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France dominates the world mixed relay triathlon. Yesterday, in Hamburg, they claimed their 4th world title, including their 3rd in a row (2015, 2018, 2019, 2020) with a never-before-seen team lineup. Léonie Périault, Léo Bergère, Cassandre Beaugrand, and Dorian Coninx finished ahead of the United States and Great Britain, once again proving that France will be at the forefront in 2021 for the discipline’s debut at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Inarrêtables Français !
Les Bleus remportent le relais mixte des championnats du monde de triathlon ??? #lequipeTRIATHLON pic.twitter.com/pS4RBSPe8Y
— la chaine L’Équipe (@lachainelequipe) September 6, 2020
Race summary:
20 teams started in pouring rain to complete a Super Sprint mini triathlon per relay member. 300m swim, 7km bike, and 1.7km run, first for Léonie Périault who took the start. Thanks to a good swim, the Frenchwoman exited the 1st transition in 3rd position, on the wheel of American Taylor Spivey, while Austria was in the lead. Despite a slightly slower 2nd transition for Léonie, who struggled to put on her shoes, the French athlete attacked hard from the start of the run to move into 8th place. Georgia-Taylor Brown and Great Britain were in the lead with a 13-second advantage over their pursuers, including Léo Bergère who took the 2nd relay.
Superb swim by the recently bronze-medalist French athlete, who managed to catch up with the leaders and exited the water in 1st position. This was followed by a very good transition and a strong start on the bike until Kristian Blummenfelt's spirited attack. The Norwegian took the lead and opened up a gap, leading by 15 seconds at the exit of the 2nd transition. Léo Bergère held on and managed to hand over to Cassandre Beaugrand in 3rd place, 13 seconds behind.
Thanks to a very good swim, Cassandre took the lead out of the water, ideally placed in a leading trio composed of Katie Zaferes (USA) and Jessica Learmonth (GBR). The Frenchwoman took no risks, managing perfectly and staying in contact with her two competitors, who were strong favorites for this world championship. They opened up a gap on their pursuers to isolate themselves from any danger with a 27-second lead. There was no change in the run, which allowed Cassandre to hand over to Dorian Coninx in very good conditions.
Already a two-time world champion (2015 and 2018), Dorian used his experience and exited the swim in the lead just ahead of the USA and with a 6-second lead over Great Britain. The Frenchman did the work on the bike with an initial attack that allowed him to take a solo lead. Behind him, the gaps widened, Morgan Pearson (USA) was 12 seconds back, Alex Yee (GBR) followed at 13 seconds. It was at the exit of the 2nd transition that Dorian could see the title within his grasp thanks to his 16-second lead over Pearson and 31-second lead over Yee. No final sprint this year for the French athlete, who won by 8 seconds over the American. Great Britain took the bronze medal after a very well-executed race by the four French athletes, a good omen for the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021.
The French delegation thus leaves Hamburg after having heard a 2nd Marseillaise, but does not forget the absence of strong nations like Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, who were deprived of the world championship due to the health crisis.
Reactions:
DORIAN CONINX
"I'm very happy with my swim and bike on this race. Last year I had to finish in a crazy sprint with Alex Yee (GBR) and today I'm delighted to finish alone in the lead! Every time we give our best with the whole team, we love racing together and pushing ourselves in the mixed relay every year. It's important to know that we can perform just as well depending on the team composition and the relay order."
STÉPHANIE GROS - FRENCH TEAM COACH
"It's really pleasing, especially in this configuration, with the gamble they took on the change of order we made this morning. It had a special flavor. They all settled into their roles well, I think they had a good idea of the worst-case scenarios each could have to manage on their relay, so they were prepared for it."
BENJAMIN MAZE – FFTRI NATIONAL TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
"Congratulations to the French Triathlon Team athletes for this superb collective performance. It's good for confidence as it's the 6th consecutive victory in a major competition (European and World Championships 2018 and 2019, Tokyo Test Event 2019). With the athletes, we wanted to try a new configuration which was successful. They were able to be proactive and take advantage of every opportunity to build this collective victory. We do not forget the particular conditions of the race and especially the absence of key nations like Australia and New Zealand, but also the fact that England did not field its A-team. The mixed relay is decided by details, we know very well what we need to work on to go for the Olympic title in Tokyo."
RANKING
1 France 01:18:25 00:20:21 00:18:46 00:20:26 00:18:53
2 United States 01:18:33 00:20:20 00:18:55 00:20:18 00:19:02
3 Great Britain 01:18:59 00:20:07 00:19:10 00:20:17 00:19:27
4 Norway 01:19:38 00:20:21 00:18:33 00:21:49 00:18:56
5 Belgium 01:19:44 00:20:20 00:18:47 00:21:15 00:19:23
6 Denmark 01:19:47 00:20:20 00:19:01 00:21:07 00:19:20
7 Switzerland 01:20:01 00:20:44 00:19:16 00:21:05 00:18:57
8 Germany 01:20:08 00:20:52 00:19:09 00:20:55 00:19:14
9 Austria 01:20:17 00:20:34 00:19:05 00:21:19 00:19:20
10 Italy 01:20:20 00:20:50 00:19:31 00:20:45 00:19:16
11 Netherlands 01:20:23 00:20:31 00:19:30 00:20:55 00:19:27
12 Hungary 01:20:33 00:20:45 00:19:06 00:21:27 00:19:17
13 Brazil 01:20:45 00:20:28 00:20:01 00:20:52 00:19:27
14 Spain 01:20:54 00:20:52 00:19:00 00:21:14 00:19:51
15 Russia 01:21:10 00:21:04 00:19:17 00:21:11 00:19:40
16 Czech Republic 01:22:43 00:20:24 00:19:49 00:22:40 00:19:51
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