The French Grand Prix is back and it will start with a bang. The opening stage of the series takes place in its customary slot in Fréjus this weekend and it will offer the first clash of 2024 between two of the favourites for Olympic gold this summer.
The season will then continue in Metz and Bordeaux in June before concluding in September with stops in Quiberon and Saint-Jean-des-Monts.
As is the norm in the series, the racing will be a Sprint distance affair. Kicking things off is a one-lap 750m sea swim and a 19.6km bike will follow (consisting of 1.8km out, five laps of 3.2km, then 1.8km back to transition). A 5.2km run made up of two laps of 2.6km will then round off the race.
The headline act of the weekend is undoubtedly the showdown between Alex Yee and Hayden Wilde. The defending Olympic silver and bronze medallists have not raced one another since WTCS Pontevedra, a day in which both lost out on the world title. Wilde kicked off his season with a silver medal at the Napier World Cup back in February, however Yee has remained quiet thus far.
Neither will likely show their hand completely in Fréjus as Paris will be their primary target. Nevertheless, the weekend offers an ideal chance to claim a psychological boost ahead of their next match-up at WTCS Cagliari.
As a team competition, the French Grand Prix is about far more than the individual athlete. Each squad will aggregate the finishing positions of their first three athletes which then determines the final rankings. On the team front, Saint-Jean-des-Monts Vendée Triathlon will look to defend their men’s title from 2023.
They do not have Mario Mola, who won the season opener last year, on the start list, nor will 2022 world champion Leo Bergere be present. However, Saint-Jean-des-Monts Vendée can call upon Nathan Grayel and Louis Vitiello, who were essential to their title last year. Sylvain Fridelane, Leo Ouabdesselam and Daniel Dixon then complete their line-up.
Poissy, last year’s runner-up, do not have the world champion, Dorian Coninx, available. He, like Bergere, will focus instead on WTCS Yokohama. If Poissy are to strike back against Saint-Jean-des-Monts Vendée, the likes of Antoine Duval and Aurelien Raphael will be key.
On paper, Triathlon Club Liévin and Valence Triathlon will be the favourites for the win. For the former, Tim Hellwig and Hayden Wilde make for a mean combination and both will likely fight for the individual gold. Yanis Seguin, Chase McQueen and Harry Leleu will vie to be the third scoring man for Liévin. For the latter, Yee will be joined by Lasse Lührs and the recent winner of the British Junior performance assessments, Brandon Pye. If anyone will go toe-to-toe with Liévin, it may just be the double act of Yee and Lührs.
Les Sables Vendée Triathlon will be led by their talisman, Pierre Le Corre. Jeremy Quindos and Noah Servais will also need to chip in with high finishes. Metz will bank on Valentin Morlec. He arrives after a 5th place at the Chengdu World Cup, his best ever finish at that level.
Meanwhile, in the women’s competition, Poissy Triathlon once again look a formidable prospect as they target yet another title. World Cup winner Sandra Dodet, who won in Fréjus last year, will be joined by Kristelle Congi, Candice Denizot, Lea Coninx, and the reigning World Junior and European Junior champion, Ilona Hadhoum. It would be no surprise to see Poissy put five women in the top-10 and a first round team win seems likely.
Last year’s surprise runners-up Les Sables Vendée Triathlon, who were only promoted to the top division after the 2022 season, will also look to get off to a fast start. However, they will race without Valentina Riasova, who won two races for them last year, and Diana Isakova, who won once. Notably, Riasova is now serving a doping ban and will be unavailable this season.
Without their Russian duo (or Jeanne Lehair), Alexia Bailly and Tiphanie Brun may be central to Les Sables Vendée’s fortunes.
Tri Val de Gray will likewise miss a crucial figure in Mathilde Gautier, who is out with injury. At the same time, they will field Alberte Kjaer Pedersen, Appoline Foltz and Jessica Fullagar and so bring plenty of strength to the table.
Issy Triathlon have the fastest swimmer in the field in Lea Marchal. She will be joined by Anne Holm, Celia Merle and Maria Casals Mojica. Perhaps the only woman that will be able to rival Marchal in the first discipline is Zsanett Bragmayer. She will lead the Metz team alongside Margot Garabedian.
Finally, Vals du Dauphiné Olympic will be led by the newly-crowned Oceania champion, Ellie Hoitink.
A pair of cracking races will therefore be in store in Fréjus while, in the bigger picture, the defending champions will be confident of getting their season started on the right foot.
You can view the full start lists here.
