Cassandre Beaugrand has instantly bombed herself into perhaps the biggest favorite for the Olympics in two weeks. The French athlete just won WTCS Hamburg and did so in a way that will surely frighten her rivals.
During the swim and bike, not much actually happened; at least not things that had a major impact on the course of the race. A leading group of thirteen women formed early on the bike, but a second group joined in the final kilometers, and with that a sizeable group of about thirty women started the final five kilometers of running at the same time.
Those who had hoped or even counted on a lot of excitement during the run, might be a bit disappointed. Beaugrand ran away from all her competitors almost immediately, and while she looked very relaxed and smooth, she gave no one even a chance to come close. Beaugrand was truly ‘on fire’, while she was followed by Beth Potter, Emma Lombardi, Jeanne Lehair and Lisa Tertsch, among others.
Beaugrand won the race in a time of 55:19. Potter, Lombardi, Lehair and Tertsch made it an exciting and equally stunning battle for the remaining podium spots, and in the end it was Tertsch who, after a fine final sprint, finished second in 55:30. Potter finished third in 55:31.
