Jeanne Lehair called it “an almost perfect race” after she powered to her first ever WTCS victory – and podium for that matter – in Yokohama.
The Luxembourg athlete endured a challenging 2024, suffering heartbreak at the Paris Olympics when a mechanical on the bike took her out of the race when in contention.
So no wonder the emotions were flowing after a brilliant display in the torrential rain in Japan.
‘I realised I was solo’
She was in a front group of three in the swim, continued the good work on the bike and then never looked back from the moment she burst into the lead at the start of the 10km run.
By then Olympic champion Cassandre Beaugrand had already slid out in the wet conditions but Paris third Beth Potter and WTCS Abu Dhabi winner Lisa Tertsch did their best to close the gap on Lehair, all to no avail.
Lehair crossed the line four seconds in front of Potter and said on the live broadcast: “There’s a lot of emotion.
“I had an almost perfect race. I swam at the front thanks to getting on the feet of Therese [Feuersinger]. I then felt really good on the bike. We were only two at the beginning, it was pretty dangerous, so I thought that I needed to stay up front to avoid crashes. And in the run I just felt great – I went to the front and realised that I was solo.
“I couldn’t really enjoy the moment though because I was thinking that this might be the only opportunity of my life to win a race [like this], so don’t mess up.
“My legs felt alright but my belly was killing me – I think it was so painful, that I was forgetting the legs. When I saw that Beth was coming, together with Lisa, I thought ‘oh my God, they might catch me’… but my legs were enough.
“I hope I will have other chances like that, but I will enjoy this one.”
‘I just needed another five seconds’
Potter meanwhile was happy with her performance in the circumstances, having got so close to the win on her first WTCS appearance of the season.
She said: “It was just hard. I’m quite a small person, and I struggle when I get cold, so the water was borderline for me, and then the air temperature was not super warm, so it took me quite a few laps on the bike to make me feel myself.
“But yeah, I’m happy with where it’s at. Last year was such a big year. The last three years have been really big and so to come here and still be competitive and nearly get the win, I think that’s not a bad opener.
“I just ran my own race to be honest and I think I paced it almost perfectly – I just needed another five seconds.”
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