The Debuts
WTCS Cagliari was not the easiest day to make a debut. The nature of the course made it easy to be lapped out and that is ultimately what happened to Garabedian and Peszleg.
In making her first appearance in the Series, Garabedian became the first athlete from Cambodia to race in the WTCS. Prior to this year, Garabedian had represented France and she made her first start for her new country back in March. With her new nationality, Garabedian is expanding the frontiers of the sport. Hopefully her presence will inspire a new generation of triathletes in Cambodia.
Meanwhile, Strada had a very promising first race. He was among the leaders in the swim and rode well in the front pack. Ultimately he paid for his efforts a little in the second half of the run but nevertheless can be happy with how he did.
The Personal Bests
When it came to personal bests, Jonas Schomburg was the big talking point on the men’s side. After so many attacks out of T2, this time his aggressive style of racing paid off. You can read more about his day here.
Furthermore Csongor Lehmann continued his steady rise through the ranks. Over the past few WTCS races he has been gradually digging further into the top-10. With 7th place now under his belt, it seems only a matter of time until the 2021 World U23 champion breaches the podium.
Valentin Wernz and Johannas Vogel provided more good news for the German team as they broke into the top-15 for the first time. The performances Wernz and Vogel will be essential to Germany’s hopes of qualifying three men for the Paris Olympics next year. A top-10 for both could be right around the corner.
Genis Grau equally showed that he is still getting better. When the Series enters is short distance swing in Montreal, look for him to rise even further.
In addition Callum McClusky properly finished a WTCS race for the first time after being disqualified and lapped out of his first two appearances. Darr Smith also made a small improvement.
Jeanne Lehair had a breakthrough race as she took 5th place. This season she has really cemented herself as one of the best runners in the women’s field; for the second straight Olympic distance WTCS event, Lehair recorded the second fastest run of the field.
Cagliari was also the first time she had broken into the top-10 over the Olympic distance.
Moreover Solveig Løvseth improved her best finish in the Series. That came after she earned a first World Cup medal in New Plymouth. As one of the strongest cyclists in the field, Løvseth has a very high ceiling in the sport. If she can improve her swim a little to make it into the front pack, she could become absolutely lethal.
The Fastest Swims
The men’s swim was very concentrated without any real separation taking place, as seen in the statistical breakdown of WTCS Cagliari. The splits tell a similar story with the top-8 men all emerging in a fairly tight bunch.
Strada had a great start to his debut as he logged the fourth fastest swim. Look for him to be towards the head of the race at his future WTCS appearances.
Once again the swim proved decisive in the women’s race. Those that made the top-6 in the water went on to form the breakaway. Indeed all three medallists came from the top-6 in the swim.
The Fastest Bikes
A large component of Vogel’s and Lehmann’s personal bests was their performance on the bike. Both broke into the top-6 bike splits which helped set them up for the run.
Bergere and Wilde were once again among the best splits in the second discipline. At this point in time, they might be the two best cyclists in the field.
It was the same story as the swim when it came to the women’s bike. The breakaway of six dominated the top splits as they rode away from the chase group.
One aspect that has perhaps been under-discussed of late is how strong Taylor Spivey has become on the bike. She has been the only woman to make all three breakaways this year. More significantly, she has been a vital contributor in each and played a big role in zooming away from the chase pack.
It is becoming increasingly relevant, then, to discuss her cycling in a similar breath to that of Taylor Knibb, Maya Kingma and Sophie Coldwell.
The Fastest Runs
In case you missed it, Alex Yee and Hayden Wilde ran the fastest ever 10km splits at an Olympic distance WTCS race.
The course, though, may have been a bit short. One indicator of this is that Michele Sarzilla ran a 29:29. In April, he ran sub-30 for the 10km for the first time. For Sazrilla to have dropped almost half a minute in a triathlon suggests the course might not have been completely 10km.
Either way, the splits thrown down by the leading men on the run were immense.
Yee and Wilde in particular are really pushing the bounds of what had previously been considered possible in the sport and it is brilliant to witness.
Once again, Cassandre Beaugrand showed her class over the run. At WTCS Cagliari last year, she became the second fastest woman of all time on the run in the WTCS (behind Gwen Jorgensen). At the weekend, she narrowly missed matching her split on her way to 4th place.
Jeanne Lehair’s personal best came in large part due to her fantastic run. Her 32:40 was the quickest time she has ever produced in the Series.
Along with Beaugrand and Lehair, Beth Potter also highlighted the value of making the breakaway. Despite a difficult day in the other two disciplines, her run was still in the shape needed to win the race.
