Hayden Wilde claimed the win at the second round of the French Grand Prix in Bordeaux, overcoming fatigue and a deep field of contenders. Maxime Hueber Moosbrugger and Leo Bergere also left Bordeaux satisfied after landing on the individual podium.
The results, however, had far greater ramifications for the team competition.
Bordeaux saw several team rise through the rankings while a couple made dramatic falls. Read on to find out how each team fared at the weekend and how the overall classification looks after two rounds.
1st) Saint-Jean-des-Monts Vendée Triathlon – 42 points (no change)
With two wins from two, things are looking rosy for Saint-Jean-des-Monts Vendée.
Indeed, Bordeaux realistically went as well as they could have hoped. Leo Bergere got onto the podium with his 3rd place while Nathan Grayel impressed on his way to 5th. Louis Vitiello likewise kept up his good form with a 6th place. In both races this season, the team have put three men inside the top-6. If they can maintain such consistency, they will be tough to beat.
After two rounds, Saint-Jean-des-Monts Vendée have an 8 point lead in the standings and it is hard to see them being caught. If Mario Mola and Bergere can show up at a few more races each, they will be sitting very comfortably, The real key, though, will be keeping Grayel and Vitiello on form. Both have been integral this year and how they finish the season will determine whether Saint-Jean-des-Monts Vendée win the title.
2nd) Les Sables Vendée Triathlon – 34 points (no change)
It was 4th place in Bordeaux for Les Sables Vendée and that was enough to hold on to 2nd overall. They have lost some ground to Saint-Jean-des-Monts Vendée but are still very much in the race for the title.
Pierre Le Corre stepped up again with an individual 4th place, pipping Grayel in a sprint finish. Jeremy Quindos also took another top-8 finish as he earned 7th place. There will have been a little disappointment that their third man, Oscar Dart, only managed 24th. Dart arrived in Bordeaux on form and has the ability to push much higher. At the same time, the pressure of the third score was not entirely on the young Australian’s shoulders.
Rostyslav Pevstov finished 26th and also has a higher ceiling.
The title hunt is therefore still alive for Les Sables Vendée, but they will need to make the most of all the talent at their disposal.
3rd) Poissy Triathlon – 31 points (up 4 places)
That was a bit more like it from Poissy. 2nd overall was a return to form after their underwhelming start to the season. However, there will have been slight alarm at the fact that all three of Saint-Jean-des-Monts Vendée’s scorers beat Poissy’s best finisher, Tom Richard.
Richard finished 8th, 1 place ahead of teammate Dorian Coninx. Meanwhile, Anthony Pujades rounded out the team in 12th.
Despite a good showing, then, Bordeaux offered no clear indication that Poissy can beat Saint-Jean-des-Monts Vendée this year. With all their experience and years of success, they will continue to push for the title as the season goes on. However they are certainly on the back foot as things stand.
4th) Triathlon Club Liévin – 28 points (up 4 places)
Hayden Wilde was a clutch addition for the team.
Despite a hefty training load the day before the race (in which he swam 6km, ran for an hour and biked for 2 hours), he nonetheless had enough in the tank to take the win. Even as the final 2km of the run took its toll (by his own admission), he held on. For that, Liévin will be grateful.
They only just managed to withstand Les Sables Vendée to take 3rd overall in Bordeaux; in doing so added a valuable point to their total. Hugo Winnock finished 14th and Aaron Royle took 17th for the team, representing solid results. The team, though, was largely carried by Wilde.
In many respects, Liévin are repeating their 2022 season. Last year, a slow start put them behind only for Wilde and other international stars to hoist them up the standings. Whether Wilde appears again remains to be seen. Liévin will be hoping that he does but Metz next up looks unlikely. Without him, they will be hoping another star can step into the breach.
5th) Metz Triathlon – 28 points (no change)
Metz held their own in Bordeaux after a brilliant showing from Maxime Hueber Moosbrugger. He finished 2nd and nearly caught Wilde in the closing stages. With Hueber Moosbrugger leading the way, Metz secured a second straight 5th place overall.
Noah Servais finished 11th in what was a very encouraging display. However, Nathan Guerbeur could only muster 30th. There will therefore be a tinge of what could have been when they reflect upon the results. With their top two scorers, Metz had a shot at taking down both Les Sables Vendée and potentially even Liévin.
Maybe that would have been a bit ambitious, yet Metz have the capacity to move up into the top-3. The man that will determine whether that happens over the upcoming races will likely be Guerbeur.
6th) Sainte-Geneviève Triathlon – 22 points (up 3 places)
Igor Dupuis has proven to be a vital part of the team. He impressed in the swim and in Bordeaux he held on for 10th overall, highlighting what a rounded athlete he is becoming. With Dupuis at the helm, Sainte-Geneviève can look to consolidate a spot in the top-8 and maybe even the top-6 at the end of the season.
Gwenael Millot finished 35th and Maximilian Sperl took 43rd to round out the scorers. It appears to be the case, then, that the team is dependant on Dupuis. If he keeps delivering, though, Sainte-Geneviève will be just fine.
7th) Triathlon Toulouse Métropole – 21 points (down 3 places)
Toulouse did not have the best day in Bordeaux as they finished 13th overall. They therefore tumbled down from their 4th place overall at the start of the weekend to 7th.
Nathan Lessmann finished 40th after being well-positioned after the swim. Damien Andrada was the team’s best finisher (in 34th) while Thomas Teofili came home in 36th place. Given that Lessmann finished 11th in Fréjus and Teofili was also in the top-20, Toulouse probably would have hoped for a little more.
