Cassandre Beaugrand of otherworldly level: with apparent ease to WTCS Hamburg victory

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.