Macca Moves To Strengthen Bahrain Victorious Scorpions

Bahrain Victorious Scorpions manager Chris McCormack has moved quickly to shore up his side ahead of the 2022 Championship Series.

Bahrain Victorious’ star man, two-time Super League Triathlon champion Vincent Luis, is unable to compete in the opening races of the Series. Alissa König has been ruled out of the entire five-event calendar through injury.

McCormack used his extensive contacts to find a temporary replacement for Luis rather than taking his chances with Wildcard selections, and has brought in fellow Australian Ryan Fisher to fill in for the Frenchman for as long as is needed.

However, McCormack has taken a calculated risk by selecting from the Series Wildcards to replace König with Cassandre Beaugrand. While on the face of it that seems like a no-brainer, there is much more nuance. Beaugrand will not race in Malibu, meaning she almost certainly won’t contend for the Overall Leaderboard, and will suffer a serious points loss due to missing that event.

Indeed, the maths says that even if Beaugrand were to be in imperious form and win two events and finish second in two events – which remains a big if as McCormack will only be able to allocate any Short Chutes to either her or Georgia Taylor-Brown, who races all five and therefore has a realistic chance at the title – you could actually earn as many points without even stepping foot on the podium over the course of a five-race Series. And with big name Wildcards for individual races to be revealed, McCormack could have potentially secured more points by going that route.

Super League Munich 2021 Cassandre Beaugrand

McCormack said: “Obviously I am gutted that Vince will miss the start of the Series. He’s the King of Super League, and the leader of our men’s team, but now we have Ryan Fisher. Ryan’s such a solid athlete, he knows Super League, and he’s itching to prove himself again at these formats and at this level. I love hungry athletes, and Ryan is hungry.

“Cassandre is a class act. Some people are saying this is not a sensible decision as she isn’t racing Malibu, but I want to bring in class, and she has that in abundance. She’s one of the best athletes in the world. You’d be a fool not to bring her in, even if it’s only for four events.”

There are injury replacements in two other teams.

Marten Van Riel had already revealed he would miss the opening events, but Fan Team manager Annie Emmerson has pulled off a blinder by securing Richard Murray, an SLT winner and one of the most experienced athletes in the field.

Richard Murray_Championship_Male_Enduro_Race__369

There’s a double change for SLT Sharks manager Michelle Dillon as well. Jonas Schomburg has failed to recover from an injury sustained at the European Championships and has taken the difficult decision to withdraw from the Series. Dillon has opted for Greek talent Panagiotis Bitados to shore up her male ranks.

Perhaps the most exciting change comes in her women’s line-up with Julia Hauser ruled out and Dillon deciding to turn to Jule Behrens, the young German talent who is being tipped for the very top.