The Super League Triathlon Championship Series arrived in Malibu, California, today (Saturday 30 September) for the third race out of four, with strong fields lining up for both the men’s and women’s events.
The race was to take on an ‘eliminator’ format, where athletes will swim (300m), bike (3.6km) and run (1.6km) three times, with the last three finishers in the first two stages being eliminated.
Anyone dropping back more than 90secs behind the leader would also be eliminated, while the final stage would take on a pursuit style, where athletes set off at different times depending on how they’d performed previously.
Coming into the event, the Brits were very much leading the way, with Kate Waugh, who bagged her first WTCS podium in Pontevedra last week, in first spot for the women, followed by Olivia Mathias and Jessica Fullagar.
Those last two weren’t on the start line here, but new World Triathlon champion Beth Potter was, and so was fellow Brit Sophie Coldwell.
Meanwhile, Jonny Brownlee was leading the men’s standings, but faced a strong field in Malibu, with the likes of Alex Yee, Hayden Wilde, Kristian Blummenfelt and Leo Bergere also lining up on the start line.
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What happened in the women’s race?
Stage 1
Malibu is known for its beach start and choppy conditions, which was certainly the case here.
While there wasn’t an extensive amount of white water to get through, there was a strong crosswind and rolling swell.
What’s more, the water temperature was hovering just under 17C, though all athletes were racing in tri-suits.
France’s Cassandre Beaugrand was straight to the front for the 300m swim, but lost position on the way back onto the beach when several athletes, including Jeanne Lehair (BEL), caught a wave home.
Onto the bike, the latter two athletes fought it out in the top 10 along with Potter, Coldwell and Waugh.
Moving onto the run, a front pack of four formed made up of Beaugrand, Potter, Lehair and Emma Lombardi (FRA), and they crossed the line in that order.
Coldwell, Waugh and Katie Zaferes (USA) joined them in the top 10 as Iona Miller (GBR), Gina Sereno (USA) and Barbara De Koning (NED) were eliminated.
Stage 2
Coldwell and Rappaport were out of the water first in the second heat, followed by Lombardi, Nicole Van Der Kaay (NZL), Zaferes, Beaugrand, Waugh and Potter.
After a speedy swim, Coldwell pressed for an advantage on the bike, pushing out on her own while Zaferes and Lombardi pedalled hard to stay with her.
The trio emerged close to each other for the run and that’s the way it stayed, while Lehair followed a handful of seconds back, followed by a small group containing big hitters like Potter, Beaugrand and series leader Waugh.
Lombardi kicked hard to take first in the end, just ahead of Coldwell, Zaferes and Lehair a few second later. Potter and Beaugrand followed an extra few seconds down, as Fanny Szalai (HUN), Sophie Alden (GBR) and Tilly Anema (GBR) were eliminated.
Stage 3
A pursuit-style race followed for stage three, with athletes setting off at different times depending on their previous performances.
Lombardi started first, followed by Lehair a few seconds later. Beaugrand, Potter and Coldwell were running down the sand soon after, with Waugh starting from 31secs down.
Lombardi was first out of the choppy waters, closely followed by Beaugrand, while Potter and Lehair emerged some 11secs down.
The two Frenchwomen worked hard on the bike, stretching the gap slightly to the chase pack of Zaferes, Potter and Lehair.
Onto the run, Beaugrand, Lombardi and Potter all used the short chutes earned in the previous rounds, but Beaugrand soon started to create a gap.
Behind, Lehair was also running well and soon moved clear of Potter, but ran out of road before she could catch Lombardi.
The four hit the final straight in the same positions, with no sprint finished needed here.
Zaferes came through for fifth some 25secs down, with Coldwell an extra 23secs back and Waugh 5secs further behind in seventh.
The result sees Lehair take first spot in the championship standings, followed by Lombardi, Waugh, Potter and Coldwell.
What happened in the men’s race?
Stage 1
Henri Schoeman (RSA) put in a fine swim, catching a wave on the way back in to finish the 300m swim leg in a time of 3:03.
That gave him a decent gap back to the rest of the field with Brit Christopher Perham, New Zealand’s Taylor Reid and GB’s Max Stapley among the next athletes out.
Brownlee was 13.5 secs back, Yee and Wilde around 20 and Blummenfelt second-last.
By the start of the third lap on the bike the top 19 were split by just 13secs, meaning a smooth transition could have been the difference.
Bergere was first out of T2 and was joined in close company by Britain’s Dan Dixon, Brownlee and Wilde.
But as is the nature of Super League racing, there was plenty of movement on the fast-and-furious run leg.
Wilde took the win, followed by Bergere, Blummenfelt, Vasco Vilaca, Shachar Sagiv and Brownlee. Brits Yee and Dixon were in ninth and 10th.
Stage two
Reid and Schoeman came out of the swim at the front, again partly thanks to the help of a wave.
Wilde and Brownlee weren’t too far back, but Yee and Blummenfelt came through T1 more than 20secs back.
Out on the bike, there was plenty of movement and when the third lap arrived Schoeman and Wilde had some clear air up front, but there was a large chase group just down the road headed up by Bergere, with at least a dozen athletes in tow.
As the athletes made their way out onto the run course, it became clear that Yee had been making inroads, with the Brit quickly up to third just after leaving T2.
There wasn’t much sign of change at the front during the run, with Wilde leading Schoeman across the line, with Yee, Hauser Bergere and Vilaca follwing some eight seconds further behind.
Stage three
With the pursuit-style final stage now in play, Wilde was first to set off, followed by Bergere after a short wait. Blummenfelt, Yee and Brownlee soon followed, as did the rest of the field.
For the third time running, Schoeman once again emerged from the water first, followed by Wilde, Bergere and Hauser, with no waves aiding a quick exit.
Vilaca came into T1 10secs down on the leader, with Blummenfelt and Yee arriving an extra nine seconds down.
Bergere and Wilde came into T2 side-by-side and both looked a very good bet for the podium. Could anyone catch them?
Apparently not! Wilde looked in control throughout the run and crossed the line three seconds ahead of Bergere.
Meanwhile, Hauser followed through for third, with Schoeman fourth, Vilaca fifth, Yee sixth and Blummenfelt seventh. Brownlee was the second-best Brit in 10th, with Dixon finishing 13th.
The result means Bergere now heads the leaderboard, followed by Brownlee, Wilde and Yee.
Top image credit: That Cameraman