At the next round in Metz in two weeks, look for Toulouse to react and push back up the rankings.
8th) Triathl’Aix – 21 points (up 3 places)
Triathl’Aix were one of the surprise packages of the weekend.
After a solid but unspectacular 11th place in the season opener, they joined the party in style in Bordeaux. Casemir Moine picked up where he left off in Fréjus and finished 16th. This time, though, he had the support he needed from the rest of the team.
Quentin Barreau took 19th and Brice Hacquart finished 20th. With more finishes like that, Triathl’Aix could make a run at the top-6 at the end of the season.
9th) Montluçon Triathlon – 20 points (down 6 places)
At the other end of the scale, Montluçon will be happy to see the back of Bordeaux.
The problem was that they lost all three of their scorers from Fréjus: Jordi Garcia, Felix Duchampt and Genis Grau (who finished 3rd). Without them, they had no one inside the top-40. Indeed, their best finish came from Peter Denteneer in 48th. As a result they slipped to 16th overall and have gone from the podium hunt to nervously looking over their shoulder to stay in the top-10.
When Grau and Duchampt come back, they will recover. However, as far as a podium at the end of the year goes, they now face an uphill struggle.
10th) Mach 3 Vienne Condrieu Agglomération – 18 points (up 2 places)
Mach 3 took 8th place in Bordeaux with Basile Fouchard leading the team from 25th. Not far behind, Thomas Rivet finished 31st and Sam Parry finished 33rd. That put them only 1 point (in terms of total finishing positions) behind Sainte-Geneviève. At the same time, it put them 1 point ahead of Valence Triathlon, so their good luck was balanced with a near-miss.
They now sit 10th overall and should be able to defend the position going forward. However, with teams gathering below, they will have to maintain their Bordeaux levels to be sure of staying in the top-10.
11th) M.S.A. Triathlon – 17 points (down 5 places)
After finishing 25th in Fréjus and being M.S.A.’s third scorer, Maxime Bonvalet was the team’s top scorer in Bordeaux from 44th. That switch essentially sums up their weekend.
Bonvalet went well until the run but did not quite have the gas to get into the top-30. Further behind, Theo Jobbin finished 51st and Hugo Linot finished 65th.
M.S.A. will look for Menno Koolhaas and Mitch Kolkman to return as soon as possible to help boost their season. Their hopes of a top-6 overall, though, are now fading.
12th) Vitrolles Triathlon – 17 points (down 2 places)
With Joris Bassle in 23rd place and Thomas Pietrera in 29th, Vitrolles had a good day in Bordeaux. Pedro Gaspar Alfonso ultimately crossed the line in 47th which saw the team take 11th place. On another day, they could have finished in the top-8.
With finishes of 10th and 11th from the opening two rounds, Vitrolles have been consistent. By the end of the season, they should be well-placed in the race to make the top-10.
13th) Valence Triathlon – 16 points (no change)
Valence finished 9th and narrowly missed out on overhauling Mach 3 and Sainte-Geneviève. Nevertheless, they did enough to keep themselves afloat and away from the relegation zone.
Hugo Milner was their top finisher in 18th place. One positive was that Milner had the third fastest run split of the day (in 15:40) which helped him rally from a difficult start. With the speed he possesses, Valence basically have a get-out-of-jail-free card at most races. If Milner can continue to improve and move closer to the top-10, the team will have a great shot of also moving towards the top-10 overall.
Lucas Jouin also impressed on his way to 22nd. In contrast to Milner, he had a much more rounded performance. As a young athlete, Valence will be thrilled to see him so close to the top-20.
Austin Carter was the third scorer for the team in 50th. As with several other teams, then, the third man proved a slight issue. When their Portuguese duo of Tiago Fonesca and Joao Nuno Batista are also available, though, they may be able to solve the issue.
14th) Tri Val de Gray – 12 points (up 2 places)
Paul Lebois impressed on his way to 15th place and his result went a long way to carrying Val de Gray to 10th overall. Given that Lebois finished 75th in Fréjus, it was a remarkable turnaround.
In addition Amaury Dietrich chipped in with a valuable 27th place while Nicolas Maillot finished 54th.
Val de Gray have therefore risen 2 places in the series standings and are now hovering above the relegation zone.
15th) Evreux A.C. Triathlon – 12 points (down 1 place)
Evreux, however, are sliding towards relegation after dropping a place. That happened in spite of a 12th place overall.
All of their scorers finished between 30th and 40th, with Thomas Laurent 32nd, Lilian Pierre 37th and Martin Laurent 39th. If they are to save themselves, one of that trio needs to break into the top-25 (or better).
With teams such as M.S.A. and Montluçon likely to improve going forward, they will also have to fight hard to even finish 12th again.
16th) La Rochelle Triathlon – 9 points (down 1 place)
La Rochelle are in a precarious position. Almost halfway into the season, they are losing ground to their rivals.
Remi Delagarde was the best finisher on the team in 42nd place while Valentin Rouvier was close behind in 46th. As much as Vincent Migne’s 62nd place was not ideal, though, La Rochelle were already quite a way behind. Even if Migne had finished 40 places higher (in 22nd), they would have only equalled Toulouse’s score.
As such, La Rochelle are in danger and will need a few big races to turn things around.
17th) Montpellier Triathlon – 4 points (no change)
It is not looking good for Montpellier.
Jules Dumas finished 63rd and Oscar Hobson was 1 place behind. Cenzino Lebot also ended up in 74th place. Having finished last at both races, a gap is starting to grow between the team and the rest of the field. If nothing changes in Metz, relegation will be on the horizon.
