managed to defy the odds and pull through some visibly hard patches, as she held on for long enough to unleash her sprint finish.
The French star, asked post race how she kept in contact with the aggressive moves of the leaders, said that it took as much mental strength as it did physical strength to remain competitive in the final kilometres.
“I think it was just in my mind. I tried to be brave and I told myself I couldn’t lose a sprint again after doing so in Quarteira [Europe Triathlon Cup].
“I haven’t run a lot over the past few weeks, so I just tried to be wise, tried to keep up with the pace of the girls and then I knew I had a good chance with a sprint and I took it.”
“I felt a little sluggish on that run”
Having made several efforts to break Beaugrand earlier in the run, Potter was forced to settle for third in the end, but said that a few factors had prevented her from feeling at her best in Italy.
“I have come off a really big training block after last being on the blue carpet eight months ago. I went for the win today, but I ended up in third after giving it a good shot.
“I am lucky enough that I qualified last year, so my goal now is the 31st of July, but I wanted to get a race in beforehand and find where my swim and bike was at.
“I felt a little sluggish on that run, I had a bad cold a couple of weeks ago and I am just coming out of that, but I am happy with where it is at and I am ready to push on again.”
Dark horse Tertsch continues to build momentum
Improving on her 14th place a fortnight ago at WTCS Yokohama, Tertsch showed that she is a force to be reckoned with over the Olympic distance, and in the right race, can compete for a medal in Paris.
Earlier this season, the German upset Beaugrand and Georgia Taylor-Brown at the Quarteira Europe Triathlon Cup, and after her result in Cagliari said she was happy with the direction things were going.
“I qualified for Paris last year, so this year has been all about preparing to race there and I am very happy with this race. I am happy with how racing is going and how training is going ahead of the Olympics.”
