Just two weeks after the dramatic and enthralling racing in Leeds, the World Triathlon Championship Series heads to Montreal this weekend where British triathletes will be aiming to continue their medal success.
Three medals last time out in Leeds – silver for Georgia Taylor-Brown and bronze for Sophie Coldwell along with mixed relay silver – took Great Britain’s tally to seven medals across the four events held in the 2022 World Triathlon Championship Series so far.
Both Taylor-Brown and Coldwell will be back when the first of the weekend’s eliminator races get underway on Friday, when they will be joined by Beth Potter, who recorded her highest ever World Triathlon Championship Series finish with fifth place in Leeds.
All three British women arrive in Canada in the top-seven in the Maurice Lacroix World Triathlon Championship Rankings, with Taylor-Brown currently at the top following her victory in Yokohama last month and second place finishes in Abu Dhabi and Leeds.
The top-five from Leeds will all be on the start line in Montreal including winner Cassandre Beaugrand (FRA), along with Taylor Spivey (USA) who was fourth in Leeds having been out front for much of the bike with Coldwell.
In the men’s elite race, Alex Yee will be back on the start line after his Leeds race ended prematurely after being caught-up in a crash on the bike leg. Yee has already been on the top step of the World Triathlon Championship Series podium this year thanks to his win in Yokohama.
Joining Yee on the start line is Sam Dickinson, who claimed bronze in his most recent race at Europe Triathlon Cup Coimbra two weeks ago. A regular at Europe Triathlon Cup events this year, Montreal will be his third WTCS start after his debut in Leeds last year followed by Abu Dhabi in November.
Just like the women’s race, many of the top-ranked male athletes will also be competing this weekend, including Leeds winner Hayden Wilde (NZL) and second-placed Leo Bergere (FRA), who has been one of the most consistent performers in the 2022 series with three podium finishes.
The race format in Montreal will be unlike any other World Triathlon Championship Series event so far this year with the fifth leg of the 2022 Championship Series being raced over the eliminator format.
A 300m swim, 7.2km bike and 2km run is the distance athletes will compete over, but this will be multiple times over the course of the two days of individual racing – although World Triathlon have announced Friday’s qualifying races have switched to a duathlon (1km run, 7.2km bike, 2km run) due to water quality following a significant amount of rain in Montreal.
Athletes will first race in a qualifier on Friday (24 June) with the top 10 finishers in each qualifying race advancing through to Saturday’s finals, as well as the top five finishers in the repechage races for those who did not qualify directly from the qualifiers.
Those athletes who qualify through to the finals will then compete for gold across three more super sprints. The top-20 athletes in stage one of the final will advance through to stage two, with the top-10 from the second race progressing through to the third and final stage where the race win and podium will be decided.
If that wasn’t enough entertainment for the weekend, it’s then time for the mixed relay on Sunday and there will be added incentive for the nations competing.
Whichever nation wins the mixed relay in Montreal will become the first country to book their place on the Olympic mixed relay start line for Paris 2024.
The format of male, female, male, female will continue after Leeds where the British quartet of Tom Bishop, Sophie Coldwell, Grant Sheldon and Georgia Taylor-Brown secured mixed relay silver.
Live coverage of the eliminator finals on Saturday and mixed relay on Sunday will be broadcast live on BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app. Timings and coverage details can be viewed via the button below.
Alongside World Triathlon Championship Series Montreal, the same venue will host the World Triathlon Sprint and Relay Championships for junior and Age-Group athletes.
Bethany Cook, Martha Calton-Seal, Lizzy Edge, Ben Cumberland, Joe Sherman and Tom Hattee will compete in the junior races, while over 200 Age-Group athletes will represent the Great Britain Age-Group Team.
Both the junior and age group races include both individual and mixed relay events.
NB: The preview has been updated on 24 June to reflect World Triathlon’s decision to change the Friday race format to a duathlon.
