Georgia Taylor-Brown strides to supertri Chicago victory
After a hard-fought silver in Boston a week ago, Britain’s Georgia Taylor-Brown stepped up to gold at supertri Chicago. The 30-year-old was close to the front for much of the nine-stage triathlon before she seized the initiative on the final leg of the day to score victory for her Crown Racing squad.
Taylor-Brown’s Crown Racing teammate and the newly-crowned Olympic champion Cassandre Beaugrand would finish second, with Taylor Spivey finishing third on home soil for the Stars & Stripes squad. The result saw Crown Racing surge into the series lead ahead of the men’s event in Chicago.
“It’s nice to be back on top as I’ve forgotten what it feels like to lift the tape,” said Taylor-Brown to Annie Emmerson at the finish. “But it’s so hot out here and all the girls did incredibly. I had to dig so deep and knew that I had to go round Taylor [Spivey] and Olivia [Mathias] and just back myself.”
The event was supertri’s Windy City debut, with the event being held as part of the Chicago Triathlon, the largest urban triathlon in the US and one that’s been running for more than 40 years. Huge crowds and epic backdrops greeted athletes on the supertri format, which saw athletes face a 300m sea swim, a flat 4km bike before a 1.6km run three times in a row, all without a break between stages.
Fresh off the back of the Olympics and a thrilling series opener in Boston last weekend, there was another stellar line-up of triathletes on the start line in Chicago, including Beaugrand, the gold medallist from Paris 2024, and Beth Potter, the Brit who scored bronze in Paris. Both underwhelmed in Boston, however, finishing eight and 12th respectively, and well behind Massachusetts champ Jeanne Lehair of Podium Racing and second-placed Georgia Taylor-Brown.
STAGE BREAKDOWN
STAGE 1
The day’s first 300m swim began with athletes plunging into the choppy waters of Lake Michigan with Chicago basking in temperatures over 30°C. Vittória Lopes, Kirsten Kasper and Cassandre Beaugrand were the first out of the water, with Kasper battling to take the Short Chute for her Stars & Stripes team.
Onto the tight and technical 4km bike leg with a chicane on the course, and Crown Racing’s Georgia Taylor-Brown was quickly to the fore, controlling the speed in a similar way to Boston the previous week. Olivia Mathias and Jess Fullagar of the Brownlee Racing squad also took turns at the front in a Brit-led charge, with Mathias scoring the Short Chute by exiting Transition Two first.
The 1.6km run course under the Michigan sun saw Beaugrand, Beth Potter and Lehair run their way into the reckoning in Lakefront Park. Running in her swim cap, Beaugrand was the first to finish Stage 1 to gain a Short Chute for Crown Racing, with Lehair in her shadow.
STAGE 2
Stage 2’s swim began with athletes diving from the pontoon into Lake Michigan, with Beaugrand leading out Taylor-Brown after a fast 300m of racing. The 16-year-old Hungarian Fanni Szalai was also now in the upper places for Podium Racing.
Taylor-Brown was first onto the 4km bike ahead of Beaugrand and Lehair, the relentless pace seeing Cathia Schär the first athlete to fall foul of supertri’s 90-second eliminator rule. Fullagar and Mathias returned to the front at the midway point to join Taylor-Brown in controlling the bike leg’s tempo, with Mathias the first through transition and onto the second run of the day,
That 1.6km run saw a group of nine break clear of the chasers, with all the pre-race favourites and teams in the mix, and the Short Chutes yet to be activated. Taylor Spivey of Stars & Stripes brought out some local cheers by moving to the front of the pack, with a Short Chute her reward from coach Parker Spencer. Beaugrand and Mathias would also gain Short Chutes.
STAGE 3
The day’s final 300m swim was led by Potter with Spivey on her feet, but it would be fellow Brit Mathias who would take a narrow lead into T1 ahead of Spivey and Taylor-Brown.
The lead pack started to significantly breakup in the early throes of the day’s final 4km bike leg, with a gang of four at the front featuring Spivey, Taylor-Brown, Mathias and Fullagar creating daylight between themselves and the chasers. The heat and frenetic pace also saw more athletes getting the red flag at the rear, the latest being Waugh, Katie Zaferes and Léonie Périault.
The lead group of four had a 10sec advantage at the start of the 1.6km run, with Spivey and Mathias instantly playing their Short Chutes. Taylor-Brown was quick to move to the front to eliminate that advantage, nonetheless, but also lurking was Beaugrand. With 800m to go, Taylor-Brown’s advantage was 4secs over Beaugrand and the Brit increased that to the finish to win by 8secs ahead of Beaugrand, with Spivey in third, Mathias fourth and Lehair rounding out the top five.
