Originally published at: Georgia Taylor-Brown and Hayden Wilde Maintain Strong Form at SuperTri London - Slowtwitch News
After a two week break, SuperTri was back in London today. The small gap between races did not seem to affect the form of Great Britain’s Georgia Taylor-Brown and New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde. Both athletes claimed back to back victories in the series, after wins in Chicago. Taylor-Brown began the series with a second place finish in Boston. She now has wins in Chicago and London. She is the series leader on the women’s side, with two races to go (Toulouse 10/6, Neom 11/3). On her race, Taylor-Brown said, “Yeah that was really, really hard. You know, it gets to a point mid-race you’re like I don’t think I can push anymore and then somehow on the last run you find a little bit extra, and I needed that short chute today.” She could sense that France’s Cassandra Beaugrand was closing hard in the final stages of the race and knew she needed to sprint to the line. Wilde was the beneficiary of having one of the two short chutes out those in the main group heading onto the final run. He used it to get to the front of the race and was able to hold off Australia’s Matthew Hauser. Wilde explained the difficulty of London’s course, “It’s a tough course here. If you’re on the front, you’re going hard. If you’re on the second wheel, you’re going hard. Matt was pouring the pressure on today…man, they made me work today.” Wilde, similarly to Taylor-Brown, sits in prime position to go after the overall series title.
Women’s Race:
The women set off first in Canary Wharf. For the second time in three races, it was Brazil’s Vittoria Lopes leading out the swim. Lopes picked up the short chute for Podium Racing, with the likes of Olivia Mathias, Kirsten Kasper, Cassandra Beaugrand, Taylor Spivey, Georgia Taylor-Brown, and Beth Potter, in tow. London’s bike course is a difficult one, marked by sharp corners and changing terrain (pavement to cobbles). Mathias attacked first and went solo off the front of the race. Potter and Beaugrand began to move backwards. American Katie Zaferes was taken out of the race, after a crash involving Luxembourg’s Jeanne Lehair. Lehair ran with her bike past the mount line, similar to what she has done in prior races, but did not see Zaferes and the two made contact. Zaferes was sent into a barrier and came away with a bike mechanical. Mathias, clear of any danger, picked up the second short chute for Brownlee Racing. Taylor-Brown bridged the gap on the run and picked up the last short chute for Crown Racing.
Mathias pushed the next swim and, again, rode off of the front on the bike. She was followed closely by Taylor-Brown, Emma Lobardi, Spivey, and Kasper. Lehair and Beaugrand were a little further back but had used strong run legs to pull back some time. The top-5 women ended up riding together and featured three athletes from Stars and Stripes Racing. Kasper got onto the run first, with Spivey trying to maintain contact at the back of the pack. It was Lombardi who would end the run in top position and get into the water first for the final swim. Lehair and Beaugrand were only ten and seventeen seconds back, respectively. Mathias, as she had done all day, came out of the water first and began to push the final bike leg. Lehair and Beaugrand were successful in latching onto the lead group.
Mathias took a six second lead with her onto the final run. Taylor-Brown and Beaugrand were the last two of the lead group of seven out of transition. Lehair, Taylor-Brown, and Mathias all took their short chutes, leaving Beaugrand to play catch up in fourth. Taylor-Brown moved to the front and made her push for home. She was just able to hold off a late charging Beaugrand to get the win on home soil. Lehair finished third. Spivey was fourth and Lombardi was fifth. Mathias finished sixth but, if triathlon had a combativity award like the Tour de France does, she would have claimed most aggressive rider for her efforts on the day.
Men’s Race:
Chase McQueen was first out of the water and picked up the short chute for Stars and Stripes Racing. He thankfully did not have to trade blows with Matt Hauser, who took a more measured approach on the opening swim, to do so. McQueen’s teammate, Seth Rider, was right there with him and the two worked together on the bike to stay out in front of the main pack. Their efforts successfully blocked other teams, with stronger runners, from picking up the second short chute. Several of the main contenders including Wilde, Hauser, Kenji Nener, Vincent Luis, Leo Bergere, and Vasco Vilaca, moved up on the run. Great Britain’s Alex Yee was off the pace and would not factor into the race. Wilde picked up the final short chute, which only two athletes would be able to take on the final run. Wilde and Luis navigated the next swim and began pushing the pace on the next bike leg. Hauser, Nener, Bergere, Rider, and McQueen chased. A pack of six emerged on the run, which included Wilde, Nener, Luis, Bergere, Rider, and Hauser. The three podium spots would come from this group.
Rider and Luis began to fall towards the back by the end of the run. Hauser pushed the pace on the final swim, perhaps doing a better job this week at conserving energy earlier in the race. Bergere, Nener, and Hauser, utilizing team tactics, pushed the final bike leg together. Rider, Wilde, and Luis would maintain contact and the pack would eventually come back together before the final run. Hauser got onto the run first and began to increase the tempo. Wilde had the slowest transition but, along with Rider, had one of the two available short chutes to take. Wilde moved into the lead after taking his short chute and Hauser did well to try to make up the immediate gap. In the end, however, the damage had been done and Hauser would have to settle for second behind Wilde. Bergere was third. Nener was fourth. Rider took fifth and Luis claimed sixth. Wilde should thank McQueen and Rider for their early race efforts, which prevented another team from gaining a short chute.
Photos: SuperTri