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Beaugrand tops the Brits and Duffy for WTCS Leeds win

Blazing run split snares win despite having to serve 10 second penalty

Photo by: World Triathlon

Despite having to serve a 10 second penalty just short of the finish line, France’s Cassandre Beaugrand returned to the top of a World Triathlon Championship Series podium after a bike crash took her out in Yokohama by dominating the swim and run portions in Leeds.

Beaugrand led the women out of the water after the 750 m swim with Olympic champion Flora Duffy, American Taylor Spivey and Brazil’s Vittoria Lopes on her heels. Great Britain’s Georgia Taylor-Brown didn’t have her normal front-pack swim and trailed the group heading into T1 along with countrywomen Sophie Coldwell and Sian Rainsley.

Coldwell was able to sprint to T1 in time to join a front group of Duffy, Spivey and Beaugrand, and would eventually pull clear along with Spivey. The two would hit T2 with a lead of 40 seconds over the chase pack.

Coldwell managed to run clear of the American, but behind Beaugrand and Taylor-Brown were making up ground. Beaugrand surged to the lead and had enough time to serve the 10-second penalty she’d received at the mount line of the bike and still take a 10-second win thanks to her 16:10 (that included the 10 second penalty) run split. Taylor-Brown ran her way to second, with Coldwell rounding out the podium.

“I can’t believe it right now,” Beaugrand said after the race. “I was just very focussed on my race and after Yokohama (when I crashed) it was quite hard for me because I was in good shape. I wanted it so much, I worked so hard and I just wanted it to pay off, I am very happy with my win today. I crossed my fingers that I had enough gap at the end, I didn’t even want to know how far away they were. ”

Spivey would end up taking the sprint against former national team runner Beth Potter (GBR), with Germany’s Laura Lindemann holding off Duffy for sixth.

Women’s Top 5:

1.Cassandre BeaugrandFRAFRA Flag00:59:03

2.Georgia Taylor-BrownGBRGBR Flag00:59:12

3.Sophie ColdwellGBRGBR Flag00:59:15

4.Taylor SpiveyUSAUSA Flag00:59:22

5.Beth PotterGBRGBR Flag00:59:22

Full results here