Originally published at: We Know Supertri is Unique. Three of the Sports Legends Explain Why They Love it - Slowtwitch News
Cassandre Beaugrand competes at Supertri Boston last August. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon
The 2025 Supertri season kicks off in Toronto tomorrow and the hot temperatures the city is experiencing right now will certainly add to the intensity of the competition that features a number of the world’s top short-course athletes. The field includes both reigning Olympic gold medalists (Cassandre Beaugrand and Alex Yee), along with two of the most decorated Olympic triathletes ever (Georgia Taylor-Brown and Jonathan Brownlee), who will compete in an “eliminator” format that includes three heats of a 300 m swim, a 4 km bike and a 1.6 km run. (Over the last few years Supertri has typically followed an “Enduro” format that consisted of three continuous swim/ bike/ run efforts, but the challenges of the Toronto set up no-doubt prompted the change.) The last two finishers in each heat will be eliminated, with the remaining racers’ combined times added together with the competitors heading off in a time trial start with the fastest heading off first. In addition to the individual competition there are four teams competing, too: Brownlee Racing, Crown Racing, Podium Racing and Stars and Stripes Racing.
Adding to the fun is the vagaries of the Supertri format. Teams can earn the right to cut the course through a “short chute” based on the leaders through the end of the first bike leg. The team captains decide which athlete on their team can use the short chute.
The live coverage of the race starts at 2 pm EST tomorrow, and can be seen on the Supertri website, or through a variety of broadcasters depending on your region. You can get more details on how to watch the race here.
Heart Remains in Short-Course Racing
During a press availability yesterday we were able to catch up with Beaugrand, Brownlee and Taylor-Brown and got some interesting insights into why they enjoy Supertri racing.
“I love racing Supertri,” Brownlee said. “It’s saved my career at different times – I’ve been able to bounce back in times when my racing hasn’t been going well.”
At 35, though, Brownlee feels like he’s a bit of an elder statesman at the event, especially since he’s racing for a team that bears his family name. He’s been a mainstay on the Supertri racing scene since it began in 2017, and is honoured that he and his brother Alistair are able to lead the team which was launched last year as a way to help develop British triathlon talent. He does get reminders on a regular basis, though, of his age – his team includes 19-year-old Ollie Conway and he was surprised to find out that another team member, Jolien Vermaylen, “started triathlon after reading our book.”
While Brownlee has ventured into some long-distance events over the past few years – he took second at Challenge Mogan-Gran Canaria in April and was ninth at Challenge Walchsee in June – his heart remains in short-course racing.
“I enjoy the pure man-against-man racing,” he said. “I quite like the tension, every single second matters.”
“My body struggles with the longer distance racing,” he continued. “Everything needs to be perfect – I have a limited window for doing well.”
Brownlee attributes some of his challenges to his collapse at the World Triathlon Grand Final in Cozumel in 2016. While numerous tests haven’t come up with any “long lasting damage … sometimes my body experiences the heat and it says ‘we’re not going there again,'” he said.
Despite those challenges Brownlee was able to take fifth during the heat-fest of the individual Tokyo Olympics race and help Great Britain to the gold medal in the mixed relay, so he’s not concerned about having to race in the heat in Toronto.
“We get to dive back into the water, so we’ll be fine,” he laughed.
More Like a Game
Georgia Taylor-Brown wins Supertri London in 2024. Photo: That Cameraman
I ended up interviewing defending Olympic gold medalist and world champion Cassandre Beaugrand and three-time Supertri League champion Georgia Taylor-Brown together, which made for an entertaining chat. The two are close friends and can almost answer questions for each other. OK, that shouldn’t be “almost” – they totally answer questions for each other.
“It’s nice to be back doing Supertri,” Taylor-Brown said, “Doing things with people you don’t normally hang out with. The first one of every year is always a bit crazy.”
