26 years old, he becomes the third French triathlete titled after Olivier Marceau then Vincent Luis.
MO12345LEMONDE With AFP
reigning European champion, the French triathlete Léo Bergère won, Saturday, November 26, in the final of the WTCS circuit in Abu Dhabi, assaulting, by the way, the title of world champion.
The 26 -year -old Isérois becomes the third French triathlete titled following Olivier Marceau (2000) and Vincent Luis (2019 and 2020) and concludes his season in style after his European title conquered in Munich in August.
Léo Bergère signed his first victory in a stage in the WTCS circuit. The performance is all the more notable since, third in the general classification before this last stage of the season, it was not enough to win in the race on Saturday to win the world title.
The number one, the New Zealander Hayden Wilde, had to end up the top 5, and the British, the British Alex Yee, was pushed back from the podium. The scenario was carried out each time at a place, until the last meters thanks to the Belgian Jelle Geens who blew the sprint third place in Alex Yee. “Léo and the French Federation owe me one,” he smiled.
a “click”
Twenty months from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the aggressive strategy of the French team worked wonderfully. Léo Bergère, accompanied by his compatriots Vincent Luis and Pierre Le Corre, changed within a group of nine competitors with more than thirty seconds ahead of his rivals at the end of the cycling section of this race In Olympic format (1,500 meters of swimming, 40 kilometers by bike and 10 kilometers of running). The Blues had trapped as expected Wilde and Yee, less good swimmers, who could not go up enough their delay on foot (4 e and 6 e ).
This is the revelation season for Léo Bergère, who signed four podiums, including a second place in Leeds in the spring. Before its European title this summer, the French triathlete said he had a “click” and have exceeded a “small blockage” in particular thanks to his work with a mental preparer.
The results followed and instilled in him the confidence that was missing to adopt the aggressive strategy, the signature of the French team. Like his first big big victory at the highest level at the European Championships in Munich during a memorable French hat -trick, with Pierre Le Corre and Dorian Coninx.
After the disillusionment of Tokyo last year, marked by the 13