Germany’s Lisa Tertsch claimed a remarkable victory in the WTCS Grand Final to snatch the world title in the process as the two big favourites, Cassandre Beaugrand (FRA) and Beth Potter (GBR), cracked on the run.
The Wollongong finale had been billed as a showdown between Olympic and reigning world champion Beaugrand and the 2023 champion Potter – and for a huge chunk of the race that was exactly how it played out.
But in hot and windy conditions Beaugrand was suddenly treading water early on the run and then midway through the 10km Potter too was unable to keep pace with the leaders.
And Tertsch took full advantage on a hilly course which played to her strengths. Soon after the big two went backwards, she knew a top-two finish would be good enough for the title but she wasn’t content with that and kicked clear from Bianca Seregni (ITA) to take the race win as well.
French duo Emma Lombardi and Leonie Periault came across the line next. Potter would finish 16th, over two minutes back, while Beaugrand was a DNF.
But there was no denying Tertsch who had started the season with a victory at Abu Dhabi back in February and raced every other WTCS event in the campaign.
Here’s how a dramatic day unfolded…
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Swim – Anema makes her mark
There was drama before the start when the wind really picked up and as the water became seriously choppy, the course was changed to the one used for the juniors on Friday.
That meant two laps of an ‘M’ shaped formation and Beaugrand underlined her class in all swim conditions straight away as she moved to the front.
It was no surprise to see Seregni there as well but both were then overtaken on the first lap by Tilly Anema (GBR) on what was her WTCS debut.
She was out of the water first at the end of the first lap, just ahead of Beaugrand, Tertsch, Kanae Takenaka (JPN), Kirsten Kasper (USA), Seregni and Potter, who was seventh at +11s.
The septet had a bit of a gap on the rest but talking of gaps, Potter was three seconds back from Seregni so needed to produce a big early effort to close that.
Onto the second lap and the order was set as that same seven athletes continued to lead the way and really put time into the rest.
They were covered by nine seconds heading into T1 but there was work to do for some big names – Periault was at +27s, with recent Supertri champion Jeanne Lehair (LUX) at +34s, that duo each having outside chances of the title at the start of the race.
Bike – Front six power clear
It was obvious from the start of the bike that it was likely to be crucial to get in that front group and of the first seven in the swim, Takenaka just missed the break.
Potter too suddenly looked to be dangling a few metres back on what was an immediate uphill towards the Wollongong lighthouse.
But the Brit was given what could have been game-changing help by her teammate Jess Fullagar, one of the strongest cyclists around, who emerged from the pack and helped her rejoin forces with the front five.
And the potential importance of that was underlined when Taylor Spivey (USA) in eighth had the front seven in sight but it proved tantalising and an impossible gap to close on her own.
After the first of seven laps the front seven comprised French duo Beaugrand and Lombardi, British trio Potter, Fullagar and Anema, plus Germany’s Tertsch and Italy’s Seregni.
There were 22 seconds back to Spivey and 36 seconds to the first chase group which also contained Periault and Lehair.
And those gaps would go out and out – it was over a minute after lap two, though the front seven was now a front six as Anema dropped off, with her work done.
Beaugrand seemed to be asking for help after doing a turn on the front – slightly strange given that Fullagar had been doing the bulk of the work up to that point.
Either way the pattern continued – 1:12 between the leaders and the chasers after lap three, though the second chase group had now tacked onto the back of the first one so nearly 30 athletes in total.
However there was a surprising development up front as Lombardi had ridden away from the other five. At the end of lap four, Lombardi had seven seconds on the five behind her, who in turn were 1:17 in front of the huge chase pack.
That chase pack was then reduced in numbers when Selina Klamt (GER) suffered a horrible-looking fall. Thankfully she did get back on her feet but her race was over.
Meanwhile Lombardi’s venture off the front was looking like fizzling out – she was four seconds to the good after lap five and on the sixth lap Fullagar reeled her in with ease. All of which meant that starting the seventh and last lap the front six were back together and interestingly the gap to the chasers had dropped down to 59 seconds but it was surely still too little, too late for them.
Going into T2 and that gap was still around a minute but up front we apparently had the showdown nearly everyone had expected – a run battle between Beaugrand and Potter for the world title.