The two are both close friends (they hung out together in Paris for five days after the Olympics last year and are now both living in Girona, Spain), but somehow balance that with also being fierce competitors once the gun goes off. That doesn’t mean they don’t have fun during races, though. During the London Supertri race last year they were needling each other as they got closer to the sprint for the finish.
“You already have enough money,” Taylor-Brown said to Beaugrand. “I can retire if you let me win.”
“I don’t want you to retire and I don’t want you to win,” Beaugrand shot back.
Supertri racing offers a welcome change to the normal racing routine for both Beaugrand and Taylor-Brown
“Supertri racing is fun and different,” Taylor-Brown said. “There’s not much pressure, there’s nothing to lose.”
While the always-competitive Beaugrand will certainly be racing as hard as she can at any of the Supertri races she’ll enter this year, her main focus for 2025 is to try to defend her world title. She’s also cognizant that if she wants to be in the best space to defend her Olympic title in Los Angeles in 2028, she can’t push too hard this year.
“I’m still not training like it’s an Olympic year,” she said. “Since the beginning of the year I haven’t done more than 24 hours a week of training.”
Taylor-Brown has also taken a different approach to her racing in 2025. Tomorrow’s race will be just her second triathlon event of the year (she finished 14th at the World Triathlon Championship Series Hamburg two weeks ago).
“I’m not prioritizing anything,” Taylor-Brown said of the season that has included two road bike races, two cross country running races and two gravel events in addition to the race in Hamburg. “From Tokyo (where she took the silver medal) to Paris was so intense physically that I knew I was going to need some time off if I wanted to continue on to LA. I took this year out – I didn’t know what I wanted to do.”
With that in mind Taylor-Brown is in Toronto “to have fun and get as many points for the team (Crown Racing) as I can.”
Cassandre Beaugrand competes at WTCS Hamburg. Photo: Kevin Mackinnon
They might be having fun and enjoying their time together, but make no mistake, once the racing starts tomorrow the reigning Olympic gold medalist and the reigning Supertri champion will certainly be pushing themselves and the rest of the field to the limit.
“When you’re doing well, you always want more,” Taylor-Brown answered for Beaugrand when I asked why she wasn’t taking more of a break this year. “You always want to be at the top.”
And Beaugrand has noticed that there’s an expectation she’ll always be at the top, too. Despite a solid runner-up finish in Hamburg to countrywoman Léonie Périault (who will be racing tomorrow, too), Beaugrand was asked “what happened?” by a few reporters in Hamburg.
And also don’t be fooled by Taylor-Brown, who is much more likely to be competitive in tomorrow’s race than not. She’s also gearing up for T100 London in a couple of weeks and, according to her “biggest fan” – Beaugrand – “She’ll be super good at it.”
Thanks to her win at IRONMAN 70.3 Bahrain last year, Taylor-Brown has qualified for the 70.3 worlds in Marbella, so you can add that to her “year off” of racing, too.
First things first, though. Let the fun and games begin at Supertri Toronto.
Competitors
Crown Racing: Georgia Taylor-Brown, Cassandre Beaugrand, Emma Jeffcoat, Emma Lombardi, Vasco Vilaca, Tyler Mislawchuk, Ricardo Batista, Charles Paquet.
Stars and Stripes Racing: Taylor Spivey, Nina Eim, Annika Koch, Rosia Maria Tapia Vidal, Csongor Lehmann, Mathis Beaulieu, Chase McQueen, Reese Vannerson.
Brownlee Racing: Olivia Mathias, Jess Fullagar, Tilly Anema, Jolien Vermaylen, Alex Yee, Jonathan Brownlee, Oliver Conway, Marcus Day.
Podium Racing: Jeanne Lehair, Léonie Périault, Sophie Alden, Zuzana Michalickova, Kenji Nener, John Reed, Alberto Gonzalez Garcia, Tayler Reed.
We’ll be on site to cover tomorrow’s racing, so stay tuned for more from the event.