French rocket Leonie Periault followed up her lightning 2025 WTCS Hamburg win by shaving a full 30 seconds off that time, holding off defending World Champion Lisa Tertsch and taking the tape once again on Saturday afternoon to move into fifth in the Series.  

Periault had to be patient after exiting the swim in 29th position, and as the bike came together after WTCS debutant Fanni Szalai’s bold breakaway was shut down, there were soon shades of 12 months ago. 

There was plenty of work to do out of T2, too, and the French star needed to put in a rapid first 500m to draw level with the front runners Tertsch and Beth Potter. Once she did, though, there was no looking back, Tertsch holding on for second as Tilda Mansson threatened, the Swede finishing with bronze while sixth for Beth Potter (GBR) sees her to the top of the Series Rankings after five races.

'Back-to-back wins (in Hamburg), it's a very good day for me. My legs were dead for the first metres (of the run), but came good after. The swim was not good nor bad, and the bike effort was very hard to find my position but, the run is my sport!'

It was Italy’s Bianca Seregni, Fanni Szalai (HUN) and home favourite Lisa Tertsch fastest through the 750m swim and up the steps into the iconic transition by Hamburg’s town square, the trio onto the bikes and away with a sizeable early advantage over race number one Jeanne Lehair and Taylor Spivey. 

Beth Potter was 30 seconds off the front but the chasers set about shaving down the deficit as Tertsch and Seregni drew closer into sight. Szalai was on a mission, however, and it was another full lap before the 18-year-old would be reigned in, 35 athletes all coming together in the peloton. 

The likes of Potter, Franka Rust (GER) and Lindemann worked hard at the front of the bike and were well set again at the bell, Cathia Schar (SUI) also taking up duties as the pack dropped down to 32.

At the bell it was Potter out and away behind Schar with German pair Tanja Neubert and Julia Brocker, Tilda Mansson left trailing after struggling in transition.

But it would be Periault and Tertsch who picked their way to the front and then started to gap the field, Emma Lombardi and Spivey moving into striking position behind Potter but unable to hold the leaders’ pace.

But just as she did 12 months ago, Periault found her groove over the second lap and there was nothing that the defending champion or anybody else could do about it.

Once she found precious daylight there was only one outcome, the lead extending from two to four seconds and Tertsch’s mission switched to holding on for second. That she did by a full 7 seconds as the flying Tilda Mansson completed the podium, Periault clocking the day’s fastest of 15:56 for the 5km.

Taylor Spivey showed her form was continuing with fourth, Emma Lombardi fifth ahead of Beth Potter, Roksana Slupek (POL) marking her full recovery from the broken scapula sustained here a year ago with a sparkling 7th, Jeanne Lehair (LUX), Fanni Szalai and Diana Isakova (AIN) rounding out the top 10.