Can anyone stop the seemingly inevitable? An undefeated Cassandre Beaugrand heads to Pontevedra in pole position to regain the world title she first won in 2024, and at this point all the momentum is on her side. Her rivals Beth Potter and Lisa Tertsch stalled at the last round of the regular season in Karlovy Vary, missing a valuable chance to close the points gap, and both will now be reliant on help from others.

Luckily, there will be no shortage of that on a start list bulging with talent. Yet this could prove a double-edged sword with Potter and Tertsch equally at risk of losing critical positions to a field that is hungry to impress. Find out who will be in Pontevedra and who could shape the race below.

The Big Three* (*Four, actually)

The focus in Pontevedra will naturally be on the past three world champions. Beaugrand heads up a French trio that has the distinction of each having previously medalled at a WTCS Final. Leonie Periault has enjoyed big performances at Finals before while Emma Lombardi is the only man or woman starting with an active two-medal streak at Finals. After bronze medals in 2024 and 2025, she could make it a third podium in a row next weekend.

Beth Potter heads up a British contingent that will hope to recreate the 1-2 the team achieved in 2023, not least because it will be the best way to deny Beaugrand the world title. In WTCS Karlovy Vary winner Georgia Taylor-Brown, Potter has an ideal ally, while Olivia Mathias, Sophie Evans, Jess Fullagar and Tilly Anema are all proven quantities at this level.

Finally, Tertsch is joined by Laura Lindemann, Tanja Neubert, Julia Bröcker and Franka Rust, who is racing on the back of a WTCS personal best finish in Karlovy Vary. After climbing from 4^th to 1^st in the standings at last year’s Final, Tertsch will not lack belief that she can win from her current position (of 4^th).

However, one feature of 2026 has been that the Big Three has gained a new member. Having won three medals so far this season, Tilda Månsson (SWE) is the latest challenger for the overall podium. Unlike the rest of the Big Four, she skipped WTCS Weihai and WTCS Karlovy Vary to put all her eggs in the Pontevedra basket. Given she has already beaten Potter to gold in Yokohama and pushed Beaugrand to the edge in Quiberon this year, she will be quietly confident of snatching victory. Should she do so, she could become the first woman born in the 21^st century to win at the season finale.

Headline solo acts

Månsson, Sweden’s only starter, is not the only prominent solo act in the field. Italy’s Bianca Seregni, the silver medallist at last year’s Final, could have a big role to play in shaping the outcome of the race. Similarly, Jolien Vermeylen (BEL), a first-time medallist back in Quiberon, has all the skills to play spoiler to the Big Four.

In addition, Roksana Slupek (POL) and Desirae Ridenour (CAN) have enjoyed recent personal bests in the Series and are on the rise. Zuzana Michalickova (SVK) and Maria Tomé (POR) likewise start as recent World U23 Championships medallists and could sneak into the kind of position that disrupts world title calculations.

Separately, a special shout-out has to go to Chile’s Barbara Riveros, who will also be the only woman starting for her country. Riveros is set for the unique achievement of becoming the only athlete to start at the first ever WTCS Final (in Gold Coast in 2009) and the last ahead of the transition to the Triathlon World Tour. Such longevity is truly incredible.

Dark horses

Elsewhere on the start list, WTCS gold medallist Jeanne Lehair starts for Luxembourg alongside Eva Daniels while Taylor Spivey, fresh off a second straight silver medal in Karlovy Vary, heads up the American quintet. Joining Spivey will be Gwen Jorgensen, who with four Finals medals is tied for the most ever in the women’s Series; recent World Cup winner Danielle Orie; and World Cup medallists Erica Ackerlund and Gina Sereno. As Lehair, Spivey and Jorgensen have all finished in the top-5 of a WTCS race this year, any one of them could push a world title hopeful off the podium in Pontevedra.

WTCS medallist Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal also leads a Mexican trio alongside World Cup winner Ana Maria Valentina Torres Gomez and Marcela Alvarez Solis. As a training partner of Beaugrand and Taylor-Brown, Tapia has seen both teammates step atop a WTCS podium this year. At her best, she is also more than capable of being among the medals, although it could make for an awkward conversation back at camp should such a medal prove fatal to Beaugrand’s world title hopes.

Home team

A five-strong Spanish team will also look to maximise home advantage and make a big impact on the women’s race. World Cup winner Sara Guerrero Manso could have a special performance in her while her fellow World Cup medallist Marta Pintanel Raymundo is riding high after a WTCS personal best in Karlovy Vary.

Cecilia Santamaria Surroca and María Casals Mojica will also be starting while the team is completed by World Cup medallist Noelia Juan. It should be noted that Juan’s best ever WTCS finish came at the Pontevedra Final in 2023, and so a return to the city could favour her more than most.

Looking back

So far in the 2020s, only two of the five women that have led the Series heading into the Final have held on to claim the world title. They are Flora Duffy (2021) and Cassandre Beaugrand (2024). Interestingly, Beaugrand has either led or co-lead heading into the past three Finals and only come away with one title. History might therefore suggest that this year’s competition is by no means a foregone conclusion.

In 2022, Duffy overtook Taylor-Brown from 2^nd place overall on the last day by taking gold to the Brit’s silver in Abu Dhabi. Similarly, Potter moved past Beaugrand from 2^nd overall in 2023 by winning the Final when Beaugrand finished 3^rd. The big mover came last year as Tertsch jumped from 4^th to 1^st as Beaugrand, Potter and Lehair all faltered. That day the German made up a 289-point deficit to win the title; by contrast no one else this decade has had to make up more than 70 points to win the women’s Series. As a result, Beaugrand’s lead of 225 points over Potter is assured by recent standards, but anything can happen on the day.

Catch all the action in the women’s Final live on TriathlonLive on Saturday 26^th September from 18:00 (CEST) and view the full start lists here.