Showing off his incredible run prowess, Great Britain’s Hugo Milner proved his end of season success in 2023 was no fluke, as the Derby native took his first win of the year at the Europe Triathlon Cup Quarteira.
Reeling in two-time world champion Vincent Luis with a lightning quick run split, Milner demonstrated once again to Team GB selectors that he should most certainly be considered for the Olympic team in Paris.
In the women’s race, Olympic medalists Cassandre Beaugrand and Georgia Taylor-Brown were both thwarted by Lisa Tertsch of Germany, who took the win after a spectacular run.
Milner splits insane 10km leg
Racing over the Olympic distance in Quarteira, some of the best in the world overcame the disappointment of WTCS Abu Dhabi’s cancellation and dusted off the cobwebs on the Algarve.
Leading out of the water, Britain’s Marcus Dey was responsible for a rapid early pace, finishing the 1500m swim in 16:32. Coming into T1, 12 men including Luis were within 20 seconds of the front.
Further back, Milner had left himself with a substantial amount of work to do, with the Harvard grad down +0:55 and sitting in around 35th place. Fortunately, the 25-year-old had plenty of athletes around him in the chase pack.
Over the 40km bike however, despite their best efforts, the chase pack couldn’t make up enough ground on a front group of 15 athletes, with Luis joined by fellow French pros Aurelien Jem, Yanis Seguin and Louis Vitiella in the front pack.
With more than half a minute to make up, Milner would have to clock a sub-30:00 run split to even make the podium, but proved he was more than up to the task, as over the course of the first 8km he reeled in Luis and Jem.
Kicking clear over the last lap, the Brit ended up taking a comfortable win, despite being on the back foot all day, thanks to an astonishing 29:32 run split, which was the quickest by over 30 seconds.
Holding off his compatriot, Luis secured second in his first race since last summer, with Jem coming home in third to take his first continental cup podium since 2018.
GTB back with a bang in Portugal
Despite not quite having the finishing speed to kick for the win in Quarteira, Taylor-Brown will take a massive confidence boost from pushing Paris Olympic qualifiers Tertsch and Beaugrand so close in Portugal.
Strong across the board, the Brit came out of the water alongside Beaugrand, biked in the front group and just lost out in a three-way sprint for the line in her first race since June 2023.
As far as the race for the two remaining slots on the British Team to Paris goes, her performance in Quarteira certainly makes it clear that she is not one to count out.
Tertsch showed over the Olympic distance that she is a match for anyone, as she impressively out-split Beaugrand who having recently run a 5km road PB, appears to be in great run shape.
At the end of the day, the women’s race in particular has left triathlon fans with more questions than answers. Can Tertsch challenge for a medal in Paris? Is GTB a favourite or an underdog for a slot on the British team?
With plenty more racing to come in 2024, both those questions and many more will be answered sooner rather than later. One certainty, however, is that it’s great to see Taylor-Brown back healthy and at the front of races again.
Europe Triathlon Cup Quarteira – Saturday March 23 2024
1500m / 40km / 10km
Elite Men
- 1. Hugo Milner (GBR) – 1:44:04
- 2. Vincent Luis (FRA) – 1:44:19
- 3. Aurelien Jem (FRA) – 1:44:30
- 4. Connor Bentley (GBR) – 1:44:37
- 5. Gergely Kiss (HUN) – 1:44:46
Elite Women
- 1. Lisa Tertsch (GER) – 1:56:52
- 2. Cassandre Beaurgand (FRA) – 1:56:57
- 3. Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR) – 1:57:04
- 4. Anna Godoy Contreras (ESP) – 1:57:32
- 5. Claire Michel (BEL) – 1:57:45
