Georgia Taylor-Brown clings on for third supertri title

 In a dramatic finish for the ages, Crown Racing star Georgia Taylor-Brown has today won the 2024 supertri title in NEOM, Saudi Arabia. The Brit would leave it late to confirm her record third supertri league win, nonetheless, finishing fourth by just two seconds to keep the title from heading to Podium Racing star Jeanne Lehair.

The overall race winner on the banks of the Red Sea would be Crown Racing’s Cassandre Beaugrand, striding to her first supertri victory of a season that’s witnessed the French superstar take both the Olympic Games and ITU World Championship titles. Luxembourg’s Jeanne Lehair would finish second to take second overall in the 2024 series, with the fellow Podium Racing triathlete Léonie Périault finishing third.

On the nail-biting finish, Taylor-Brown said: “I really did it the hard way today. I thought I needed third, but [team manager] Non Stanford told me that I needed fourth so I was hanging on for that fourth spot at the end. When Leonie [Périault] went past me into third I didn’t have anything more to give. I was at the back for much of the race today and it wasn’t my best day. But I get the title and that’s all I came for today.”

On making history to become the first triathlete to win three supertri series titles, Taylor-Brown admitted it was a special feeling. “No-one in history has ever won three supertri titles so I’m really quite proud of this, especially after a hard year that included the Olympics. It’s nice to know that I can still be up there.”

As for the team standings, just 14 points separated Crown Racing and Podium Racing before the race, with Crown having dominated the women’s races due to Taylor-Brown’s dominance and Podium having performed strongly in the men’s events. However, with expanded points up for grabs in NEOM, Podium Racing still has a chance to pull off a dramatic comeback and the $375,000 prize pot for the winning team, with the men’s race following the women’s set to be decisive in the team standings.

STAGE BREAKDOWN

Today’s race in NEOM saw three back-to-back stages that tasked athletes with a 300m swim in the warm, buoyant yet choppy Red Sea followed by a four-lap 4km bike leg and a final 1.6km run. All would take place in the 27°C desert heat and windswept conditions of the Red Sea coast.

STAGE 1

Into the choppy waters of the Red Sea for a 300m single loop swim and Brownlee Racing’s Olivia Mathias, Olympic champ Cassandre Beaugrand of Crown Racing and Vittória Lopes of Podium Racing were straight to the fore, but Mathias would scoop the Short Chute for Brownlee Racing. Series leader Georgia Taylor-Brown of Crown Racing was 11secs in arrears in 12th place.

Onto the 4km, four-lap bike leg and Mathias had created a short gap ahead of the chase pack, and she’d soon be joined by her Brownlee Racing teammate Jess Fullagar. supertri debutant Nina Eim of Stars & Stripes led the chasers, with a strung-out lead group containing all the race favourites soon occupying the first 15 places. Mathias would again exit transition first to deny her rival teams the chance of a Short Chute.

The 1.6km, two-lap run began with Beaugrand powering to the front, creating daylight between herself and the chasers, before being confused by the layout of the course and losing that advantage to Léonie Périault and Jeanne Lehair of Podium Racing. Beaugrand would sprint to transition to win the final Short Chute for Crown Racing.

STAGE 2

Stage 2 began with Lehair, Périault, Beaugrand and Taylor Spivey of Stars & Stripes into the salty, buoyant waters first. Spivey, with the series win in her sights, was first out of the water, with Lehair, Périault, Mathias and Beaugrand in hot pursuit, along with 2023 series champ Kate Waugh of Crown Racing. 

The big news at the start of the second 4km bike of the day was Spivey hitting the tarmac around a tight turn having just established a sizeable lead at the front. The American would recover to join the main pack but losing 30secs of time to Lehair, Beaugrand and the other race contenders. By the halfway stage, Lehair and Beaugrand’s advantage was 7secs over Taylor-Brown; at the end of the bike that had been extended to a mighty 11secs. A calamitous transition by Lehair where she dropped her bike and carried her helmet out of transition and onto the run course added to the drama.

The second 1.6km run of the day was made memorable by Lehair having to run with her helmet in a bid to avoid a penalty. The Luxembourg racer would successfully do both, with the gap to the chasers, now led by Olympic bronze medallist Beth Potter of Brownlee Racing, stubbornly remaining at around 11secs. Podium Racing’s Vittória Lopes was the first athlete to be eliminated at the rear for falling 2mins behind the leader.

STAGE 3

Lehair and Beaugrand entered the final 300m sea swim of the day with an 11sec gap over Périault, 15secs over Taylor-Brown and 26secs over Spivey, the latter’s chance of winning the series now surely over. Beaugrand edged Lehair out of the water, with Périault leading the chasers. 

The 4km bike began with Beaugrand and Lehair some 20secs ahead of the chasers, with Taylor-Brown in seventh but needing to finish in third if Lehair was to win the race (or fourth if Lehair came second). That lead would be 25secs by the halfway stage, with athletes being eliminated at the rear and just 11 athletes now left in the race.

Onto the final, furious 1.6km run and Beaugrand would instantly create a gap at the front ahead of Lehair. Taylor-Brown endured a sloppy transition and would enter the run in eighth. At the front, Beaugrand’s move would be decisive, the French star’s long stride taking her to the finish line for her first supertri victory of the season. 

Lehair would come in second, with the drama behind her as Taylor-Brown hung on for fourth but with Potter in her shadow. Beaugrand would cross the line after 53:25mins of racing 8secs ahead of Lehair, with Périault in third and Taylor-Brown clinging on for fourth just 2secs ahead of Potter in fifth to take her record third supertri league title.