TRIATHLON – Tokyo 2020: Pierre Le Corre 8th, Léo Bergère 44th, and Dorian Coninx abandons

Without the WTS 2019 ranking leaders (Vincent Luis, Mario Mola, Javier Gomez, Fernando Alarza, etc.) who preferred to save themselves for the WTS Grand Final in Lausanne in two weeks, this Test Event looked a little pale as a dress rehearsal for the Olympic race.

As for the women the day before, the race conditions made the event very difficult, with 28 degrees at the start, high humidity, drizzle and wind, which did not, however, force the organization to modify the M race format (1.5-40-10).

At the end of the swim, South African Henri Schoeman exited the water first, covering the 1,500 m in 18’26, ahead of Hungarian Mark Devay and Slovak Richard Varga. For the French, Pierre Le Corre exited in 6th position, 12 seconds behind the leader, Dorian Coninx was 13th, 22 seconds back. Léo Bergère emerged in 52nd place, 1’04 behind the race leader.

On the bike, 11 men, including Pierre Le Corre and Dorian Coninx, took the lead, while Léo Bergère was at the back of the chase group, about thirty seconds behind. This breakaway was caught by the 30-strong peloton at the end of the 2nd of eight laps, thanks in particular to the efforts of Jonas Schomburg (Ger), Kristian Blummenfelt (Nor), Jonny Brownlee (Gbr) and Tom Bishop (Gbr). A series of abandonments then followed: Richard Varga, Dorian Coninx, Kristian Blummenfelt, Marten Van Riel (Bel) and Lasse Luhrs (Ger).

At the end of the bike leg and after the second transition, Canadian Tyler Mislawchuk moved to the front, followed by his compatriot Matthew Sharpe, New Zealander Hayden Wilde and Norwegian Casper Stornes. For a time, the leading quartet was joined by this year’s Belgian revelation Jelle Geens and Jonas Schomburg. Jonny Brownlee, Henri Schoeman and Jacob BirthWhistle (Aus) were a few lengths behind.

But a trio broke away during the second lap with Mislawchuk, Stornes and Wilde. They had a 10-second lead at km 5 over Jonathan Brownlee and Gustav Iden (Nor) and would not be caught. The first to try his luck was Hayden Wilde 1.5 km from the finish, but his two opponents came back and distanced him. The victory of this Test Event was then decided in a head-to-head battle, and in a final effort, Canadian Tyler Mislawchuk dropped Norwegian Casper Stornes for the gold medal. Bronze went to Hayden Wilde, ahead of Gustav Iden and Jonny Brownlee.

Pierre Le Corre took a good 8th place, out-sprinting Henri Schoeman, Jonas Schomburg and Jacob Birtwhistle. With the 45th fastest run time (38’35), Léo Bergère, who suffered from the race conditions, finished 44th in an event to quickly forget in preparation for the WTS Grand Final where he currently holds 8th place.

TOKYO TEST EVENT RANKING
1. Tyler Mislawchuk (Can), 1h49’51
2. Casper Stornes (Nor), 1h49’55
3. Hayden Wilde (Nzl), 1h50’03
4. Gustav Iden (Nor), 1h50’25
5. Jonathan Brownlee (Gbr), 1h50’28
6. Joao Silva (Por), 1h50’36
7. Bence Bicsak (Hun), 1h50’41
8. Pierre Le Corre (Fra), 1h51’00
9. Henri Schoeman (Afs), 1h51’01
10. Jonas Schomburg (Ger), 1h51’01

The Elite men’s race came down to a magnificent sprint finish and Canada’s @Mislawchuk taking the tape to win the #TokyoTestEvent. ?
Casper Stornes from Norway in second and a remarkable third place for New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde.
? @DellyPhotoNinja @TriathlonCanada @Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/4ZpBsahifC

— World Triathlon (@worldtriathlon) August 16, 2019