The prize money structure in Supertri these days heavily incentivises the team aspect – and no one has played it better this year than Podium Racing’s John Anthony.
There’s $850,000 up for grabs once the team rankings are finalised after Sunday’s showdown in Toulouse, with $350,000 going to whoever finishes top of the pile.
And Podium are very much in pole position on 265 points, 40 ahead of defending champions Crown Racing on 225. Third are Brownlee Racing on 190, with Stars & Stripes on 168.
| POS | TEAM | TORONTO | CHICAGO | JERSEY | TOULOUSE | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 69 | 105 | 91 | ? | 265 | |
| 2 | 89 | 77 | 59 | ? | 225 | |
| 3 | 73 | 48 | 69 | ? | 190 | |
| 4 | 51 | 52 | 65 | ? | 168 |
Fighting on all fronts
Anthony has urged Podium Racing not to think about individual battles and instead focus on delivering team glory as he attempts to seal a first Supertri League title as a manager.
It will round off quite a journey for him too as he parted company with former manager Tim Don in the summer, with the Podium owner unhappy about his former colleague’s defection to Brownlee Racing.
There were some raised eyebrows when Anthony decided to take over the managerial reins himself, but he has delivered an exceptional season, with Podium Racing looking like a cohesive unit.
And while they have that commanding overall lead, Anthony also knows he has a tricky athlete management job on his hands with his two leading women, Jeanne Lehair and Léonie Périault, fighting each other for the individual League titles as well.
But it doesn’t seem a huge issue to him, saying: “When we show up we spend a lot of time in our team meetings talking about what it means to be part of a team. You don’t hear us talking about the individuals a lot. I could spend time talking about six individuals in the top ten across men and women right now, but that’s not my focus.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Jeanne and Léonie who are first and second, but our focus is to show up as a team and to operate as a team.”
Lots to play for
He added: “The Short Chute in Jersey was a really good example. I feel like the default decision was to give it to Jeanne. I wasn’t 100 per cent confident I had made the right call on that one but I felt it was important for Léonie to have the shot going into the swim because that was the right decision for the team and it worked out.
“I don’t take it for granted, but it was the ethos we are trying to build here.”
For Crown Racing, regaining their title would need a monumental shift in fortunes in Toulouse. The good news for them is that they have a 35 point buffer to third place Brownlee Racing so can be aggressive without much fear of dropping back.
Stars & Stripes have got better in each round and will be looking to try and make up the 22 point deficit to Brownlee and lift themselves off the bottom of the table.
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