The season opener of the French Grand Prix kicked off in Fréjus with Mario Mola taking the win in the men’s race.
In the Grand Prix, though, the performance of the team is the most important factor. With that in mind, read on to find the current rankings of the series after round 1 and a breakdown of how each team fared at the weekend.
1st) Saint-Jean-des-Monts-Vendée Triathlon – 21 points
Saint-Jean-des-Monts could not have asked for a better start to their campaign. The obvious talking point is that Mola won the race but the depth of the team was on full display.
Louis Vitiello finished 4th while Nathan Grayel impressed on his way to 6th. With Mola, Vitiello and Grayel standing as the three scoring athletes, Saint-Jean-des-Monts scored 11 points (1st plus 4th plus 6th) to win comfortably. Being able to put two French athletes in the top-10 is a luxury most teams do not have.
That should serve the team well throughout the year as Vitiello and Grayel will likely be available more often than most international recruits.
With the maximum 21 points under their belts. Saint-Jean-des-Monts will look forward to a big season.
2nd) Les Sables Vendée Triathlon – 19 points
Pierre Le Corre was on brilliant form as he finished 2nd in Fréjus. Fresh off his Team SPIX training camp, Jeremy Quindos was also very good as he took 5th place. With two men in the top-5, Les Sables Vendée were on course for a strong weekend.
A useful 16th place from Simon Viain helped to solidify them in 2nd place overall.
On balance, the weekend probably went as well as they could have hoped. The challenge now will be to hold their high level throughout the season.
3rd) Montluçon Triathlon – 17 points
Genis Grau’s 3rd place was the key separator for Montluçon and elevated them from the teams behind. On another day, Grau might have had the final kick to take down Le Corre but that would not have made any real difference to the team standings. As it was, he delivered exactly what the team required.
Alongside Grau, Felix Duchampt came 10th and Jordi Garcia finished in 23rd place. For Montluçon, getting their third scorer into the top-20 will help going forwards. After a great start, they will be in contention for a podium finish at the end of the season.
The only worry for them will be losing all three of their scorers to various WTCS and World Cup commitments. If that happens, then the team could be vulnerable.
4th) Triathlon Toulouse Métropole – 15 points
Nathan Lessman, Thomas Teofili and Gergely Kiss all landed inside the top-20 in Fréjus.
Lessman was the best finisher with an 11th place while his two team mates finished within 20 seconds of him. Over the course of the season, expect Lessman and Teofili to play important roles.
If Toulouse can keep Kiss on as many start lists as possible, the overall podium will be within reach.
5th) Metz Triathlon – 14 points
With Noah Servais finishing 7th and Aurelien Jem finishing 12th, Metz created a solid base from which to build their season.
The problem was that Nathan Guerbuer could only muster 34th place, which is a slight drop off from last year. Metz will need Guerbuer to step up to fight for the overall podium. Jem should be a reliable scorer but Servais will have international commitments drawing him away from the series.
How Guerbuer fares will therefore determine Metz’s year.
6th) M.S.A. Triathlon – 13 points
M.S.A. had a terrific start to the year and perhaps outperformed expectations. Menno Koolhaas broke into the top-10 with his 9th place while Mitch Kolkman and Maxime Bonvalet finished 21st and 25th, respectively.
For Kolkman in particular, that was a very promising result.
Their results put M.S.A. only 2 points behind Metz in terms of finishers. Buoyed after Fréjus, expect M.S.A. to push for the top-5.
7th) Poissy Triathlon – 12 points
It was a disappointing day out for Poissy but they are too experienced to panic.
Both Aurelien Raphael and Anthony Pujades started well, with both securing ideal positions out of the swim. Although Raphael ultimately ended up in 8th place, Pujades did not score for the team.
Instead Yann Allichon and Antoine Duval were the scorers alongside Raphael. Allichon placed 22nd while Duval managed to finish 26th. A Pujades top-15 would have seen Poissy challenge Toulouse so there is no reason to panic.
Going forward, Jawad Abdelmoula should also return. He was away for the African Cup in M’Diq and so missed the season opener. M’Diq was a home country race, however he faded over the Olympic distance. It is hard not to think that both Abdelmoula and Poissy would have benefitted from him racing in Fréjus. That, though, would have been hard call to make and looks clearer only in hindsight.
Poissy will rally but, based on this weekend’s results, they will have a fight on their hands.
8th) Triathlon Club Liévin – 11 points
Liévin were solid if unspectacular. Yanis Seguin finished 17th and Darr Smith was quietly good on his way to 20th. James Chantler Mayne rounded out the scoring with his 29th place.
