One of the deepest Continental Cups of the year is taking shape at the European Cup in Quarteira, Portugal, next weekend.
An array of world champions and WTCS medallists will be racing, as well as some of the most highly rated young prospects in the sport. For many of the athletes, it will be their first taste of the Olympic distance this year. Indeed for several, Quarteira offers a perfect hit-out ahead of the upcoming Olympic distance WTCS races.
The Women’s Race
A strong French contingent will be led by Cassandre Beaugrand. She will come into Quarteira in fine running form. Beaugrand recently had the fastest run split at WTCS Abu Dhabi. That came after she produced a 15:39 5km earlier in the year.
If the women’s race in Quarteira is determined by the run, Beaugrand will be the prohibitive favourite.
She will be joined by World Cup medallists Mathilde Gautier and Audrey Merle. Both Gautier and Merle had strong finishes to their 2022 seasons so will be looking to commence 2023 in a similar vein.
Jeanne Lehair will also be racing, fresh off an 8th place at French Cross Country Championships. Her running form has looked good lately so she may be a dark horse for a high finish.
WTCS medallist Lisa Terstch leads the way for the Germans. Tertsch is a classy runner and might be the best placed woman to take on Beaugrand in a running race. That itself would be a tall order, however Tertsch has the pedigree to compete with the best in the sport.
She will be joined by Tanja Neubert. Neubert will be hoping to continue her hot hand in Portugal after ending her season with 5th place finishes at the Miyazaki World Cup and then the World U23 Championships.
On that note, the reigning women’s world U23 champion Kate Waugh heads up a large British squad. Waugh had a difficult day at WTCS Abu Dhabi, but as the race was so early in the year a number of other athletes did too and it would be unwise to read too much into that.
In Quarteira, a fast swim should be expected. One of the biggest reasons for this is that Bianca Seregni will be opening her account for the year. After obliterating the field in the water at WTCS Bermuda and the World U23 Championships, it is becoming a habit of hers to turn the swim into her plaything.
While Beaugrand is a talented swimmer in her own right, if anyone in Quarteira will be looking to form a breakaway to escape the French woman, Seregni will likely be the crucial piece of the puzzle.
Lotte Miller also starts her season after showing some good swimming form this winter. After the end of her 2022 was beset by injury, it will be a big step forward for Miller to return to international competition.
Two bright young talents, Livia Gross and Tilda Månsson, will also be worth watching. Månsson memorably won the Bergen World Cup last August and both she and Gross will be looking to make their mark on the Senior level.
With all things considered, then, it is no exaggeration to say Quarteira will be one of the deepest European Cup fields on the year.
The Men’s Race
Jonathan Brownlee is the headliner in his first race of the season. When it comes to European Cups, the 2012 world champion also has priors. In Karlovy Vary in 2016, Brownlee set the biggest winning margin at a European Cup in the WTCS era. His winning margin that day: a mere 4 minutes 20 seconds.
It may be a little early in the year for Brownlee to produce similar fireworks, and he has dealt with some recent sickness, but if anyone will detonate this race he is the best bet.
Brownlee will also be accompanied by world U23 bronze medallist Hamish Reilly. After his breakout in November, it will be interesting to see how Reilly backs it up this year.
The man Reilly denied to bronze, Eric Diener, will likewise be in Quarteira. A little sub-plot in the race will therefore be if Diener can get one over Reilly this time round.
Valentin Morlec, Paul Georgenthum and Tom Richard lead a talented French team. We have previously reported that any French athlete hoping to race at the Olympic Test Event in Paris this August will require a top-5 finish at either WTCS Yokohama or WTCS Cagliari. A strong showing in Quarteira might just prove one of the last opportunities for the French men to get themselves onto the Yokohama or Cagliari start lists.
As a result, Quarteira may already have some serious Olympic implications.
Joao Pereira leads a strong home Portuguese team. Last year he finished 15th at the same event but with the competition for the Portuguese Olympic team heating up, particularly after Vasco Vilaca’s silver medal at WTCS Abu Dhabi, Pereira will no doubt be hoping to get up to speed even quicker this year.
After their exertions at the Barcelona half marathon, we will see how the Norwegian pair of Vetle Bergsvik Thorn and Sebastian Wernersen fare. With solid half marathon times under their belts, their run will be of particular interest.
Moreover they will be joined by Gustav Iden. He recently avoided a potential disqualification from WTCS Abu Dhabi over his running shoes and will no doubt be hoping for his racing to do more talking than his shoes this time out.
Two of the youngsters to note are David Cantero del Campo and Artūrs Liepa.
Cantero is one of the best young runners in the sport. Look for him to flex on the field if the race does not break up before T2.
Liepa, meanwhile, comes into this race after a flurry of racing at various Latvian National Championships. If Cantero will be looking to make the most of the run, Liepa will likely try to exploit the swim to his advantage. With an experienced field around them, though, both men will have to be at their best if they want to make any real impact.
You can view the full start lists here.
