If insanity is doing the same thing again and expecting different results, perhaps we were all fools to anticipate any other outcome at WTCS Cagliari.
On the same course as last year, the women’s race yielded practically identical results in many respects. After an indifferent start to the season by her lofty standards, Georgia Taylor-Brown came roaring back to claim her first win of the year. In doing so she made it three different British winners from the first three races of the Series.
As was the case in October, Emma Lombardi pieced together a superlative performance to pose the greatest threat to Taylor-Brown. With the two practically bumping shoulders on the run, Lombardi gave yet another confirmation of her enormous talent.
Last year’s bronze medalist, Taylor Knibb, was absent this time round. No matter: another American, Taylor Spivey, stepped into the breach to win the bronze. To round off the sense that yesterday had reasserted itself over the present, Cassandre Beaugrand also blasted the fastest run split of the day having missed the front pack breakaway just as she did in 2022.
The race kicked off with a beach start and after the first lap of the swim Summer Rappaport held a small lead. Vittoria Lopes and Maya Kingma gave chase as the field behind began to splinter. Meanwhile Taylor-Brown dangled a perilous few seconds further back. At both Abu Dhabi and Yokohama, ceding such ground had proven costly. This time, though, she made sure to force her way closer to the front on the second lap. With Lombardi and Spivey for company, Taylor-Brown emerged with the leading trio to steal a match onto the bike.
A pack of six had a chance. But would the field be able to react?
Amid the main pack, Katie Zaferes had enjoyed a strong swim and exited the water in range of Natalie Van Coevorden, Cassandre Beaugrand and Laura Lindemann. The chase pack thus had the wherewithal to haul in the leading six women. An early surge on the first lap suggested that the 10 second gap could be breached, too.
And yet, and yet and yet. As has been the case throughout this season, there was a spark, an energy, in the breakaway that seemed to be lacking in the chase. Spivey hit the front, then Kingma, then Lopes, as each woman took their turn to defend what precious little they held. Once the first of the ten laps flew by, their statement had been made. The escaped six would not wave the white flag.
No matter how many times Zaferes, Nina Eim and Jeanne Lehair pushed to the front, the gap simply grew. In a reversal of fortunes from Abu Dhabi, Beth Potter found herself chasing Taylor-Brown from the main pack but even she could not bring the leaders back. Nor, for that matter, could Kirsten Kasper.
With every lap, the lead nudged a little greater until it hit the minute mark. Perhaps the coaches lining the course would have been wiser to have lied at that point for as some members of the chase realised the scale of the task awaiting them on the run, several heads dropped.
As the leaders hit T2, they did so with a comprehensive margin. Rappaport, Lopes and Kingma soon fell by the wayside as Spivey clung on to the heels of Taylor-Brown and Lombardi. Over the course of the first lap the American steadied herself and began to look more assured. Gradually, though, the pace told and the Anglo-French pair distanced themselves.
In a re-run of October, Lombardi challenged Taylor-Brown for much of the run course. Yet in the end, Taylor-Brown’s class shone through. At this stage in her career, she is very much the grizzled veteran that knows how to grind down opponents in such situations. One day Lombardi may too acquire that quality, but Taylor-Brown’s relentless tempo was too much for her today.
When Taylor-Brown eventually crossed the line to seal her win, she did so with a 23 second lead and could savour her sweet moment of vindication. For all that has been said about the brilliance of her compatriots lately, her display was a pertinent reminder of her enduring class.
Lombardi and Spivey followed to complete the podium. However the chase had not given up completely. Beaugrand tore through the run course, picking off Lopes, Kingma and Rappaport to land in 4th on the back of a 32:25 10km split. She missed taking down Spivey by a mere 8 seconds.
Lehair also recorded a monstrous run split on the way to her best ever WTCS finish in 5th. Her winter running races and split at Yokohama had given plenty of warning about the rise of Lehair; pretty soon she will be fighting for a medal if she continues at her current rate.
Potter and Rapport were next home before the German duo of Lisa Tertsch and Nina Eim took 8th and 9th. After her silver medal in Yokohama, Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal rounded out the top-10.
The day, though, clearly belonged to Taylor-Brown. When all is said and done by the end of the season, she might just make madmen out of all of us yet.
You can view the full results here.
