This is the big one. France will be the home team at next year’s Olympic Games. They have the men’s defending world champion among their ranks. They are also the reigning Mixed Team Relay world champions.
Along with Great Britain, they are one of the only countries with a realistic chance of sweeping golds in all three events in Paris.
With lofty ambitions guiding the team, the French Federation have produced what might be the most stringent selection policy for the Games. As you will see below, the criteria are some of the most exacting in the world.
Without further ado, then, let’s take a look at how the French team will be picked for Paris in 2024.
How will the athletes be picked?
There will be four “ranks” from which the athletes can be selected. In the first two stages, a maximum of two men and two women can be added to the team. In the final stages, there is no cap on how many athletes can be picked. For instance, if no athletes hit the first two criteria, the whole team can picked using points three or four.
The first priority for selection will go to any athlete that achieves a top-3 finish the Paris Olympic Test Event in August. Most countries that will rely on Paris as a selection race require a top-8 finish. France, however, demand a medal from any athletes that wish to qualify.
In the second priority, an athlete can be selected if they achieve a top-8 in Paris and win a medal at the WTCS Final in Pontevedra. Again, a top-8 in Pontevedra is a common criteria on its own across the world of elite triathlon.
Not only must a French athlete medal in Pontevedra, but that represents only half of the criteria.
Under the third priority, up to two athletes per gender can be picked on a discretionary basis until the end of 2023. The guiding factor here is whether, based on an assessment of the athletes’ performances, the federation feel they can win an individual medal in Paris.
Finally, the fourth criteria may add athletes that could assist with obtaining a medal in the individual or relay events at the Games.
In addition, once an athlete has been selected under the first three ranks in 2023, they must then “confirm” their place in 2024.
To do so, they must finish in the top-6 of an Olympic distance WTCS race in 2024, prior to 27th May 2024 (the end of the Second Period of Qualification). Alternatively, they must have finished in the top-3 of a 2024 WTCS race before the same cut-off (so over the Sprint or Super Sprint distance).
The message is clear. If you can’t win a medal in Paris, the French team are not interested.
Who does the policy favour?
The obvious place to start is the athletes that will be allowed to race at the two selection races (the Olympic Test Event and the WTCS Final).
Leo Bergere and Leonie Periault earned they Paris slot with their top-5 finishes at the WTCS Final in Abu Dhabi 2022. For those with short memories, Bergere won in dramatic fashion to snatch the world title.
Thereafter athletes could earn a starting place at the Test Event by achieving a top-5 in either Yokohama or Cagliari.
In Yokohama, Dorian Coninx finished 4th. Two weeks later, in Cagliari, Pierre Le Corre hit a 5th place (Coninx repeated his 4th place). On the women’s side, Emma Lombardi finished 2nd in Cagliari and Cassandre Beaugrand took 4th place at the same race.
As a result, there are currently three men and three women lined up to race at the Test Event. Discretionary selections may still be added. Vincent Luis, for example, could get on the start list but faces a challenge with three men now ahead of him.
Tom Richard, Mathilde Gautier, Sandra Dodet and Audrey Merle are also in a similar boat.
To race in Pontevedra, an athlete will require a top-6 finish from WTCS Abu Dhabi 2022 or a top-8 finished from WTCS Yokohama or WTCS Cagliari. No additional athletes qualify under those criteria from those racing at the Test Event.
An athlete can also start in Pontevedra if they achieve a top-3 in a 2023 Sprint or Super Sprint WTCS race. These include the events in Abu Dhabi, Montreal, Hamburg and Sunderland.
Finally, a discretionary selection may come into play.
As things stand, then, the selection policy favours the three men and three women that are currently in line to be able to race at the selection events. The door is still open for Vincent Luis to race in Pontevedra (and perhaps in Paris), however there is a chance his ill-timed hip injury has compromised his hopes of racing in Paris next summer.
Way too early team predictions
France will qualify three men and three women to Paris. At this point in time, they have athletes to spare inside the top-30 of the Olympic qualification rankings.
On the women’s side, the team will almost certainly consist of Cassandre Beaugrand, Leonie Periault and Emma Lombardi. How the team is constructed remains to be seen. One or two might meet the first two priorities. Equally, the discretionary aspects will come into play.
Nevertheless, Beaugrand, Periault and Lombardi are the core three athletes to race for France in the WTCS, they are the three women able to race at the Test Event and all have more than one WTCS medal.
The men are a little trickier.
Leo Bergere has proven himself to be a performer on the big stage. After his European and World titles last year it is no stretch to see him winning a medal in either Paris or Pontevedra (whilst adding the requisite top-8 in Paris).
Yet such is Dorian Coninx’s form it is possible to see him also meeting one of the first two criteria. Given his start to 2023, he would equally warrant a discretionary slot if he misses out at the selection races.
Then the third slot will be discretionary. On that front, the race will likely be between Pierre Le Corre and Vincent Luis. Tom Richard has not yet shown he can win an Olympic medal in his WTCS showings. Likewise, he has not been a dominant enough swimmer to perform a team role in the way Luis or Le Corre could.
Le Corre’s result in Cagliari proved he will be tough to beat. Moreover he would make an excellent “team captain” or “super-domestique” on the bike, depending on your phrase of choice.
After winning WTCS Bermuda in November, Luis demonstrated he can fight for an Olympic medal. However, after being waylaid by yet another injury, there will be some doubts hanging over him.
If Luis had more time he could do it, but right now Le Corre feels the safer bet to be the third man on the team.
View the full selection policy here.
