French women shone on the Riviera

The French team put on a great show on the Fréjus-Raphaël Riviera this Sunday. Cassandre Beaugrand immediately stood out in the swimming event, which she dominated from the first minutes. She made a good transition and continued to perform on the bike: "I had a very good race at the front from start to finish. I was hoping there would be a break on the bike, but this year it's a little more complicated to make breakaways," said the Olympic champion in the discipline.

Local athlete Léonie Périault made a great comeback during the running leg in a gripping end to the race. Four athletes broke away, including Cassandre Beaugrand, Emma Lombardi and Léonie Périault, pushed on by their supporters: "The public responded despite the two transitions and the fact that it wasn't easy to see the whole race. But there were still a lot of people and I felt it. It pushed me on the run, I was able to find a second wind to go and do this sprint," continues Cassandre Beaugrand. Because Luxembourg's Jeanne Lehair held her own against the Olympic champion until the end, taking second place and erasing the hope of an all-French podium.

A few seconds after the leading duo, Léonie Périault and Emma Lombardi entered the final straight, with the adopted Raphaëloise finally managing to get the better of them in the final meters to climb onto the third step of the podium.

Léonie Périault in the mind

Léonie had started her race badly, but she was able to come back by gradually asserting herself, first on the bike leg: "I swam badly again, it happens to me, it remains my weak point. In the last race in Hamburg, it went well; this one, it wasn't the case. Afterwards, I had to make a big effort on the bike to be able to come home on the lead. I managed it but I lost a few feathers and that impacted me a little, especially at the start of the run."

The resident of Creps de Boulouris then followed her compatriots, detached from the rest of the group. She initially seemed to struggle to keep up but eventually regained her strength: "I tried to come back and, unfortunately for Emma, ​​I overtook her in the last few meters to go for that podium."

As she crossed the finish line, she knew she'd taken third place from the Savoyard. She immediately leaned over to help Emma Lombardi, who was on the ground, up and took her in her arms.

"I feel like I managed to maintain the gap throughout the entire run. I couldn't get back in, but I was running at the same pace as the girls. In the last few meters, I felt like Emma cracked a bit, which allowed me to come back, but I'm really gutted for her. She had already finished fourth at the Games and finished fourth again in a race in France... I'm thinking of her," the Var resident said.

The disillusionment of Emma Lombardi

Emma Lombardi collapsed on the finish line, both physically and mentally, despite a great race, with a build-up in the bike section and in the run, where she held third place almost until the end.

Her disappointment also saddened Cassandre Beaugrand: "Emma finished fourth again. I'm thinking of her because it's tough. It would have been great if she was on the podium. She didn't miss out, which bodes well for the future. I think she'll be able to bounce back and show that she's not giving up."

The French trio may face off again at the next stage of the WTCS in the Czech Republic in September or at the grand finale in Australia.