Beth Potter delivers finish to remember with Cassandre Beaugrand in French capital and taste of Olympic drama to come
If the
Paris Olympic triathlon course was looking outstanding on Thursday morning,
then the performances more than lived up to the hype on day one of four Olympic
Games Test Events, the two in-form women in 2023, Beth Potter and Cassandre
Beaugrand, giving a finish to remember in the French capital.
Beaugrand
had flown out of the second transition but Potter reeled her in on lap two of
the run. After they finally shook off the attentions of Emma Lombardi and Laura
Lindemann, there was nothing between them at the bell. A final kick from the
Brit left Beaugrand chasing shadows with nothing left in the tank and Potter
soared to the tape, mission accomplished in Paris and a big step closer to an
Olympic triathlon debut in 2024.
“I don’t
really know what to say to be honest, I just really enjoyed that battle with
Cassandre,” said Potter, thrilled with her first Olympic-distance triumph in
the Series. “I just couldn’t go with the pace out of transition but thought I
would work my way back up to her and it was actually really fun! It was an
interesting swim, I don’t think it was brilliant for me. I would never choose
middle of the pontoon so don’t know why I went for middle today, but I enjoyed
every moment of it. This was my main goal for the season and I ticked it off, I
am super happy.”
Pontoon
positions play early part
As the
majority of the top-ranked athletes did indeed take to the centre of the
pontoon, Taylor Knibb took up her position on the far right, Zsanett
Kuttor-Bragmayer far left, but it was Bianca Seregni (ITA) who lined up next to
the American and was soon carving through clear water on the longer first lap
of the Seine swim.
Summer
Rappaport was also going well with Vittoria Lopes, Lombardi and Sophie Coldwell
on their respective feet, Knibb and fellow American Katie Zaferes just off that
group as they hit the pontoon again and into the second shorter lap.
It was a
mark of Seregni’s strength that she had 10 seconds over Beaugrand, 35 over
Potter, Knibb and Tertsch out of the water, but that was where the Italian’s
challenge ended as she slipped further down the bike field as the opening laps
of the 40km ride played out.
Knibb
with work to do
Knibb
found herself inevitably driving on a third chase group, Potter's pack with an
eight second margin to the lead eight led by Taylor Spivey. Leonie Periault and
Maya Kingma were a minute off after poor swims left them out of contention,
Verena Steinhauser of Italy’s group 90 seconds back.
As they
came through transition for the third time, Knibb was already on the front,
Spivey and Kate Waugh sitting on her back wheel as she upped the tempo, Jeanne
Lehair (LUX) trying to hold on at the back at the halfway point of the 40km
ride.
Kuttor-Bragmayer
was hauling the now-third chase pack closer to Kingma and Periault, but the gap
to the leaders was up to 2m30seconds at the bell, Knibb, Waugh and Spivey once
again tucked together in at the front.
Beaugrand
hits run course hard
Spivey
was typically smooth to transition and flew out of T2 but it was Beaugrand
accelerating to the front, Knibb and Zaferes both losing precious time getting
out onto the run course, Knibb quickly finding herself 14seconds down.
She may
have slipped to 15th out of T2, but Potter didnt let Beaugrand extend her lead
too far, and was able to up the tempo and pick her way back onto the French
shoulders, Lombardi there too with Tertsch and Lindemann as the lead five
slowly established control, Spivey in chase.
Knibb was
picking her way through from 23rd place out of T2 and had soon passed Spivey in
the battle for the USA’s first Olympic qualification spot, Lombardi suddenly
locked into battle with Lindemann for third and the podium that would guarantee
either a Paris 2024 berth.
Potter
plays it to perfection
Up ahead
it was Potter who had enough left in the tank to deliver the decisive kick and
she finally shook off Beaugrand, breaking the French challenge and ensuring a
magnificent gold. Beaugrand’s silver booked her Paris 2024 start and took her
top of the Series rankings with one race to go, Lindemann holding off Lombardi
to take the bronze, Knibb’s fifth earning her an early Olympic place.
Sixth
place for Nina Eim secured her Germany’s second available place on the day,
Waugh (GBR) in seventh, Julie Derron (SUI), Tertsch and
Spivey
rounding out the top 10.
“I am not
going to lie, it was a tough one”, admitted Beaugrand. “I don’t know how I made
it to the end, I was cramping after the first lap in my legs. I tried to keep
motivating my mind ‘you want this podium so much so keep pushing and running
with Beth. I just couldn’t run the sprint finish at the end, I gave it
everything I had and have no regrets. The crowd was amazing. I was so
disappointed not to win but maybe next year.”
“It means
so much and it’s such a relief for me to get the qualification (to Paris 2024)
here, I am just so happy,” said Lindemann. “I think I had a very good race from
the start - the swim was good, the bike was good and the run I had good legs, I
am just so happy about it. The swim strung out a lot I but I just felt
confident and was able to stay on the feet of the very good swimmers. It’s
great to be qualified and now I can focus on the Olympics and prepare from now
on.”
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