Paris plays host to the Event ahead of next summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games this week. The racing provides triathletes and paratriathletes the opportunity to experience the course and gain vital ranking points in the race to qualify for the Games next year in the French capital.
The competition starts with the women’s triathlon race on Thursday 17 August with the men’s triathlon race Friday 18 August. Both races will take place over a 1.5km swim, a 40km bike ride and a 10km run.
Paratriathlon takes place over a 750m swim, a 20km bike ride and a 5km run on Saturday 19 August. The Test Event comes to an end on 20 August with the triathlon mixed team relay as each athlete completes a 300m swim, a 5.8km bike ride and a 1.8km run.
Alex Yee, who secured silver and gold medals in Tokyo, is joined on the start line in the men’s triathlon race by three-time Olympic medallist Jonny Brownlee.
Yee has been in fine form this year having won twice in World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) Cagliari and Abu Dhabi, and he also boasts a bronze medal from 2023 World Triathlon Sprint and Relay Championship Hamburg. Brownlee has been a regular on the WTCS stage this year and took home silver in 2023 Europe Triathlon Championships Madrid.
Yee commented: “2023 so far has been amazing so far, it has been good to be racing again in the Championship Series,” he explained. “Cagliari and Abu Dhabi were really good races for me.
“I was particularly proud of Cagliari, that I was able to put together what I felt like was a really good swim, bike, run. Hamburg was really good as well to experience a new format and to race in that environment with that company is always good. It came down to fine margins, which I love about this sport. It can go your way one day and it can go the other way the next day.”
In the women’s triathlon race, Beth Potter, who occupies top spot in the Olympic rankings, and Sophie Coldwell are in action. The pair are joined by Olivia Mathias and Kate Waugh on the start line in Paris.
Coldwell has been on the start line at four WTCS events this year and has come away with a gold medal in Yokohama and a silver medal in Abu Dhabi, while Potter boasts two wins from WTCS events this year and one silver medal, also recently helping the British side secure a silver medal in the mixed team relay in Sunderland.
Mathias comes into the race off the back of a 23rd place finish in Sunderland, having earned a silver medal at 2023 Arena Games Triathlon Series Sursee Powered by Zwift back in March. Under 23 World Champion, Kate Waugh, is the final Brit on the start line for the women’s race and she recorded a season best eighth place at WTCS Yokohama in May.
Coldwell said: “It’s a big race, but it’s just another race. I kind of have to forget about the Olympic selection point of it.
“I can only do the best I can do on the day and if that’s good enough then it’s good enough and if it’s not, there’s other opportunities later in the year and next year to try and prove that I’m worthy of a spot.
“If I’m fortunate enough to qualify for next year, I think having raced on the course and knowing the demands of it, knowing you can visualise that through training and if there’s points where you think I was really bad at that, or this could definitely be improved, then it gives you a whole year to do those things. I definitely think that having an opportunity to go round it, if I’m there next year is a bonus.”
The triathlon action then ends with mixed team relay action, with the British team looking to shine in Paris having already qualified a mixed relay place for 2024.
In the paratriathlon races, there is British interested in the PTVI men’s race as Oscar Kelly, guided by Charlie Harding and Dave Ellis guided by Luke Pollard take to the start line, while Claire Cashmore lines up in the women’s PTS5 category having take bronze at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
Ellis secured gold at 2023 World Triathlon Para Series Swansea to secure his 12th gold medal in his last 13 races, which included a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham while representing Team England.
He said: “It’s quite a different event, with swimming in a river, which we don’t normally do and racing on the cobbles, so to have the opportunity to see how it goes and what we need to change and adapt is really positive for next year to make sure we’re prepared for that.”
Kelly, who was fifth in Birmingham behind Ellis, comes into the race off the back of two impressive performances where he secured silver at World Triathlon Para Series Montreal Swansea and Montreal respectively.
The final Brit in the paratriathlon racing, Cashmore, was second in her last race at World Triathlon Para Series Swansea behind America rival Grace Norman, who she’ll be up against in Paris. Before that Cashmore had secured back-to-back gold medals at 2023 Europe Triathlon Championships Madrid and 2023 World Triathlon Para Cup A Coruna.
She said: “It’s not very often you do a course, and you go back and do it again so being able to go there and absorb everything and take everything in this time.
“Being able to test everything out particularly as it’s quite a different course for us, we’ve never ridden cobbles, we’ve never really swam in a river, up and down stream. It’ll be really good to find out all those nuggets of information and use them going forward to be best prepared for next year.”
You can watch all the action from Paris live on Triathlon Live. Purchase your subscription here.
