The final standard distance continental triathlon championships of the year will take place in Vichy, France, this weekend with many of Europe’s best set to vie for a gold medal that, dating back to 1985, precedes even the world title itself. After the hilly course of Madrid last season, Vichy will serve an altogether different challenge. The athletes will tackle a river swim before moving onto an extremely fast riverside bike and run consisting of seven 5.7km and three 3.3km laps apiece. With minimal changes in elevation and plenty of long straights, the course will be a real test of power and speed. A major prize, a fast course and a stacked line-up will thus be on offer in Vichy in a championship that could go in any number of ways.

The men’s field

Csongor Lehmann (HUN) arrives as perhaps the man to beat after winning a maiden WTCS medal in Cagliari early this season. He finished 3rd on that unforgettable day in Sardinia. A former World U23 champion and a winner of multiple World Cups, including on home turf in Tiszaujvaros once again in July, Lehmann has no shortage of big wins to his name. This weekend, he will have the chance to claim one of the few titles that has eluded him.

Two key rivals to any Lehmann victory will be David Cantero del Campo (ESP) and Hugo Milner (GBR). Cantero won the Valencia World Cup for the second straight year last weekend. As it happens, that matches Lehmann’s Tiszaujvaros feat. A superb runner, Cantero has all the speed necessary to make Lehmann uncomfortable in the third discipline. Meanwhile, Milner won the Miyazaki World Cup at the end of the 2023 season. In the time since, he has made the step up to the WTCS and notably finished 13th in Cagliari. Most significantly, he clocked the third fastest run split that day, almost matching the efforts of Alex Yee and Hayden Wilde. At the same race, the run split that carried Lehmann to bronze was over 30 seconds slower than Milner. Of course, Milner did not make the front pack which is an important factor to acknowledge. Nevertheless, his running prowess cannot be understated.

The experienced Casper Stornes (NOR) goes again after claiming a recent silver medal at the Karlovy Vary World Cup. His result comes after he finished 5th at WTCS Hamburg in his best Series performance since winning in Bermuda back in 2018. The Norwegian threat will also be enhanced by the presence of Vetle Bergsvik Thorn, the 2023 European Games champion. Like Stornes, Thorn has also medalled at the World Cup level in 2024.

There will be plenty of rising talent in the field and the likes of Yanis Seguin (FRA) and Valentin Morlec (FRA) will start having earned maiden World Cup medals this year in Samarkand and Tiszaujvaros, respectively. Both are well-rounded athletes with strengths across each discipline. In addition, there is a noteworthy cohort of athletes that have enjoyed recent success at the European Championships. Nicola Azzano (ITA) is the newly-crowned European super sprint champion, a title he won in Balikesir in August. He will look to double up on continental titles for the year this weekend. Adrien Briffod (SUI) is the returning bronze medallist from last year, albeit in a race held as a duathlon, and will push to convert that into gold. Finally, João Nuno Batista (POR), the 2023 World Junior and European Junior champion, could be a dark horse to watch in a race that has a plethora of potential winners.

The women’s field

The name to watch in the women’s race will be none other than Leonie Periault (FRA). After striking gold at WTCS Yokohama earlier this year, she will be the home team’s leading hope for a win in Vichy. Periault is a World Cup winner and has previously nabbed European titles in the mixed team relay. As yet, though, an individual continental gold medal remains missing from her mantelpiece. On her day, she is one of the best runners in the world of triathlon and if she navigates the fast, flat bike course without issue, she will be tough to beat.

One woman that would have put Periault under pressure in the opening discipline is Bianca Seregni (ITA). The Italian athlete was on paper the fastest swimmer in the field and has regularly detonated races before, however the triple World Cup winner from 2023 is a late withdrawal due to COVID. In her place,Alice Betto (ITA), another World Cup winner from last season, will stand as a key threat to a Periault victory from the Italian team.

The 2023 World U23 champion, Selina Klamt (GER), will renew her rivalry against Maria Tomé (POR), who won silver at the World U23 Championships last year. Both have gone from strength to strength over the past year with Tomé recently finishing an impressive 13th place at the Olympic Games. On the other end of the experience spectrum, Vicky Holland (GBR), the 2018 world champion, will be starting in Vichy. Holland claimed a silver medal in Tiszaujvaros earlier this year and will look to add a final title to an illustrious career. Her compatriot Jessica Fullagar could also turn some heads. She won a maiden World Cup medal in Samarkand and is among the best cyclists in the field. If Seregni could rip up the race early on, Fullagar is one that could turn the race on its head in the second discipline.

Solveig Løvseth (NOR), the European Games champion from last year, Cathia Schär (SUI) the returning bronze medallist, and Diana Isakova (AIN), the bronze medallist from Tiszaujvaros, could all feature prominently this weekend. If there is one lesson to learn from recent history across the wildly different European Championships, it is something unexpected to unfold.

Get ready, then, for a pair of explosive races in Vichy this weekend with the women racing on Saturday 21st September at 13:45 (CEST) and the men at 16:15 (CEST). You can stay up to date with all the latest across World Triathlon channels.