Another World Triathlon Championship Series title doesn’t seem to have been high on the list of targets for Cassandre Beaugrand this season.
France’s Olympic champion crowned a perfect 2024 by claiming the WTCS crown at the end of that campaign but she saw her hopes of defending it go up in smoke in a dramatic Grand Final in Wollongong last year.
This year she has claimed multiple French national running records, the latest the 3,000 metres on the track when she ticked off a lifetime ambition by taking part in the Diamond League meeting in Monaco – watch the video at the end of this article for more on that memorable evening.
Closing on top spot
All of which has left time for just three WTCS races so far – but she’s won every one of them, the latest in London at the weekend where she looked imperious on the run.
And that’s put her in an enviable position in the latest standings – she has 3,000 points and still has one more counting race to come should she choose to race either Weihai in China or Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic:
| Pos | Athlete | Nation | Events | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beth Potter | GBR | 4 | 3641.45 |
| 2 | Tilda Månsson | SWE | 4 | 3636.26 |
| 3 | Lisa Tertsch | GER | 4 | 3497.08 |
| 4 | Leonie Periault | FRA | 4 | 3389.18 |
| 5 | Jeanne Lehair | LUX | 4 | 3234.80 |
| 6 | Cassandre Beaugrand | FRA | 3 | 3000.00 |
| 7 | Georgia Taylor-Brown | GBR | 4 | 2772.23 |
| 8 | Emma Lombardi | FRA | 4 | 2751.39 |
| 9 | Jolien Vermeylen | BEL | 4 | 2685.63 |
| 10 | Taylor Spivey | USA | 4 | 2682.38 |
Another win would give her a perfect score of 4,000 points and make her the overwhelming favourite for the finale in Pontevedra.
‘It doesn’t make my choices easy’
However it doesn’t seem to be that simple as speaking after her triumph in London she said: “I think I had one of my worst swims ever – I thought I was on for a very bad day, I had no speed and was just very sleepy.
“So I had to wake up a bit more on the bike and luckily my run is still here from a few weeks ago so it was all good.
“But it doesn’t make my choices easy for what I’m doing next.”
Pressed by TriathlonLive.tv’s Doug Gray on whether she will pursue the WTCS title, she added: “Let me have my day off and then I will choose what I’m doing.”
We’ll be keeping a close eye out for her decision – and also on the initial WTCS Weihai start list which will be announced at the end of this month.
