Beaugrand and Wilde take the wins at Super League Triathlon Malibu
Photo by:
Kevin Mackinnon
It was an (almost) all French podium in the women’s race at the Super League Triathlon Championship event in Malibu as Cassandre Beaugrand ran her way to the win over countrywoman Emma Lombardi and former French star Jeanne Lehair (who now competes for Luxembourg).
For the men, Hayden Wilde (NZL) managed to turn the tides of a challenging few months with a dominating run as well, surging ahead of France’s Leo Bergere to take the win, with Australia’s Matt Hauser rounding out the podium.
After the bedlam we saw in Toulouse at the last SLT race, the race in Malibu didn’t have nearly as much controversy, just an interesting mix of exciting racing, although Mother Nature did have some say in the race-day developments. The Eliminator event saw athletes compete in three swim/ bike/ run races, with the waves playing a huge factor for each of the swims as athletes catching a helping wave could make or break the race.
Lehair takes Championship lead
Beaugrand took the first of the three legs, with Lombardi taking the second stage. Lombardi was first to head off for the final leg, which featured a “time trial” start, but was quickly caught by Beaugrand, who had left third behind Lehair.
Newly crowned world champion Beth Potter was in the mix at the end of the swim, alongside Lehair with American Katie Zaferes hanging in, too. Lombardi was strong on the bike, managing to open some time on Beaugrand through the technical stages of the ride, but Beaugrand would put in a huge push on the straightaway on the course to get back on the wheel. At the end of the bike the two were about 13 seconds up on Potter, Zaferes and Lehair – with only about a mile of running, it seemed pretty certain the first two spots in the race would go to the French pair.
Which it did. Beaugrand quickly moved to the front and never looked back as she cruised to the win, with Lehair taking second about nine seconds back. Lehair had an impressive run, pulling away from Potter to take third and move into first place in the Championship standings, Zaferes rounded out the top 5.
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Revenge for Wilde
It’s been a tough go for Hayden Wilde since the Paris Test Event, where a bike crash heading into the race forced him to pull out after the bike. Then, at the SLT Toulouse race, Wilde was biking in the lead with France’s Leo Bergere when he miscounted his bike laps and ended up riding through transition. The gaffe would result in a penalty and him finishing fourth. Then the Kiwi had a tough day at the World Triathlon Championship Finals last weekend, where a top-six would have netted him the world title. In the end he got a 15-second penalty and would end up ninth as France’s Dorian Coninx became the surprise world champion.
All of which made Wilde’s performance today that much more satisfying. Once again the racing would turn into a duel between Wilde and Bergere, with South African Henri Schoeman putting on a display of swim prowess to stay in the mix for much of the race.
Wilde headed off first to start the time trial start, but by the end of the swim he was joined by Bergere and Schoeman. Schoeman couldn’t stay with the other two on the bike, though, which set up a two-man duel for the win heading into the final run. Bergere used his team’s “short chute” to open up a bit of an advantage early, but Wilde quickly got back onto the Frenchman’s shoulder. Wilde didn’t wait long before he made his move, and while Bergere was initially able to mark the Kiwi’s acceleration, in the end he couldn’t match the pace and dropped off.
Wilde cruised through the rest of the run for a big win, with Bergere crossing the line a few seconds behind – enough to put him in the lead in the Championship standings. Third went to Hauser, who was able to run Schoeman down, with Portugal’s Vasco Vilaca rounding out the top five.
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