Two days after the World Duathlon Championships were decided in Townsville, the athletes returned for the 2x2 Mixed Relay. In this event, one man and woman compete in a team with each leg consisting of a 1.7km run, 5km bike and a 900m run. Each athlete raced twice in alternating fashion.

France took their place on the start line as the favourites with women’s world champion Marion Legrand (FRA) and men’s bronze medallist Thomas Laurent (FRA) primed for further success. However, with a home team cheered on by the local support, a dangerous Belgian duo and further challenges in the guise of Japan and Britain, a French win was by no means a foregone conclusion.

First leg

Arnaud Dely (BEL) got out to a strong start although Laurent tracked him without giving up more than a couple of metres. Luke Bate (AUS) likewise pushed to remain in touch with the flying Belgian. Entering T1, the rest of the field had been put on the back foot as the leading three countries struck ahead. Their gap only grew from there, however Bate lost valuable seconds in T2. Dely and Laurent could not be separated over the final 900m run and matched one another stride for stride before handing over to their female teammates. Bate followed, having kept Australia 30 seconds ahead of their British rivals.

Second leg

World duathlon champion Legrand took off at the start of the run and gained time over Jeanne Dupont (BEL), the bronze medallist in the individual race. Her advantage only grew as the run wore on. Kelsey Mitchell (AUS) managed to keep Dupont within sight but of greater note was that Phoebe Barker (GBR) had whittled down her deficit to the Australian athlete. All she had to do was bridge to her rival on the bike and then together they would be able to set after Dupont, one of those tasks that invariably is easier on paper than in reality.

Disaster then struck for Dupont. At the dead turn at the end of the first bike lap she came unstuck and then lost minutes battling with a jammed chain. Barker, having managed to catch Mitchell, rode past Dupont however the Belgian athlete was not willing to go down without a fight. Through T2, Barker then escaped the attention of Mitchell and her flying run split then gave James Hodgson (GBR) a considerable lead over Bate. Ai Ueda (JPN) also rolled back the years to heave Japan back into medal contention as she finished only 5 seconds behind Mitchell. Meanwhile, Legrand handed Laurent a lead so healthy it came with its own medical approval.

Third leg

It was on the third leg that the unique feature of the 2x2 relay came into play. Laurent had delivered fantastic first leg and the question was could he do it again? The answer proved to be simple. Yes. He could. By the end of his second leg he handed over a lead of 1:20 after producing a faultless performance. Further back, Hodgson and Bate continued their skirmish but Japan refused to go down quietly as Ryosuke Kaneda (JPN) pushed to close the gap. Hodgson would ultimately have the final say as he gave Britain a 14 second lead over Australia.

Fourth leg

With Legrand untouchable, the gold medal was never in doubt across the final leg. She therefore crossed first to take a second world title in Townsville to the acclaim of the packed crowd. Barker followed in 2nd place after a starring display of her own for the British team. The bronze medal, though, remained very much alive.

Dupont rallied late to re-enter the fray but some last-ditch heroics from Ueda launched her past Mitchell and into 3rd place, adding another medal to her illustrious career. Such was the joy of the Japanese team at the finish line, this medal may just go down as one of Ueda’s most special. The home team settled for 4th place after Mitchell withstood a final charge from Dupont and Belgium placed 5th.

What they had to say:

Thomas Laurent: “It was a good battle with the Belgians at the start. And after I passed on to Marion she did a great job.”

James Hodgson: “it was a really hard, fast first run and I just tried to hold it together on that bike to keep Phoebe in it.”

Phoebe Barker: “James put in a great effort on that first leg to keep us in contention and I just knew if I took out that first run and bike I could take the time out of the Aussies.”

Ai Ueda: “He (Ryosuke Kaneda) did a very good performance and it was exciting. It was very short and very fast.”

Check out all of the results so far from the elite and age-group action in Townsville here and follow all the updates from the World Multisport Championships across all World Triathlon social channels.