It started with Beth Potter and it was only fitting that the 2023 WTCS ended with her.
A first ever WTCS win in Abu Dhabi launched her season in the perfect manner and from there she barely put a foot wrong. After wins at WTCS Montreal and the Paris Olympic Test Event, Potter arrived in Pontevedra with a potential first title on the line.
To do that, she would have to overcome Cassandre Beaugrand, the winner of the WTCS stops in Hamburg and Sunderland.
In the water, the upper hand lay with Beaugrand, the Series leader. Bianca Seregni did Bianca Seregni things at the front of the field and put several athletes into great difficulty. Olivia Mathias also impressed at the front of the race, as did Maya Kingma. Meanwhile, Beaugrand was the eighth woman out of the water, 8 seconds behind Mathias and Seregni but crucially 9 seconds ahead of Potter.
Mathias and Sophie Coldwell led out of T1 and an initial front pack containing Kingma, Sophie Linn and Vittoria Lopes formed around them. Crucially, Beaugrand made the group.
Potter and Kate Waugh sat further down the road as a highly fractured field spread up the small incline on the first lap of the bike. By the end of the opening lap, though, Potter had recovered. A lead group of fifteen athletes came together with Laura Lindemann, Lena Meißner, Jeanne Lehair, Taylor Spivey and Emma Lombardi also making their presence known.
A chase pack containing the likes of Summer Rappaport, Katie Zaferes, Lisa Tertsch and Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal hung in the chase group however their deficit to the leaders stood at half a minute after only one lap.
With the lead pack riding well, the gap grew over the subsequent laps. Potter and Beaugrand marked one another closely. Even as Kingma bolted up the incline, the two title contenders were happy to let Meißner shoulder the work of reeling in the Dutch woman.
As the bike wore on, the leaders lost a sense of urgency. By contrast, the chase pack kicked into life. Several laps of tireless work from Miriam Casillas Garcia, Julie Derron and Zsanett Kuttor-Bragmayer first stemmed the loss of seconds before bringing the gap down.
When the leaders arrived in T2, their lead was barely 15 seconds. Lombardi was the first athlete through transition but the chasers were racking their bikes as she left.
Lombardi continued to hold the early lead as Potter and Waugh moved alongside. Beaugrand initially matched their tempo yet soon dropped back as cramps struck.
Lehair and Coldwell then caught Beaugrand as a gap of 6 seconds separated the front trios. As a result, Potter’s title was all but sealed on the first lap of the run.
Yet her win was by no means guaranteed. Waugh, the 2022 World U23 champion, was enjoying a fabulous race. On the run, she uncorked a level she had previously hinted at possessing and poured through the winding streets of Pontevedra. Such was Waugh’s speed, Lombardi eventually cracked on the third lap.
Lehair and Coldwell were also cut loose by Beaugrand who then passed Lombardi to occupy a place on the provisional podium. At the same time, Potter wound up the pace at the front.
Waugh fought to hold on but a clear gap emerged. From there, as she had done on multiple occasions in the season, Potter simply converted her lead into a yawning chasm.
Although Beaugrand had passed Lombardi, threats nonetheless remained. Lisa Tertsch was flying with Rachel Klamer and Julie Derron. Together they picked off Coldwell and Lehair and then the German athlete set her sights on the French duo ahead. However, Tertsch also had a 15 second penalty to serve for swim conduct.
Even as she passed Beaugrand, the French woman was soon granted a reprieve as Tertsch stopped to serve her penalty before the finish.
A medal may have offered some small consolation to Beaugrand for Potter’s glory had already been confirmed at the finish line. With a spectacular final lap, the Brit proved untouchable over the final half of the run and crossed to seal her triumph.
Waugh followed to claim a brilliant maiden WTCS medal while Beaugrand rounded out the podium. Despite her podium, Tertsch managed to secure 4th place ahead of a fast-closing Klamer.
Lombardi then led Coldwell and Derron home before Noelia Juan and Alice Betto completed the top-10.
As terrific as a number of athletes were in the WTCS Final, there was ultimately one woman that stood head and shoulders above the rest. Beth Potter could only sit after the finish to soak in her moment.
A first world title was hers. On the evidence on offer, few would dare bet against it being her last.
You can view the full results here.
