The World Cup action travels this weekend to the north of France for the much awaited debut of Lievin in the World Triathlon circuit, with a fast and furious format that is set to delight athletes and spectators alike. get ready for the first-ever indoor World Cup, and there are some major names ready to go all-out in this brutal format. Among the stars set to race indoors are Vincent Luis – winner here in 2022 – Georgia Taylor-Brown, Tim Hellwig, Gwen Jorgensen, Csongor Lehmann, Leonie Periault and Vetle Thorn all in the mix! Saturday is going to be jam-packed action, and you can watch the semi-finals and finals live on TriathlonLive.tv:
The format is simple: build a 25m pool inside an indoor track, and have the athletes swimming, biking in the outer lanes of the track and running on the inner lanes. Pack the venue with 2.500 spectators. Add live music, impressive sports presentations and…. voilà! You have all the ingredients for a perfect triathlon spectacle.
12 athletes line up on each race -6 heats for the men, 4 for the women, two repechages each, followed by three semi-finals for each gender and then the B final and A finals-. A 150m swim – 6 lengths of the pool with two athletes to a lane – is followed by a 15-lap, 3km bike and out onto the 5-lap, 1km run, with heats and repechage to decide the 36 athletes into three semi-finals per gender, the top four of each semi-final progressing into the final, the next four on the finish line of each semi-final into a B-final.
On the men’s race, top 4 on each of the six Qualifiers will make it straight to the semi-finals, with the rest going to the repechages. On the women’s race, the top six of each Qualifier will make it to the semi-finals, with the rest battling for the last spots on the two repechages scheduled.
Men’s line-up
It will be Germany’s top ranked athlete, Tim Hellwig, wearing the one in Lievin, and therefore has been placed on the first Qualifier, along with some other fast runners like Spain’s Genis Grau or France’s Paul Georgenthum. Grau is one to keep an eye on on this format. He finished in second place here in 2022, just behind Vincent Luis, and is known for his quick transitions and fast legs, which will definitely be an asset in Lievin.
The second Qualifier might be slightly easier for Csongor Lehmann (HUN), while the third one will see some athletes known to be fast and experienced in this fast and furious races like Sylvain Fridelance (SUI), Vetle Bergsvik Thorn (NOR), and Harry Leleu (GBR), who will be looking forward avoiding the repechages and saving legs for the last stages of the competition.
The fourth Qualifier will be one for the ages, with the likes of Hugo Milner (GBR), Casper Stornes (NOR), Esteban Basanta Fouz (ESP) and Sachar Sagiv (ISR) willing to prove that this format suits them great. After his incredible run last week in Quarteira -29.32, outrunning the likes of Vincent Luis-, Milner is ready to prove that he is not only a fast runner, but also one to be considered when it comes to super-sprint formats, similar distances as on a Mixed Relay.
On Qualifier 5, Samuel Dickinson (GBR) and Yanis Seguin (FRA) will be battling for the direct semi-final spots, with the Brit also wanting to show his skills on this format. But the eyes of the local crowd will be indeed fixed on the last Qualifier, with two-times World Champion Vincent Luis toeing the start line. The Frenchman returned to competition after an injury last weekend in Quarteira, where he proved to be in good form for Olympic distance races, but the Lievin format is one he also likes, having won here in the European Cup in 2022.
Women’s line-up
With only 40 women on the start list, the field has been divided into four Qualifier races, with the top six making it straight to the semi-finals and the rest of the athletes having one more chance on the repechage. USA’s Taylor Spivey was meant to wear the one on Lievin, but she had to pull out of the race due to sickness last minute, leaving Great Britain’s Georgia Taylor-Brown to lead the field. The Brit will not have an easy first round, with Gina Sereno (USA), the current Arena Games World Champion, and Leonie Periault (FRA) also on the second Qualifier, along with uber swimmer Zsanett Kuttor-Bragmayer (HUN) and Zuzana Michalickova (SVK), one of the Team World Triathlon athletes that is trying to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The first Qualifier will see some of the strongest athletes, with Jolien Vermeylen (BEL) ready to prove how fast her legs are, to continue to chase her Olympic dream. She will face two of the stronger French athletes, Sandra Dodet and Audrey Merle, both of them with previous podiums here in Lievin and also with multiple World Cup podiums on their careers.
Laura Lindemann (GER) will be leading the third qualifier, another race that is stacked, with Rio 2016 champion Gwen Jorgensen giving it a try to the fast and thrilling format, alongside with Rio 2016 bronze medallist Vicky Holland (GBR), also back to competition after having a child. Selina Klamt (GER) and Margaux Garabedian (CAM) should be included on the ones to watch on this race.
The last Qualifier will see three German athletes that have a great experience in the super-sprint format: Marlene Gomez-Goggle, Lena Meißner and Anabel Knoll, alongside with Cathia Schär (SUI) and Jessica Fullagar (GBR).
The Lievin Indoor World Cup will take place on Saturday, March 30, with the first Qualifier starting at 12.30. Semi-finals and finals will be avalable LIVE on TriathlonLIVE.tv from 19h local time. Check all the start lists HERE.
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