The big question going into the Arena Games Triathlon Powered by Zwift Grand Finale was who would make the trip to London and compete for the series overall. In the first two races of the series in Montreal and Sursee, we saw two very different cohorts in both the men’s and women’s fields.
The Lead Up
In Montreal, there was a close battle between former college teammates Gina Sereno (1st) and Sophie Lynn (2nd) in the women’s race and an even closer race between friendly rivals Chase McQueen (1st) and Henri Schoeman (2nd) in the men’s field.
Only Schoeman raced both Montreal and Sursee in an effort to pull even on points with McQueen for the overall. Schoeman’s strategy worked in his favor as he won decisively in Sursee over Maxime Hueber-Moosbrugger (2nd), Simon Westermann (3rd), Justus Nieschlag (4th), and Nicolo Strada (5th). Zsanett Bragmayer took a commanding victory in the women’s field in Sursee followed by a close battle between Olivia Mathias (2nd) and the young phenom Fanni Szalai (3rd), separated by only one second.
The Finale
Double points were available for the finale in London, which were added to each athlete’s highest score from Montreal or Sursee for the overall Arena Games World Championship.
For the overall, the stage seemed to be set for a rematch between Chase McQueen and Henri Schoeman in London for the men. Schoeman’s win in Sursee matched McQueen’s win over him in Montreal in points. With the women’s field arguably deeper in Sursee compared to Montreal (because the top 5 finished within a minute of each other), the overall series stage seemed to be set for Bragmayer to potentially disrupt the rematch between Sereno and Linn.
However, London proved to be anything but predictable, as series favorites struggled and transition penalties posed preventable obstacles. The race in London also featured challengers we had yet to see in this year’s Arena Games Series, including 2020 Olympic Medalist, Cassandre Beaugrand; 2022 Arena Games World Champion, Beth Potter; and 2022 Ironman World Champion, Gustav Iden.
Potter wins, Linn takes series
Beth Potter took an early lead in the women’s race and held the lead to win in London. Potter had clean transitions and consistent splits (11:59) in the first two rounds. Cassie Beaugrand trailed Potter by 10 seconds after the first round, but followed with a faster split than Potter in the second round (11:56) reducing the gap to 7 seconds. In the final round, Potter pulled away winning ahead of Beaugrand by a margin of 22 seconds.
Behind the one-day battle between Potter and Beaugrand, Sophie Linn was holding off a hard-charging Rani Skrabanja. The close rematch between Linn and Gina Sereno was not meant to be on this day, as Sereno got off to an uncharacteristic slow start in the first round and was given a 5 second penalty in the second round for not putting her running shoes in the box during transition. Coming into the finale, Linn had 231 points from Montreal, and Skrabanja had 183. Linn held off Skrabanja by a margin of 19 seconds to win the overall. Despite Sereno’s setbacks, she soldiered on to finish 6th, giving her enough points to secure 2nd overall in the series ahead of Skrabanja who finished 3rd.
Unexpectedly, Bragmayer did not offer the challenge for the overall that everyone was expecting. She was plagued with hamstring cramps through the three rounds and did her best to limit her losses.
London Podium
2023 Arena Games Series Podium
Strada Surprises, Schoeman series win
Nicolo Strada surprised the men’s field in London by going out strong in the first round and holding his commanding lead through the next two rounds. Strada finished 5th in Sursee, but only by a margin of 27 seconds to winner Schoeman. In response to Strada’s hard charge, Schoeman was doing the math for the overall series, keeping his closest series competitors within reach. Schoeman finished a solid 3rd in the first round, trailing Strada by 6 seconds, and only conceded an additional second to Strada in the second round, finishing second.
Strada went on to win the third round and the overall by 22 seconds over Schoeman who finished in second. New to the series Kyle Smith mounted a serious challenge for the podium having won the pre-qualifier the previous day. Despite getting hit with a 5-second penalty for having his shoes outside the box during transition, he managed to hold off Westermann to finish 3rd on the day by the slim margin of 1.4 seconds.
Schoeman reported in the post-race interview that he was working through cramping calves and did his best to hold off the field of series contenders. Schoeman was not in a position to pressure Strada on the day.
Schoeman’s decision to race in Sursee after finishing second in Montreal to McQueen proved decisive in the overall series. Schoeman started the finale with 250 points for 1st in Sursee (instead of 231 points for 2nd in Montreal). In the overall series, Schoeman’s 2nd in London gave him a total of 713 points. Strada’s 5th in Sursee and 1st in London game him a series total of 698 points, only losing the overall by 15 points. In sum, without the additional points Schoeman picked up in Sursee, he would not have won the overall series.
Similar to Bragmayer in the women’s race, a men’s series favorite had an uncharacteristic off day and trailed the entire time in London. Chase McQueen got off to a fast start leaving the pool in first place. However, he soon faltered on the bike and fell even farther behind on the run. In the second round, the run did not go much better. Instead of getting upset, McQueen appeared to laugh off his lackluster performance. In round two, he was so far behind entering the pool that he decided to do the butterfly stroke to the cheers of the crowd. We will have to wait until next year to see the much-anticipated rematch between McQueen and Schoeman.
London Podium
2023 Arena Games Series Podium
The 2023 Arena Games have provided some backstory and insight on who to watch during the Super League Championship Series. For my money, I’ll be watching for Beth Potter and Chase McQueen in particular to build on their Arena Games success.