Bahrain Victorious athletes delivered another weekend of front-running performances, led by Cassandre Beaugrand’s third consecutive World Triathlon Championship Series victory in London, Vasco Vilaça’s silver medal to retain the overall Series lead, and Vincent Luis’ fourth-place finish at Ironman 70.3 Boise.
Beaugrand continued her remarkable run of form, overcoming an uncharacteristically slow swim to claim a third straight World Triathlon Championship Series victory.
Returning to triathlon after a month away from racing, during which she broke the French national 3,000-metre record, Beaugrand exited the water in 25th while Georgia Taylor-Brown led the chase behind Taylor Knibb, who emerged from the swim in second. Knibb immediately looked to split the race apart with an aggressive ride, but Beaugrand and Taylor-Brown drove the chase group to reduce the gap to just 21 seconds by T2.
Once onto the run, Beaugrand quickly found her rhythm. She surged to the front and never looked back, producing another trademark comeback victory.
“I thought I was having a very bad day when I was swimming. I just had no speed; I was very sleepy. I had to wake up on the bike, and luckily my run is still here from two weeks ago. It was still good and I’m very happy,” Beaugrand said afterwards.
Taylor-Brown continued her consistent season with sixth place, while Knibb crossed the line in seventh.
In the men’s race, Vasco Vilaça added another silver medal while strengthening his grip on the World Triathlon Championship Series lead.
The Portuguese star featured at the front throughout the swim and bike before launching an attack on the final climb of the run. Although caught in the closing sprint, he finished just three seconds behind the winner to extend his overall Series advantage.
“These duels with Matt (Hauser) are incredible. I think I played it better this time, the tactics were better, but as we got to the left turn he had the inside and an extra gear and that was it for me,” Vilaça reflected.
Across the Atlantic, Vincent Luis narrowly missed the podium at Ironman 70.3 Boise.
Despite early confusion on the swim course, the Frenchman exited the 2-kilometre swim in second before riding into third over the 90-kilometre bike leg. He remained in podium contention throughout the half marathon but was edged out in the closing stages to finish fourth in the penultimate race of his career as he continues his build towards the Ironman World Championship in Kona
