Cassandre Beaugrand added a first world title to her Olympic gold medal with a quite astonishing performance in the WTCS Grand Final in Torremolinos – though she had to survive a protest before the result was confirmed.
The Frenchwoman looked in danger of blowing her chances when she went badly off course early on the swim. Having needed a top-two finish to guarantee overall success, she was last of the 48 athletes at that point. But a brilliant comeback saw her move up to 30th by the first swim exit, 10th by the second, eighth after T1 and then into the lead group on the bike – and she never looked back.
The run boiled down to a battle between three title contenders – Beaugrand, compatriot Emma Lombardi and Britain’s defending champion Beth Potter. But a kick just before the halfway point saw Beaugrand surge clear and she was never threatened thereafter as she claimed a famous win.
Potter overtook Lombardi late on to take the silver – and second place in the overall standings. And fellow Brit Vicky Holland, the 2018 world champion, was an outstanding fourth in the final race of her 20-year pro career.
However there was then a dramatic twist as the British Triathlon Federation seemingly launched a protest around the role of the safety jetski and whether they helped guide her back on course. World Triathlon confirmed the results are now pending due to a “protest for outside assistance”.
After more than an hour’s delay and to Beaugrand’s relief – and pretty much everyone else – the result was left unchanged.
Swim – Drama from start as Beaugrand goes awry
The swim, a wetsuit one as water temperatures were 18 degrees despite the air temperature of 30 degrees, was all about that dramatic navigation error on the first of two 750-metre laps from Beaugrand.
Wearing bib number one and on the extreme right for the beach start, she suddenly found herself completely detached from the rest of the field with less than five minutes on the clock as she went further and further right.
She almost had to double back to get back in touch with the pack who were turning at the first buoy.
Exiting the water for the first time she was 30th in the 48-strong field, 30 seconds back and with a huge amount of work to do.
To her immense credit she halved that deficit on the second lap, 15 seconds adrift of leader Bianca Seregni (ITA). And more than that she was up to 10th and right alongside her closest title rival Potter.
An excellent transition only boosted those hopes further as she made up another five seconds and put herself in with a glorious chance of making the front group on the bike.
Bike – Front 12 power clear of the rest
Beaugrand did indeed make what looked an all-important front pack and at the end of the first of eight 5km bike loops we had 12 athletes who had a 30-seconds advantage over the rest.
As well as Beaugrand, Potter and Seregni, that also featured Lena Meißner (GER), Emma Lombardi (FRA), Kirsten Kasper (USA), Vicky Holland – in the last race of her illustrious pro career – and fellow Brits Olivia Mathias and Jess Fullagar, Miriam Casillas García (SPA), Jeanne Lehair (LUX) and Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal (MEX).
But big-name potential losers at that point were Lisa Tertsch (GER), who started the day in third in the overall standings after winning WTCS Weihai last time and Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR), victorious in her last three supertri races.
And there chances were rapidly diminishing as the gap drifted out on each lap – by the halfway point after four loops it was just under a minute to the chase pack. All of which underlined just how important Beaugrand’s comeback in the swim potentially was.
That pattern continued in the second half of the bike which meant that by the time the leading dozen got to T2 they were a minute and 26 seconds ahead of the chasers and seemingly had the medals – and the world title – between them, with Lombardi the other realistic challenger to Beaugrand and Potter.
Mathias, one of four Brits in that front group, led them into transition just ahead of Beaugrand but by the time they started the run it was Lombardi who was just ahead and game on.
Unfortunately for Holland in her finale it wasn’t the swiftest transition as she lost 10 seconds.
Run – Beaugrand a class apart
It didn’t take long for Beaugrand to move to the head of affairs on the first of four 2.5km run laps.
Title rivals Potter and Lombardi went with her as did Lehair and Kasper but it was starting to splinter in behind.
And five became four up front, with Kasper the first to drop off the pace.
There was a more dramatic development towards the end of the second lap – first Lehair slipped back and then Potter was unable to stick with French duo Beaugrand and Lombardi as her hopes of retaining her title were fading fast.
But Beaugrand was imperious – all the more remarkable after that start – and she started to move clear.
With a lap to go she had a 17-second buffer to Lombardi, with a further seven seconds back to Potter.
That grew and grew out but it was a close battle in behind, with Potter easing past Lombardi late on to take second place.
And there was a wonderful late rally from Holland to finish fourth in her last race.
There were celebrations when Beaugrand crossed the line but they had to be put on hold when news of that British Triathlon Federation protest started to emerge.
After more than an hour’s delay it was announced that the result stood, meaning the one-two-three on the day were also the podium in the same order in terms of the overall standings.
WTCS Finals Torremolinos results:
Saturday October 19, 2024
Elite Women – Olympic Distance
- 1. Cassandre Beaugrand (FRA) – 1:56:44 (22:14 / 59:48 / 33:08)
- 2. Beth Potter (GBR) – 1:57:22 (22:14 / 59:48 / 33:47)
- 3. Emma Lombardi (FRA) – 1:57:34 (22:07 / 59:58 / 34:00)
- 4. Vicky Holland (GBR) – 1:57:56
- 5. Miriam Casillas García (SPA) – 1:58:02
- 6. Jeanne Lehair (LUX) – 1:58:09
- 7. Lisa Tertsch (GER) – 1:58:12
- 8. Bianca Seregni (ITA) – 1:58:19
- 9. Leonie Periault (FRA) – 1:58:28
- 10. Kirsten Kasper (USA) – 1:58:35
WTCS Final Standings
- 1. Cassandre Beaugrand (FRA) – 4,000pts
- 2. Beth Potter (GBR) – 3,792pts
- 3. Emma Lombardi (FRA) – 3,509pts
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