After competing in several rounds across the globe, it’s time for the grand finale of the WTCS series.
Leader in the world ranking, Cassandre Beaugrand could achieve the Olympic/world title double in Torremolinos. Among the men, the best placed Frenchman is Léo Bergère, 2nd in the ranking.
As for French paratriathletes, there will be 15 for these world championships. All the Paralympic medalists are traveling to Andalusia and are presenting themselves with the same ambitions as during the Paris 2024 Games this summer. The objective for the French delegation is to beat the record acquired last year with 8 medals including 3 gold. And for the first time, a mixed relay world championship event is also on the program after the format was tested at the last two world championships.
After winning the two WTCS in which she participated in Cagliari and Hamburg, as well as the Olympic title in Paris which counts in the ranking, Cassandre Beaugrand is logically at the top of the world ranking. The youngest tricolor Emma Lombardi will also have her say in the fight for the podium, 4th in the ranking at present, the Frenchwoman had taken 3rd place in 2023 for her second full season at the highest level of World Triathlon. With her victory at the opening of the season in Yokohama and her silver medal at the European Championships in Vichy, Isséenne Léonie Périault is in 9th place in the ranking.
The highest ranked competitors before the grand final are the British Beth Potter and the German Lisa Tertsch, respectively 2nd and 3rd in the ranking who are less than 150 points apart from Cassandre Beaugrand. Like last year, the Olympic champion arrives at the top of the ranking with a slim lead over her closest pursuer, Beth Potter, reigning world champion. All members of the Top 10 will be present with the exception of the Bermudian Flora Duffy and the American Taylor Knibb, entered in the T100 round in Las Vegas at the same time. Olympic silver medalist Julie Derron of Switzerland is also missing.
Bronze medalist at the Olympic Games and 3rd in the world rankings in 2023 after winning the title in 2022, Léo Bergère is once again in the running for a place on the podium in the general rankings and is currently 2nd. After finishing at the foot of the podium at the Olympic Games, Pierre Le Corre appears in this grand final in 6th position in the ranking, 2 small points from the Top 5. The reigning world champion Dorian Coninx will also be present in this final as well as Vincent Luis who announced his retirement at the start of the season and will compete in this race his last for the French team. Both athletes will be keen to succeed in this last race of the international season marked by a big fall in Yokohama for the first city, for the second it is a question of closing the adventure in blue in the best possible way.
The big favorite for this race as well as for the world title is Alex Yee, Olympic champion and undefeated in the two WTCS rounds in which he took part in Cagliari and Weihai and logical leader of the general classification. His great rival Hayden Wilde (NZL) will also be one to watch closely, as will Matthew Hauser (AUS), both very close to Léo Bergère in the general classification. All athletes ranked in the Top 10 in the ranking will be present in the final.
STATEMENT FROM STÉPHANIE GROS, MANAGER OF THE FRANCE OLYMPIC TEAM
What are the ambitions of the French team?
The ambition is to try to conclude this championship well with this last stage, particularly with Léo Bergère who is in 2nd position in the boys’ ranking. He is a little far from leader Alex Yee with 428 points behind and Pierre who is in 6th position 360 points from the podium so it won’t be easy but anything is possible. Léo is 100 points ahead of Hayden Wilde, 3rd, there will surely be a little play between the first three in the ranking with Matthew Hauser in addition who is 4th and who is not very far either. Among the girls, Cassandre is in the lead with 115 points ahead of Beth Potter, if the Briton finishes in front Cassandre should not be more than two places behind. In my opinion we should especially be wary of the German Lisa Tertsch who is 20 points from 2nd place. At the moment she is quite offensive in her race management so we have to be wary of it. Emma is 4th, 200 points off the podium, so that’s not a detail. Overall for the French, whether it is Léo, Cassandre or Emma, they are neck and neck to be world champion or world medalist but that requires being able to manage this post-Games race and that is never obvious. The ambitions are therefore high given their high ranking in the ranking but the difficulty will be to see how everyone has managed this period since the Games. Whether we succeed in the Games or not, we always get out of our routine, either because we need to take a break or because we have demands linked to the success of the Games.
Who will be the nations to watch?
Among the boys, we will mainly have to watch New Zealand and Great Britain. Among the girls, the British will also be ones to watch along with the Germans. Georgia Taylor-Brown is not very far from Emma and with a flat and fairly technical bike course you will have to be on the lookout and those who did the Super Tri rounds had good training for this technical bike part .
Will this race be special as it will be Vincent Luis’s last with the French team?
Yes this race will be special because the grand finale which follows the Olympic Games is always special since we complete a cycle and there are often retirements following this race. At the level of the French team, it will make it special by the departure of Vincent but also because someone like Pascal Choisel (national technical advisor) will stop the high level. It’s the end of a cycle and we’re going to try to take advantage of it.
What are the reasons for Tom Richard’s absence?
Tom was ill following the European Championships in Vichy, which explains his poor performance there. It wasn’t reasonable for him to come to this final because he wouldn’t have been 100% and it would have been complicated for him. It was also better for his physical integrity that he took the time to recover to face winter and the following season with peace of mind.
