IT drama, full gas racing and Beaugrand’s revenge: behind the scenes at Supertri E

Crowning world champions during a one-day showcase in London. Gunning to be an Olympic sport. Satisfying an expectant crowd ready to cheer on their British heroes. And incorporating new software partners to help deliver the high-wire technology act that makes it all possible.

Life for chief executive Michael D’hulst is never dull, but on a drama-filled day both on and off the field of play, could Supertri E further burnish its reputation as a triathlon concept for the future? 220 Triathlon was on deck to find out.

While the IT staff were frantically trying to get the systems back online, the Supertri logistics team were looking to reshuffle a packed event programme to make sure that the evening finals for the Supertri E World Championships, in front of 1,500 spectators (another section had to be opened due to demand) could proceed without a hitch. 

An unstable internet connection was the culprit. “We’ve been here three times already and it’s never been a problem, so we assumed everything was ok again, then we find out it’s not,” D’hulst explained.

“It’s not that difficult to fix if you know two days before. Yesterday was OK, and this morning there’s a problem. That’s the issue.” 

The Supertri boss was clear that it was the Aquatics Centre’s IT infrastructure, not new software partner MyWhoosh, who were at fault. “It’s definitely not a MyWhoosh problem,” he added.

“They’ve been super helpful and even created a brand new world for us where the same avatar can bike and run. It. We did all the tests brilliantly. It is an internet stability problem.” 

As an indoor event where competitors swim before cycling on turbo trainers and running on treadmills, there’s a heavy reliance on the tech working.

But for the athletes, this is also one of the most testing forms of triathlon they face. With a pool lane each and no draft advantage at any stage of the event, there is never anywhere to hide.

“I can use all the cliches, it’s brutal, and hard, and just nonstop,” Jonny Brownlee said at the finish. “I thought the only way to be competitive was to pace my effort, and I kind of did that, but I also blew up.”

When the heats did get underway there were some familiar faces leading out the men’s racing. USA’s defending champion Chase McQueen won the first, GB’s three-time Olympic medallist Brownlee the second, and France’s 2023 world champion Dorian Coninx the third.

Had the delay made any difference? “We’re all in the same boat and you just have to do your best to prepare,” McQueen said. “My team had a good plan, we executed well and now I’ll put my feet up, get some food, do a spin, and some quick physio. It’s going to be the finals before we know it.”

Brownlee also took it in his stride: “I’ve seen it all. Last year, one triathlon was cancelled due to a rain storm in a desert in Abu Dhabi!”

The women’s heats followed, with defending champion Beth Potter cruising through along with Olympic champion Cassandre Beaugrand, and Britain’s Jess Fullagar taking an impressive win in heat three.

Runner-up to Beaugrand and also progressing to the evening’s finals was another Brit, Sian Rainsley, who was taking on her first race of the season, and for whom the delay could have been more challenging than for most.

“I plan when I’m going to eat and recover, and because I have Crohn’s disease, getting it right with my stomach is even more important,” the 28-year-old explained.

Crohn’s is an inflammatory condition that can produce diarrhoea, stomach aches and cramps. While the exact cause is unknown, it’s believed there could be genetic links and a problem with the immune system. In the most serious cases it can lead to surgery.

“I’m a bit older now and know to stay calm,” Rainsley added. “Stress is the worst thing for Crohn’s and whenever I stress out, it flares up. I need to put it in the big picture, take a few deep breaths and rationalise it. 

‘Most people have a pre-race diet and this morning I had porridge and banana. With the extra wait I had another banana and some extra carb drink to make sure I wasn’t depleted. I think I’m learning. I’ve tested what works and what doesn’t work over the years and touch wood, I’ve found it.” 

Unfortunately, the false start to the event meant that the scheduled amateur racing, a first for Supertri E had to be delayed for another 12 months. Apologetic organisers arranged for co- commentator Tim Don to ease the disappointment with a tour of the venue and VIP access to watch the remaining heats conclude.

It wasn’t just the elite athletes who were grateful that racing eventually happened. D’hulst has staked a lot on the success of the Supertri E concept he hopes will be included in a potential first esports Olympics in Saudi Arabia in 2027.

“It’s the IOC’s [International Olympic Committee] initiative to focus on new and younger audiences and build a bridge with physical sports and esport, or, in our case, a blended reality kind of sport,” he added. “We were hopeful that it might be in 2025, but the IOC pushed it back. That creates a whole new level of excitement about things.

As a bike-run duathlon, the E format was part of a demonstration event in Singapore in 2023, but D’hulst is pushing for the full triathlon to be part of the official programme.

“What we’re seeing today is exactly the type of format, swim-bike-run, swim-bike-run, swim-bike-run, that I’d like to see.”

It’s exciting times for Supertri because indoor racing is only one strand of the brand’s vision that started with an elite weekend of racing on Australia’s luxurious Hamilton Island, close to the Great Barrier Reef, in 2017.

The brainchild of D’hulst, two-time Ironman world champion Chris McCormack and Russian-born Canadian businessman Leonid Boguslavsky, it was based on the Nineties F1 Grand Prix triathlons series, with a number of short fast triathlon legs often jumbled in sequence and given names such as the Eliminator and Enduro.

Initially called Super League Triathlon and now rebranded as Supertri, the elite series has cemented an autumn slot in the triathlon calendar, with four or five rounds and popular locations including London’s Canary Wharf. It has continued to attract star names throughout, including the Brits, with London crowds giving rapturous Olympic homecomings to medal winners such as Alex Yee, Brownlee, Georgia Taylor Brown and Potter following Tokyo in 2021 and Paris last year.