Run – Incredible scenes!
So starting the run and Tertsch in theory was still in the battle but for that to happen she would (likely) have to win and also see the big two finish fifth or lower…
Beaugrand was fractionally slowest of the front six in transition and came out last but there was little between them.
There were four laps in front of them and as Potter had told us in the build up, they started with a significant climb. The six were still altogether at the top of that but in behind Periault had broken away from the chase pack and was now 44 seconds behind.
But then came the first huge moment as Beaugrand was suddenly losing ground as the other five moved 30-40 metres clear.
Whether they knew straight away, they certainly did by the 180-degree turn which came soon after and at the end of the first lap, Beaugrand was 11 seconds back and clearly struggling. Periault meanwhile was just 28 seconds off the leaders along with Diana Isakova (AIN).
And it didn’t take long for that duo to move past Beaugrand, her title hopes over.
Remarkably it was soon after this point that Potter herself – on the downhill from Flagstaff Hill – now dropped off the front pack.
That meant the title-winning equation was suddenly on for Tertsch. Periault’s chances were looking a lot brighter too.
Beaugrand was completely out of contention, now more than a minute back, and Potter had been overtaken by Periault who now had what was now a front three of Tertsch, Lombardi and Seregni in sight, with Fullagar in between them.
Three up front now became two as Lombardi dropped off the fierce pace. A top-two for Tertsch would now be good enough given how swiftly Potter was dropping away.
Periault still had outside hopes but Beaugrand, Potter and Lehair (over two minutes back) were out of the reckoning. Who would have thought that half an hour earlier?
Tertsch’s race-defining move came on the last climb up towards the lighthouse as she powered away from Seregni and she stayed on strongly to notch a famous triumph, Seregni and Lombardi rounding out the on-the-day podium.
In terms of the title picture, Tertsch won by over 300 points from Periault, with Potter third, full results below.
WTCS Grand Final Wollongong results:
Sunday October 19, 2025
Elite Women – Olympic Distance
| Position | Athlete | Country | Overall time | Swim | Bike | Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lisa Tertsch | GER | 01:56:50 | 00:19:09 | 01:02:34 | 00:33:56 |
| 2 | Bianca Seregni | ITA | 01:57:04 | 00:19:11 | 01:02:30 | 00:34:09 |
| 3 | Emma Lombardi | FRA | 01:57:16 | 00:19:12 | 01:02:32 | 00:34:23 |
| 4 | Leonie Periault | FRA | 01:57:21 | 00:19:33 | 01:03:07 | 00:33:27 |
| 5 | Jessica Fullagar | GBR | 01:57:28 | 00:19:23 | 01:02:19 | 00:34:33 |
| 6 | Diana Isakova | AIN | 01:57:40 | 00:19:43 | 01:02:50 | 00:33:41 |
| 7 | Taylor Spivey | USA | 01:57:47 | 00:19:27 | 01:03:17 | 00:33:51 |
| 8 | Anna Godoy Contreras | ESP | 01:57:49 | 00:19:32 | 01:03:14 | 00:33:52 |
| 9 | Tanja Neubert | GER | 01:57:51 | 00:20:12 | 01:02:29 | 00:33:54 |
| 10 | Jolien Vermeylen | BEL | 01:57:58 | 00:19:42 | 01:03:02 | 00:34:00 |
WTCS Final Standings
| Ranking | Athlete | Country | Counting races | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lisa Tertsch | GER | 4 | 3886.26 |
| 2 | Leonie Periault | FRA | 4 | 3577.04 |
| 3 | Beth Potter | GBR | 4 | 3313.18 |
| 4 | Taylor Spivey | USA | 4 | 3125.85 |
| 5 | Bianca Seregni | ITA | 4 | 3069.93 |
| 6 | Jeanne Lehair | LUX | 4 | 2979.32 |
| 7 | Cassandre Beaugrand | FRA | 3 | 2925.00 |
| 8 | Diana Isakova | AIN | 4 | 2832.96 |
| 9 | Jolien Vermeylen | BEL | 4 | 2738.35 |
| 10 | Tanja Neubert | GER | 4 | 2612.89 |
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