No one had a bad race but the team missed a top finish that the likes of Metz and Montluçon enjoyed.
Last year Liévin’s heavyweights arrived later in the season to ramp up their campaign. Maybe that will work this year, especially with Poissy dropping early points. However it feels like they’ve lost significant ground already.
Winning the series will not be impossible, but they have made it harder for themselves.
9th) Sainte-Geneviève Triathlon – 10 points
Igor Dupuis was a bit of a surprise as he finished in 15th place. The team will be grateful for as many as top-20 finishes as possible so look for Dupuis to feature prominently for Sainte-Geneviève going forwards.
Jules Rethoret chipped in with a 27th place which also helped. Max Sperl of Germany then finished 36th.
In an ideal world, Sainte-Geneviève would have all three scorers inside the top-30. With that in mind, Sperl will need to find another gear. He is now getting close to 30 and is an experienced athlete. Going forward, he could be a decisive factor in how Sainte-Geneviève’s season unfolds.
10th) Vitrolles Triathlon – 9 points
With Joris Bassle in 18th, Thomas Pietrera in 24th and Rico Bogen in 38th, Vitrolles had a good showing in Fréjus. There were not far from beating Sainte-Geneviève and should be able to secure themselves in the top-10 overall this year.
If the athletes can replicate their performances going forward, Vitrolles will have a comfortable ride this year.
11th) Triathl’Aix – 8 points
Casemir Moine gave the team a fantastic start by finishing 13th. However, the racing at Fréjus highlighted a lack of depth behind him. Felix Forissier finished 41st while Benjamin Zorgnotti ended up in 47th place.
Last season Triathl’Aix were a top-6 team so 11th is not where they will want to be. The loss of Boris Pierre and Nathan Grayel from last year, however, showed at the weekend.
If Forissier and Zorgnotti can return to theie 2022 levels the team will be fine. Otherwise it could be a flat season.
12th) Mach 3 Vienne Condrieu Agglomération – 7 points
On an individual level, Mach 3 had a solid weekend. With Thomas Rivet in 31st and Sam Parry in 37th, the team fared well at the season opener. Luca Luberti’s 52nd place restricted the team a bit and if they can bump up that third scorer then they will be in a good place.
However, in the bigger picture, Mach 3’s performance was brilliant. They were only promoted last year so to finish 12th at their first race out of the campaign is a very good sign.
If they can keep it up, and maybe extract a little more from their third man, then Mach 3 should be able to keep their place in the top division.
13th) Valence Triathlon – 6 points
Joao Nuno Batista started the race really well but eventually fell away to 32nd. There is a degree to which his run could have been a little quicker but Senior racing is tough. Batista is only a Junior so it would be unfair to heap too much expectation on him.
He was already the team’s best finisher and he will no doubt improve as the year wears on.
Tiago Fonesca finished 35th. After his Portuguese title, he realistically has more in the tank and should improve at future races. Bence Lehmann rounded out the scoring in 53rd.
In general, it was not quite the race that Valence would have hoped for, although it could have been worse.
14th) Evreux A.C. Triathlon – 5 points
The Laurent brothers carried Evreux as Thomas Laurent finished 33rd and Martin Laurent finished 49th. With Lilian Pierre taking 51st, Evreux earned the same amount of points as Valence (120 points when adding up the top-3 finishers) but Valence had the better overall time.
After one race, Evreux are just outside the relegation zone and will need to push to avoid the drop.
15th) La Rochelle Triathlon – 4 points
There were encouraging signs for La Rochelle with Remi Delagarde finishing 45th and Valentin Rouvier finishing 48th.
Gergo Dobi taking 61st place was not ideal but as a young athlete he can be expected to improve.
With the relegation battle likely to be incredibly tight this year, La Rochelle will have to scramble for every point possible going forwards.
16th) Tri Val de Gray – 3 points
Amaury Dietrich had a good race and came 39th. Meanwhile Ernest Lopez finished 58th.
Unfortauntely, through Paul Lebois’ 75th place, Val de Gray had the lowest ranked scoring athlete in their ranks.
If they are to stay in D1, they will need to get as many men into the top-50 as possible.
17th) Montpellier Triathlon – 2 points
Montpellier had a bad day in Fréjus. None of their athletes made it into the top-60 as Teo Katgely finished 62nd, Cenzino Lebot took 67th and Jules Dumas came home in 70th place.
One race won’t define their season, but Montpellier will need a big response at the next race in Bordeaux.
