It was a busy weekend of triathlon with a WTCS-T100 double header to watch. Whereas the double headers coming up in the French Riviera and Valencia will take place at the same locations, this weekend saw the two series head to different corners of the world. With Continental Cups taking place too and a couple of athletes making their Ironman debuts, there was plenty to dig into. One country, though, may have ended the weekend happier than all others.
WTCS Alghero
It is Cassandre Beaugrand’s world and we’re all just living in it. After a bike crash knocked her out of WTCS Yokohama a fortnight prior and put her participation at WTCS Alghero in doubt, the French star was back on song with a complete performance in Sardinia. It was a fourth WTCS win in a row (and fifth if you include the Paris Olympic Games), and world title number 2 looks to be in the offing. Behind her were two first-time Series medallists in Bianca Seregni (ITA) and Olivia Mathias (GBR) as they dropped the hammer on the swim and bike to bury more established contenders like Beth Potter, Lisa Tertsch and Leonie Periault.
Alghero was also part of a Brazilian double-punch this weekend (more on part 2 later in this article) as Miguel Hidalgo became the first athlete from his country to win a WTCS race. Judging by the way he dismantled his rivals on the run after a tough breakaway effort, he might even be on course to become the first athlete from his country to win the WTCS. Matthew Hauser (AUS) crossed for the silver medal after a struggle against Leo Bergere (FRA) on the run, the Frenchman settling for bronze. One unmentioned star was the new course in the old Catalan enclave which made for some tremendous racing. If you didn’t catch the race, be sure to watch it back on TriathlonLive and you can view the full results here.
T100 San Francisco
For so long Taylor Knibb (USA) has seemed invincible over the 100km format but that all changed at the weekend. Olympic silver medallist Julie Derron (SUI) downed the American star, taking a maiden T100 gold medal with a huge display on US soil. A 18km run split of 1:06:37 proved more than enough to overturn Knibb’s field-best bike 80km bike split of 2:10:20. Kate Waugh (GBR), the winner of T100 Singapore, then crossed in 3rd place.
Having been denied in a sprint finish in San Francisco last year, Rico Bogen (GER) made no mistake this time out. He ensured the race could never come to a sprint by detonating a bike split of 1:54:50, putting almost 2 minutes into the next best rider. Jelle Geens (BEL) managed to reduce the gap with a superb run split of 59:40, breaking the hour barrier. But it was only enough to secure the silver medal. Mika Noodt then made it two German men on the podium in 3rd place. View the full results here.
Europe Cup Kielce
A multi-round super sprint event was on the menu in Kielce with the final consisting of a 400m swim, 7.6km bike and a 2km run. Carina Reicht (AUT) dazzled in the women’s race, taking the gold medal narrowly ahead of Germany’s Julie Bröcker. A run split of 5:54, the best of the final by 10 seconds, was enough to carry Reicht to the win. Franka Rust was the third woman over the line to hand Germany another medal.
Germany also saw success in the men’s final as Jasper Ortfeld beat out WTCS medallist Paul Georgenthum (FRA) in a tight finish. Italy’s Samuele Angelini rounded out the podium in 3rd place, only 4 seconds behind Georgenthum. View the full results here.
Americas Cup Salinas
Over in Ecuador, Elizabeth Bravo (ECU) nailed a home victory over the American duo of Michelle Magnani and Chelsea Webber. Bravo was the only woman to dip under 1 hour for the sprint distance, covering the course in a time of 59:50. Magnani was the next woman home 28 seconds later, with Webber a further half minute back on her way to 3rd place. There was a reversal of nationality on the podium as a tight men’s finish saw Luke Anthony (USA) pip Gabriel Teran Carvajal (ECU) by 3 seconds. Erik Yamir Ramos Croda (MEX) rounded out the podium in 3rd place. View the full results here.
Around the world
In part 2 of Brazilian triathletes lighting up the weekend, Manoel Messias broke the Ironman run record with a marathon split of 2:26:50. No, there was not a typo there. What makes his split all the more absurd is that Messias dropped it on his debut over the Ironman distance at Ironman Brazil. His effort was enough to earn him the silver medal but one can only imagine what he might be capable of once he has a little more long distance experience under his belt.
Elsewhere, the 2023 European Games champion Solveig Løvseth (NOR) took the bronze medal at Ironman Hamburg, the same race at which Laura Philipp broke the women’s Ironman world record. An important detail to note with Løvseth’s outing was that she suffered a mechanical issue on the bike in which her aero bars malfunctioned. As with Messias, though, for a first bite at the Ironman distance, it was a hugely impressive effort.