Australian Ashleigh Gentle produced a stunning performance to come from eighth off the bike and win the first ever French Riviera T100 Triathlon.
Despite winning five times over the Professional Triathletes Organisation’s 100km distance (2km swim, 80km bike, 18km run) in recent seasons, this sixth victory might be the sweetest yet after not getting on the podium in her first four T100 races of this year.
Canadian Paula Findlay was second; her best finish in a T100 race to date and further evidence that a T100 victory could be around the corner.
Great Britain’s India Lee was third – comfortably her best T100 performance of this year and reward for the hard yards she’s been putting in recently.
Winner quotes: Ashleigh Gentle (AUS)
“It was really good. I mean I came out in a really big group in the swim and I knew I had to stick with them for as long as I could.”
“The first part of the ride was so fast and I knew there were challenging sections ahead. So I tried to not panic and make sure I paced it really well… In London, the wheels fell off the last part and I really paid for it big time. I’m really glad I could pace it a little bit better today.”
“It’ll take a little bit to sink in, to be honest, I’ve been doing this for 20 years now and I’m well aware there’s highs and lows. It doesn’t always go perfectly. I’ve invested just as much as I always do to try and be at the top. The competition is incredible and I just have to try and keep the faith and trust in the process. I’ve got an amazing little team behind me who try and keep my spirits high so it’s nice to come here and take the win.”
“It’s just about keeping the faith, and being resilient, and trusting that you can be back on the top.”
Second placed: Paula Findlay (CAN)
“Yeah this is my best T100, I honestly never thought I would podium at one of these [events], they’ve just gotten so fast and so competitive – I’m really happy.”
“I just want to keep rolling and finish the year strong, hopefully. This is a good confidence booster and puts me in a good mood.”
Third placed: India Lee (GBR)
“I’m still pretty speechless to be honest, I’m not quite sure what happened on the run.
“It was a tough day, the whole day you had to concentrate and not miss a beat. We got out here and I was trying to focus on myself and channel all those long runs.”
“The start of this year has been, well, the start of last year was unexpected and the start of this year was below par. The plan was always to peak at this time of year.”
How the race unfolded
With 2km to cover in beautiful Riviera waters, Jess Learmonth (GBR) and Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR) pushed on during the first 1km lap to leave the rest trailing in their wake. Having distanced her compatriot by a few body lengths, by the time she exited the water in 26:38, Learmonth had created a 25-second advantage on Taylor-Brown and was 1:18 ahead of 3rd place, T100 debutant Alanis Siffert (SUI).
Learmonth had the lead to herself for the around half of the 80km bike course before Taylor-Brown took to the front – with a chase pack including Siffert, Lucy Byram (GBR), India Lee (GBR) and Hannah Berry (NZL) around a minute back. Other big hitters Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) and Paula Findlay (CAN) were 1:45 and nearly 3 minutes back respectively.
As the course’s major obstacle – a 10km climb – gripped hard, Siffert put the power down, chomping through her deficit to pass the British duo, find clear roads and build a significant lead in pole position.
Coming off the technical descent, the Swiss athlete had an advantage of well over a minute. Taylor-Brown and Learmonth were themselves around 45 seconds clear of the chasing group – Berry, Findlay (who’d posted the fastest time up the climb), Byram and Lee all putting themselves in podium contention while Gentle was further back at 3:02.
By the time she stepped off her bike for the 18km run, Siffert had almost 2 minutes on Taylor-Brown, who quickly left Learmonth behind coming out of transition – the friends sharing a ‘see you later’ handshake following their collaboration on the bike. Learmonth would go on to DNF.
Berry – just a few seconds behind the Brits by T2 – was soon in 3rd but with the likes of Findlay, Byram and Lee all looking a threat.
Around 4km in, a strong Taylor-Brown had sliced her deficit to just 25 seconds behind Siffert. Meanwhile Findlay was up onto the heels of Berry and then into 3rd, a move repeated by a storming Gentle shortly after.
With a third of the course run, Taylor-Brown moved back into 1st place, Siffert having no answer to the Brit’s superior run speed.
But that was just the beginning of a thrilling finale as just 2km later, Gentle, who’d already moved past Findlay, had Taylor-Brown in sight. Findlay was only another 20 seconds back in 3rd and Lee now up into 4th and Berry 5th as Siffert dropped down the order.
Then the Aussie pushed into the lead – having made up 7 places and looking every bit the multiple T100 champion despite reports that she wasn’t at her best pre-race. Behind, another Australian was also making waves – Ellie Salthouse running through the field from outside the top-10.
At around 11km, Findlay was up onto Taylor-Brown’s shoulder and making the pass into 2nd. With Taylor-Brown’s pace dropping off, Lee soon reeled in her compatriot to move into 3rd. Taylor-Brown would eventually struggle home in 9th, proving T100 is its own beast despite her Olympic medal credentials.
Up front, Gentle continued to run strongly, charging towards the finish to become French Riviera T100 Champion in 3:41:42, clocking the day’s fastest run split of 1:04:41. Earning 35 points for the win, Gentle moved up 2 places in the T100 Race To Qatar Standings, now in 4th.
Findlay came home in 2nd – her highest ever T100 finish to break into the T100 Race To Qatar top-10 at 8th place.
Lee claimed the final podium spot to put some solid points on the board after a challenging start to 2025 while Byram underlined her consistency with her best showing to date, putting her 6th in the T100 Race To Qatar Standings.
Salthouse rounded out the top 5 with her best T100 finish.
