Championship Finale | Day 1 | Women’s Eliminator

We’ve had our first professional race and what a race it was! The Eliminator is a savage format with three rounds of SWIM-BIKE-RUN, with a 10 min break in between. Between each round, athletes are eliminated if they do not finish high enough up the order, or fall too far behind.

The women’s field lined up at 15:00 – with each athlete being led out to the field by a local school child.

Round 1

When the gun went off to start Round 1, one athlete in particular was making an immediate mark on the proceedings, Emma Jeffcoat. She got a significant gap on the field in the first swim and led out of the water into transition.

Jeffcoat maintained this level of intensity throughout Round 1 taking the win, followed by Cassandre Beaugrand and Léonie Périault. Katie Zaferes finished in an ominous 5th place, still very much in touch.

Results

Emma Jeffcoat
Cassandre Beaugrand
Léonie Périault

Round 2

Round 2 began 10 short minutes later with a reduced field due to the eliminations from the previous round. This time around, Beaugrand tried to lay down a marker during the swim, leading the field out of the water. On the bike, Zaferes briefly took the lead, but a large group formed containing most of the contenders.

It came down to the run with Beaugrand and Rachel Klamer taking the finishing tape together, hand in hand as they crossed the line. Again Zaferes finished in 5th place, was she struggling or leaving something in reserve for the final shoot out?

Results

Klamer & Beaugrand
Périault

Round 3

The final 10 would now take on Round 3 in the last shoot out for victory in The Eliminator. Again, Beaugrand was first out of the swim, trying to force the pace and perhaps break her rivals. She was first into transition and first out on the bike, but it was Zaferes who took the lead on the first lap.

Zaferes put the hammer down on the bike but couldn’t shake the group on her wheel; Périault, Beaugrand, Jeffcoat, and Yuko all rode together.

“I’m really impressed with the improvement in bike handling skills from Cassandre, she’s not losing any time!” Lucy Hall

All into transition together – this was going to come down to the run and who wanted it more. On the first lap of the run, Beaugrand forced the pace and tried to break away, but there was no losing Zaferes.

Zaferes held strong and slowly reeled Beaugrand back in before making the pass. She held her pace putting distance into Beaugrand and the rest of the field.

Katie Zaferes took the victory in style, showing a strength we all know she has. Beaugrand came in second, and a charging Ashleigh Gentle took the final spot on the podium.

“It took me a little bit to get warmed up, but when I was running in the top five in the first two rounds, I thought I don’t really have to be here. I can be a little bit further back. I didn’t push in the first two rounds, but I pushed in the last one.” Katie Zaferes

We’ll be back tomorrow with the Women’s Enduro and a champion will be crowned!