There was a remarkable start to the women’s WTCS Grand Final in Torremolinos as Olympic champion and race favourite Cassandre Beaugrand went completely off course early in the swim.
It started from the beach and featured two 750 metres laps in the sea – and it was on the very first of those that things went horribly awry for the woman who ‘just’ needs to finish in the first three to seal a maiden world title.
Wearing bib number one and starting on the extreme right, the Frenchwoman appeared to be sighting the wrong buoy and went from near the head of affairs to last of the 48 athletes before five minutes were even on the clock.
All of which left her with a mountain to climb.
Mountain to climb
Beaugrand’s error meant she had to make a right-angled turn to ensure she went around the first buoy and at that point she was starting to get on the feet of the backmarkers.
To make matters worse the conditions were seriously choppy.
Exiting the water for the first time she was up to 30th place as Italy’s Bianca Seregni led the way, 30 seconds ahead of her.
But by the time the athletes finished the second lap and headed to transition, she had halved that deficit – she was up to 10th place and 15 seconds back, right alongside her biggest title rival Beth Potter.
Potter ready to pounce
Until now it’s been an almost flawless season for Beaugrand – she won both her WTCS races (Cagliari and Hamburg) before her Olympic triumph on home soil.
But she suffered a hiccup last time out when she was disqualified in her first race since in France at supertri Toulouse for a bike helmet infringement.
The dramatic start potentially opens things up for Britain’s Potter to retain her world title.
She needs to win and hope Beaugrand finishes third or lower.
Both Potter and Beaugrand are among the fastest runners so there should be plenty more drama to come.
And while Beaugrand did brilliantly to come back from what looked a desperate position it remains to be seen how much excess energy she has expended.