The 2025 series roster should be announced in the coming weeks. Alongside the pro racing, Supertri is also trying to build its community and become a leading force in global short course competition – “super sprint, sprint and Olympic distance is our sweet spot,” according to D’hulst.

In March, it purchased the Toronto Triathlon to extend its event roster to six, alongside two races in Texas, plus others in Chicago, Long Beach, California and a European host in Toulouse. Called By Supertri, there’s an understanding that participation gives a more realistic chance to make a return than broadcast rights, with free ‘first-timer’ programmes and an emphasis on relays helping to make entry more accessible.

Will the UK feature? “Yes, I hope so, and hopefully very soon,” D’hulst said. “It’s difficult to do mass participation at scale for the venue we have in London and in the past we’ve held community events to give kids a bit of that Supertri feel.

“When – not if – we’re doing mass participation in the UK, it will not be downtown London. We’ll kick off somewhere else.”

Back to the action and bringing it to life alongside the elite performers was DJ Char Stape, who is used to providing the soundtrack to sporting events, including international football at Wembley stadium.

“Being this close to the action is the best it can possibly be,” said lead commentator Will McCloy who sat within splashing distance of a flip-turn on poolside. “The danger is that because you can see everything you start to talk about things that aren’t on the screen and we want to give the viewers the same experience as those in the venue.”

Don, who raced at the venue in 2021, added: “We get to absorb the energy and on top of the uniqueness of it, we’ve got the Olympic gold medallist racing, which shows that people want to be part of it.”

In lane 10 for the men’s final was Irishman Luke McCarron. Based in Cambridge and working night shifts as a doctor in the week leading into the event, the 26-year-old had sent a friend out to try and buy him a fresh pair of Nike Vaporfly run shoes following the heats.

“With the way the format is, swim, bike and run continuously, and no breaks, it’s nice to be able to put your foot into a dry pair of shoes – they slip in easier,” McCarron explained. “I only brought two pairs because I didn’t think I’d make the final!”

Unfortunately demand had outstripped supply in east London and McCarron had to make do with his existing trainers, eventually finishing ninth, although he wasn’t too disappointed.

Having chosen to pursue medicine at university, triathlon has become more serious in the past few years. “I treated the heats as the final to be honest,” he said.

“Whatever happened there onwards was a bonus. I grew up watching guys like Jonny Brownlee race and still remember listening to the London 2012 Olympics on a radio on a road in Derry.

“The whole Supertri experience is great. It’s one of the best races to do, so well organised and so professional, just a great weekend of fun. The plan is to take a few years out and go fulltime in tri and see what that career holds.”

At the sharp end, the men’s race turned into an epic encounter as Maxime Hueber-Moosbrugger hunted down McQueen over the final kilometre to win the tightest of sprint finishes.

It was a role reversal on the podium after Hueber-Moosbrugger had finished third last year behind victor McQueen, and the less-than-secret weapon turned out to be poolside commentator Michal Bucek, whose excitement at the gap was closing helped give the Frenchman the impetus.

“He made me realise I had a chance!” Hueber-Moosbrugger said. “The speaker was saying the gap was decreasing.. 8sec, 6sec.. and I tried to give it everything. I could have blown up in the last 200m and finished fourth, but I wanted to see if I could catch him. I will need to watch the replay to see what happened.”

For the fourth straight year, the women’s race came down to a showdown between Beaugrand and Potter. Beaugrand won in 2022, but Potter took victory in the following two years. This time the French woman levelled up, looking serene as she pulled away to win by 35sec.

Beaugrand, who spent the last two years training in Loughborough with coach Gav Smith, returned to the continent after winning Olympic gold last summer and has seen her form continue.

“Ok, it’s short distance, but still 40min of effort and I needed to keep something for the end – I was not chilling!” she said.

As for leaving Loughborough. “It’s not that I didn’t enjoy my time in the UK, I enjoyed it a lot, but everything has an end, and I needed some sun again

Computer says no: amateur racing postponed

The WiFi problems unfortunately wiped out the planned amateur racing for what was set to be a novel experience, writes Tim Heming. 

I’d said yes to the invite to take part in Supertri E’s Super Saturday before I’d thought it through. A 100m pool swim, followed by a 2km cycle and then 1 km run, doesn’t sound too taxing – even if we were going to have to go through twice. 

But having reported from the London Aquatics Centre previously, I then reflected on just how hot the venue gets, how little opportunity there would be to do a decent warm-up, and how little experience I had of a dive start into a pool, particularly the second time, when – no matter how conservatively I paced it – I’d already be blowing out of the proverbials. 

I’d interviewed enough athletes to know the cliches: ‘brutal, no let-up, a shock to the system’, so there was a lot to think about, and, worryingly, not much kit to pack! Helmet? No, Wetsuit? No? Bike jacket? No.

I didn’t even need a rear wheel on my bike. In fact, just a trisuit, pair of goggles, towel and run and bike shoes left an uncomfortable amount of space in my usually overflowing transition bag. 

When I arrived at the Aquatics Centre early morning to do my first job, covering the heats, it was clear something was up, and from the external perspective at least, the problem was handled with calm efficiency. 

I was meant to be taking part as an individual alongside two heats of local club relays to give locals a taste of the action and I was on my third coffee when the message came through that I was expecting: no racing today. 

I guess if they had to sacrifice any racing, then, Tim Heming versus Jonny Brownlee, it’s not surprising which way the axe fell. The crowd would agree.

With one Brownlee already retired, it’s not certain how many more times we’ll see Jonny competing on home soil. And not for the first time in London, the ever-competitive Yorkshireman gave them something to cheer about.