The Paris Test Event represented the first chance for many athletes to secure their places at next year’s Olympic Games and several men seized the opportunity.
The men’s race winner, Alex Yee, became the first man to qualify for the Games as he decimated the field. As a defending individual Olympic medallist (and subsequent WTCS medallist since the Tokyo Olympics), Yee only needed to medal at the Test Event to confirm his place on the British team. He went above and beyond that with a dominant performance.
In light of how strong he looked, he will enter 2024 as a clear favourite for Olympic gold.
The silver medallist, Vasco Vilaca, did not confirm his Olympic place. However, given the nature of the Portuguese Olympic selection policy, Vilaca seems highly likely to be selected. If he can finish in the top-3 of the overall WTCS standings this year – an achievement he is on course to accomplish – he will be be nailed on to make the team.
Dorian Coninx joined Cassandre Beaugrand in qualifying for France by dint of his 3rd place. France set the requirement of a medal at the Test Event to earn a first priority selection.
For the early part of the run, Coninx seemed out of contention to make the podium. However he climbed through the field and dropped a fabulous sprint finish to secure his Olympic ticket.
In doing so, he beat Pierre Le Corre and Leo Bergere into 4th and 5th place, respectively.
By finishing in the top-8, Le Corre and Bergere are halfway to booking their place on the Olympic team. A medal at the WTCS Final in Pontevedra will earn them selection. Should they miss out on a medal, discretionary factors may come into play.
Given they were so close to a medal in Paris, both Le Corre and Bergere will likely be close to the podium in Pontevedra. After Bergere’s dramatic win at last year’s WTCS Final, he will certainly fancy his chances.
Morgan Pearson then crossed in 6th to become the first American man to qualify. Of all the qualifiers, Pearson’s story might just be the most remarkable.
By his WTCS medal-winning standards, he has not had a good season. A silver medal at the WTCS Final last year seemed to indicate that he would be a major challenger this year. However, his year has not come together. Two days before the Test Event, he was not even on the start list.
When Matthew Hauser tested positive for COVID the night before the race, though, Pearson was thrown a lifeline. And he did not let it slip.
He produced by far and away his best performance of the year and stepped up when it counted most. With another year to recapture his best form, there is every chance that Pearson transforms from long-shot to qualify to potential individual medallist.
Tim Hellwig added his name to the German Olympic team, joining Laura Lindemann and Nina Eim. At this stage, Germany is the only country to have allocated more than two slots for the Games. Hellwig required a top-8 finish and he did so in relative comfort by finishing 7th.
On a final note, Hayden Wilde did not officially cement his place on the New Zealand team. In an unlucky day, he did not finish the race.
However, he may have counter-intuitively taken a step closer to returning to Paris.
To automatically qualify, Wilde needed to win a medal. Alternatively, he needed a top-8 finish to go with another WTCS top-8. The crucial point to note is that, the highest male finisher for New Zealand in Paris was Tayler Reid in 25th.
No one, then, managed to hit a top-8 at the Test Event.
As a result, New Zealand’s selection will then move on to athletes with two top-8 WTCS finishes in the Olympic Qualification period. Wilde has won two WTCS races this year while none of his domestic rivals have logged a WTCS top-8 in the window. As a result, even though his day did not go to plan, Wilde has all but secured his place at the Olympic Games.
