17 August 2021
Saturday’s World Triathlon Championship Series in Montréal proved to be a great day for France in the Elite Men’s race.
While his compatriots completed a clean sweep of the podium for only the second time in WTCS history following a gripping sprint finish in the special new eliminator format.
The race saw competitors having to complete three rounds of a 300m swim, 6.6km cycle and 1.7km run three times in a row, with the lowest placed ten athletes being eliminated after each lap. Racing was tight for the duration with the final group staying together for the last bike leg. Seth Rider of the USA was the first out of T2 before the French trio kicked in the final kilometre of the run, Dorian Coninx edging out Vincent Luis by three second and Leo Bergere completing the podium.
A special mention also to Tom Richard who placed 15th in his debut WTCS race. Bravo!
IRONMAN Frankfurt, one of the most iconic events on the annual calendar hosted the Male Pro IRONMAN European Championship on Sunday, 24 hours after the Women’s Pro event at IRONMAN Finland. When the exciting action finally ended, Patrik Nilsson was the new IRONMAN European champion followed by his team mate Kristian Hogenhaug. They both qualified for the World Championships in Hawaii.
BMC team mate Hogenhaug who had been dominating the bike leg, put up a fantastic fight to hang on for second (DEN; 8:00:18). David McNamee (GBR; 8:02:29) completed the podium.
“That was a great day”, Nilsson reflected. “Amazing. I don’t think my legs have ever been that tired. But to be on the podium with Kristian as team mates was incredibly special. I have never experienced anything like it. It was the perfect day for me from start to finish”. It is great to be able to put together such a performance and race again at a world class level”.
Team mate Kristian added: “Second place overall, Patrik in first, really happy for him, fantastic to share the podium with a good friend and team mate. Overall I had a very good day, I suffered a bit in the swim and lost the lead group. I had a great bike and could finish it off with a decent run. I couldn’t keep Patrik behind who was running a blistering sub 2’40 marathon. Tough day, but really happy with my performance and to hang on for second.”