A Big Weekend of Triathlon Racing

Triathlon fans were treated to another exciting weekend of racing, with WTCS racing in France and an Ironman Pro Series stop in Denmark. Here’s how the action unfolded.

WTCS Quiberon

This weekend marked the fourth stop of the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) with a sprint-distance race in Quiberon, France, that left triathlon fans in suspense right until the finish line.

Cassandre Beaugrand charged to her second win of the season in front of a home crowd. “I was ready to fight to the end,” Beaugrand said afterwards. “It was crazy. Every time I race in France people push me so much. I just tried to give them my best and give the best show I can.”

Her biggest challenger was Tilda Månsson, who outsprinted Beth Potter to claim victory last month in Yokohama. While Månsson started the run approximately 10 seconds behind the leaders, she had worked her way onto Beaugrand’s shoulder by the bell lap. The pair dropped Jolien Vermeylen, Jeanne Lehair, Emma Lombardi, and Georgia Taylor-Brown to set up a head-to-head battle for the win.

Although Månsson recorded the fastest run split of the day in 15:49 after surging early to bridge up to the front group, Beaugrand revealed another gear in the closing metres, pulling away to secure the victory in front of her home fans.

On the men’s side, Dorian Coninx also delivered for the French crowd, taking the win on home soil and earning his first WTCS podium in nearly three years.

Looking back at Coninx’s racing history, the result served as a reminder of his trademark finishing speed when at his best. He outsprinted Javier Gomez at WTCS Bermuda in 2019, Vincent Luis at WTCS Montreal in 2021, Kristian Blummenfelt at the 2022 Bergen World Cup, and on Saturday added Vasco Vilaça to that list in another stunning sprint finish.

“This was perfect for me, at home, I couldn’t have asked for more,” Coninx said at the finish line. “I knew Vasco was going to go early, but there was also David (Cantero) not too far at the u-turn so I had to push a little bit. The crowd helped a lot, it was massive. Good memories of the French Grand Prix here sprinting with Pierre Le Corre. It is two good results in a row now. I chose not to do much travel at the start of the year and it looks like it is paying off.”

Vilaça and Ricardo Batista completed the men’s podium, adding to the podium finishes they both recorded in Alghero.

Ironman 70.3 Elsinore

The pre-race favourite heading into this Ironman Pro Series event was Kat Matthews, and she delivered, earning the 2,500 Pro Series points she came for. Matthews made the late decision to add Elsinore to her calendar following her Texas DNF, treating the race as a train-through effort just two weeks ahead of her highly anticipated debut at Challenge Roth.

Matthews exited the water 1:48 down in tenth place and, somewhat surprisingly, lost additional time to the leaders on the bike, entering T2 nearly three minutes back and sitting in seventh.

Commentators noted that Elsinore was a train-through race for the Brit and wondered whether accumulated fatigue might be showing. But the moment Matthews hit the run, she was running 20-30 seconds per kilometre faster than the athletes ahead of her, quickly making her way to the front.

She took the lead shortly before the halfway mark and never looked back, crossing the line in 4:02:57. Katrine Christensen and Lena Meissner rounded out the podium, while Hanne De Vet, Fenella Langridge, and Leana Bissig also secured slots for the Ironman World Championship in Nice.

*Of note, commentators added that Ironman had significantly improved the assistance available for athletes dealing with flats, a direct response to the unfortunate incident Matthews experienced in Texas earlier this season.*

On the men’s side, Hannes Butters led out of the swim, followed closely by Jamie Riddle, while pre-race favourite Marten Van Riel emerged just seven seconds back as part of a lead pack of seven men.

Valdemar Solok took the early lead on the bike, and for much of the ride it was Solok and Van Riel driving the pace at the front. The pair entered T2 separated by just one second.

Van Riel, who had strategically put on socks in T1, was the first athlete onto the run course. Although challenged over the opening kilometres, he gradually pulled away from the field, ultimately stopping the clock in 3:36:03.

In the process, he set a new bike course record of 1:58:04 (more than two minutes faster than the previous mark), and also punched his ticket to Nice, in addition to securing 2,500 Pro Series points. In fun facts, this win extended his perfect record at the 70.3 distance to six victories from six starts.

When asked at the finish line whether he intended to pursue the Ironman Pro Series title, Van Riel smiled and said he would absolutely be giving it a go, while joking that a few Norwegians might have something to say about that.

Solok finished second and Simon Viain rounded out the podium in third, while Riddle and Ben Faeh also secured their Nice slots.