Lehair extends her lead while Brownlee crashes in Supertri Jersey thriller

In a day of unpredictable weather and even less predictable racing, our pro Supertri athletes took to the rain-drenched streets of the iconic island of Jersey this weekend for the fourth and penultimate race of the season. 

In a battle of Podium versus Crown, it was Jeanne Lehair of Luxembourg who sealed the victory for team Podium Racing, who now hold a huge 40 points advantage ahead of October’s league showdown in Toulouse. 

While in the men’s race, penalties wreaked havoc on previous standings as Vasco Vilaça of Crown Racing was hit with a costly penalty during the final transition, allowing Star and Stripes’ Csongor Lehmann to run to victory. 

Unstoppable Lehair

A chilly and grey open-water swim start in St Helier harbour did nothing to dissuade 29-year-old Lehair on Saturday, who produced a near-flawless performance across all disciplines and transitions. 

Lehair made her decisive move during the last bike-to-run transition to pull away from reigning champion and olympic silver medallist, Georgia Taylor-Brown. 

Teammate Léonie Périault went on to secure second place with another strong race, giving Podium Racing a 1–2 finish and leaving Taylor-Brown in third.

Already the Chicago winner earlier this season, Lehair now leads the Supertri series standings heading into Toulouse. “First and second is good,” she said, though admitted to worrying about Périault’s pace in the later stages of the race.

Last year in Toulouse, Lehair was disqualified for a helmet rule breach, but this time she’ll line up with a two-point cushion over Périault, and three over Taylor-Brown and Brownlee Racing’s Jolien Vermeylen. “It’s never finished before it’s finished” Lehair adds, “but I know I’ve done the maximum I could do before Toulouse.”

Vermeylen and Britain’s rising star Bethany Cook rounded out the top five in Jersey, keeping Brownlee Racing in contention.

Lehmann delivers under pressure

The men’s race was chaotic, with slick roads causing crashes for big names including the likes of Brownlee Racing’s darling, Jonny Brownlee and New Zealand’s Tayler Reid. 

Amid the carnage, Lehmann kept his cool. The 26-year-old Hungarian attacked on the final run, crossing the line five seconds ahead of Vilaça, with 20-year-old Brit Oliver Conway seizing an impressive third.

That fabled five seconds happened to be the exact duration of Vilaça’s penalty, who came up against a goggles infringement during the final transition. 

“I can’t believe it,” Lehmann said afterward. “To win a Supertri race is a dream. The pace was brutal from the start, and I knew Vasco would chase hard. Somehow, I held on.”

Conway, thrilled with his breakout podium, called the Jersey crowd “the best atmosphere I’ve ever raced in.”

Lehmann, who finished second in the Toronto opener, now tops the men’s leaderboard heading into Toulouse, two points clear of Vilaça and Alberto González Garcia.

Supertri Jersey results

Position	Athlete	Team	Time
Elite Women:
1	Jeanne Lehair	Podium Racing	54:35
2	Léonie Périault	Podium Racing	+8s
3	Georgia Taylor-Brown	Crown Racing	+16s
4	Jolien Vermeylen	Brownlee Racing	+56s
5	Beth Cook	Brownlee Racing	+1:01
Elite Men:
1	Csongor Lehmann	Stars & Stripes	49:44
2	Vasco Vilaca	Podium Racing	+5s
3	Oliver Conway	Brownlee Racing	+9s
4	Mitch Kolkman	Podium Racing	+38s
5	Tayler Reid	Podium Racing	+1:02

Team standings ahead of the season finale

Thanks to Lehair’s and Périault’s dominance in Jersey, Podium Racing now sit first overall with 263 points. Crown Racing are second on 225, followed by Brownlee Racing with 190. Despite Lehmann’s heroics, team Stars & Stripes remain fourth with 168.

With double points on offer in Toulouse, though, the title is far from sealed, in what promises to be a thrilling series finale on 5 October.

Check out how to watch Supertri League for everything you need to know.