The list of British contenders was deep, the crowds even deeper, but it would be France’s Cassandre Beaugrand and Justus Nieschlag of Germany who would prove utterly commanding at the Arena Games Triathlon London powered by Zwift.
UK tri stars Beth Potter, Jess Learmonth, Georgia Taylor-Brown and Alex Yee had no answer to the swim, bike and run prowess displayed of the winners at the sold-out London Aquatics Centre with Beaugrand and Nieschlag setting up two wide-open battles for World Championship glory in Singapore on May 7.
In the women’s event, the 24-year-old Beaugrand justified her future tri superstar reputation by smashing a field of Olympic Games gold medallists, home favourites and Super League powerhouses to take her debut Arena Games title. If Beth Potter was the pre-race favourite, Beaugrand clearly had other ideas, dominating eight of the nine legs over the three mini triathlons to produce a performance that will surely enter the Super League Triathlon history books.
“It was very hard and brutal,” said Beaugrand at the finish. “I struggled this morning in the heats and learnt from my mistakes, and it went much better this afternoon! It was very painful for me and everyone else, so I had to push hard throughout.”
Beaugrand’s performance saw her complete some of the fastest disciplines in Arena Games history, her 2:45min kilometre pace on Stage 2’s run the highpoint of a near-flawless display of multisport magic. Potter would come home second with fellow Brit Jess Learmonth rounding out the podium.
In the men’s event, the majority of the bumper and raucous crowds had come to witness local lad Alex Yee secure the Arena Games London title, but Justus Nieschlag was having none of it. The German would power to victory to add another Super League title to his stuffed trophy cabinet, his fourth Arena Games medal and perhaps most convincing. Yee would finish second some 30secs in arrears, with Italy’s Nicolò Strada taking bronze.
Home hopes were high after Yee took Stage 1 of the three-stage bout, but Nieschlag, a Super League stalwart, came to the fore on Stage 2 before never looking like giving it up on Stage 3. The win makes Nieschlag a major contender to take the inaugural Arena Games Triathlon World Championship title in Singapore in a fortnight, with Arena Games Munich winner Aurelien Raphael (who missed out in the heats today) and Alex Yee his major rivals.
“It feels amazing,” an ecstatic Nieschlag announced at the finish. “I’m really happy to be back on top of the podium after bronze in Munich. I didn’t expect a 30sec advantage over Alex Yee today after this morning’s heats, but it was great to have some comfortable seconds on the final run.”
The format at the London Aquatics Centre saw Stage 1 host a 200m pool swim, a 4km turbo trainer bike and 1km treadmill run, before Stage 2 reversed that order with a 1km run giving way to a 4km bike and 200m swim. The classic tri format of a 200m swim, a 4km bike and 1km run would return in Stage 3 to decide the winner.
Olympic Games qualification points were also up for grabs, while the event was part of the inaugural esports Triathlon World Championship Series. The organisers also announced a new non-drafting format on the bike leg, which will continue in Singapore on May 7.
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