Grand Prix de Triathlon
Encyclopedia
The Grand Prix de Triathlon (Championnat de France des Clubs Division 1 (Triathlon D1) or Grand Prix F.F.TRI. - Lyonnaise des Eaux), defines itself as the most outstanding triathlon event in France and attracts numerous international elite triathletes hired by French clubs.
The Grand Prix may not be confused with the Coupe de France des Clubs, which is not a circuit but a one day national championship and in which the clubs admitted to the Grand Prix are obliged to take part.
According to the official Réglementation Sportive, there should be 16 male and 14 female teams.
At the end of the year 2010, however, three female teams (Beauvais, Montpellier, Nantes) and two male teams (Beauvais, Montluçon) withdrew.
Beauvais Triathlon decided to boycot the Grand Prix when the French Triathlon Federation (FFTRI) canceled the traditional Triathlon de Beauvais and replaced it with the Triathlon de Nice.As it seems, there were tensions between FFTRI president Philippe Lescure and Beauvais manager Laurent Chopin, who is reported to return to soccer. Besides, French clubs obviously face increasing difficulties hiring foreign elite stars.
Two of the Beauvais elite stars, Andrea Hewitt
and Delphine Py-Bilot
, moved to Poissy and Charleville respectively. Fred Belaubre
and Charlotte Morel
, however, will take a break and concentrate on the ITU races to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.
11 female teams:
In 2011, Sartrouville won the Grand Prix with its super trio Alistair Brownlee
, Jonathan Brownlee
, and Javier Gómez. In the women's ranking, Poissy Tri placed first with its top runners Jessica Harrison and Anna Maria Mazzetti.
In 2011 at least one triathlete in each team must be French (two from 2012 onwards).
For each of the five competitions the ranking of the clubs is determined by the three so-called triathlètes classants l'equipe, i.e. the individual positions of the three best triathletes of each club are added and the club with the lowest sum is the winner, and so forth.
The ranks of the rest of each team are irrelevant. For the whole circuit, however, the clubs are assigned points on the basis of the club ranking of each individual competition. The best male team, for instance, receives 20 points for the first place in one competition etc.
For the season 2011 the French triathlon Federation FFTRI was not only unable to secure the right number of clubs, some clubs, especially female elite teams, seem to have difficulties in hiring five elite triathletes for each race:
In general, it seems that the official Rules (Règlementation sportive) are not strictly applied. E.g. at the official podium ceremony in La Baule (17 September 2011), Saint Raphaël Tri (Anna Tabarant, Polyanskaya
, Ivanovskaya
, Camille Donat
and Daniela Chmet
) did not turn up. According to the rules, this should have led to a penalty. Nevertheless, the club received all 11 points for the third place in La Baule.
In the old Réglementation Sportive of the season 2007/08, the importance of the foreign guest stars was still restricted because among the three triathlètes classants l'équipe only one (EU) foreigner was allowed.
So in 2011 there are only 11 instead of 14 female teams.
The opening triathlon in Nice (24 April 2011) proves the undiminished foreigners' dominance in spite of the new regulation according to which each club has to be present with five triathletes at each competition with at least one French triathlete among them.
The Grand Prix may not be confused with the Coupe de France des Clubs, which is not a circuit but a one day national championship and in which the clubs admitted to the Grand Prix are obliged to take part.
Organisation
In 2011, the circuit consists of the following five triathlons:- NiceNiceNice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
: 24 April 2011 - Dunkirk: 22 May 2011
- ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
: 9 July 2011 - ToursToursTours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
or Tourangeaux: 28 August 2011 - La Baule or Triathlon Audencia (Grand Final): 17 September 2011
According to the official Réglementation Sportive, there should be 16 male and 14 female teams.
At the end of the year 2010, however, three female teams (Beauvais, Montpellier, Nantes) and two male teams (Beauvais, Montluçon) withdrew.
Beauvais Triathlon decided to boycot the Grand Prix when the French Triathlon Federation (FFTRI) canceled the traditional Triathlon de Beauvais and replaced it with the Triathlon de Nice.As it seems, there were tensions between FFTRI president Philippe Lescure and Beauvais manager Laurent Chopin, who is reported to return to soccer. Besides, French clubs obviously face increasing difficulties hiring foreign elite stars.
Two of the Beauvais elite stars, Andrea Hewitt
Andrea Hewitt
Andrea Hewitt , is a professional triathlete, she placed third in the World Championship Series of 2009 and took part in the Olympic Games of 2008.- Biography :...
and Delphine Py-Bilot
Delphine Py-Bilot
Delphine Py-Bilot is a professional French triathlete.Delphine Py-Bilot made her international breakthrough in 1999 when she won the bronze medal at the Junior European Championships in Madeira and placed fifth at the Junior World Championships in Montreal...
, moved to Poissy and Charleville respectively. Fred Belaubre
Frédéric Belaubre
Fred Belaubre , is a professional French triathlete. He was the European Champion of the years 2005, 2006, and 2008, the French Champion of the years 2007 and 2010. Belaubre took part in two Olympic Games, placing 5th in Athens and 10th in Beijing .- Sports career :Fred Belaubre lives in St...
and Charlotte Morel
Charlotte Morel
Charlotte Morel , is a professional French triathlete, nine times National Champion in various duathlon and triathlon categories , e.g...
, however, will take a break and concentrate on the ITU races to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.
Qualified Teams 2011
16 male teams:- EC Sartrouville: Courtney Atkinson, Alistair BrownleeAlistair BrownleeAlistair Edward Brownlee is an English triathlete who is the reigning, and back-to-back, ETU European Triathlon champion and a two time Triathlon World Champion having regained the title he first won in 2009 in 2011 in Beijing....
, Jonathan BrownleeJonathan BrownleeJonathan Brownlee is a professional English duathlete and triathlete. Brownlee is the two time and reigning World Sprint Triathlon Champion and is the former Under 23 Trathlon World Champion...
, Etienne Diemunsch, Javier Gómez, Mario Mola, Filip Ospaly, Maik Petzold, Sebastian Rank, Richard Varga. - Lagardère Paris Racing: David Hauss, Steffen Justus, Laurent Vidal, William Clarke, Mehdi Essadiq, Ryan Sissons, James Elvery, Jamie Hugget, Wikus Weber, Grégoire Pallardy.
- Poissy Triathlon: Tony Moulai, Greg Rouault, Brice Daubord, Bertrand Billard, Cyril Moreau, Alessandro Fabian, Artem Parienko, Matt Chrabot, James Seear, Dan Wilson.
- Les Sables Vendee Triathlon: Brad Kahlefeldt, João Silva, Valentin Meshcheryakov, Fernando Alarza Vicente, Yulian Malyshev, Bruno Païs, Anthony Pujades, Premysl Švarc, Benoît Bouchard, Pierre Le Corre.
- Metz Triathlon: Cédric Oesterle, Anthony Pannier, Théo Rebeyrotte, Jordan Rouyer, Matthias Zöll, Gregor Buchholz, Nils Frommhold, Claude Eksteen, Kyle Jones, Igor Sysoyev.
- Saint-Raphaël Triathlon: Karl Shaw, Raoul Shaw, Thomas André, Luc de Simone, Julien Pousson, Igor PolyanskyIgor Andreyevich PolyanskiIgor Andreyevich Polyanski , born 16 January 1990 in Zhelesnogorsk), is a professional Russian triathlete, Russian Sprint Champion 2010 and a permanent member of the Russian National Team.Polyanski placed 13th in the Russian Cup of the year 2009, and 6th at the Junior World...
, Dmitry PolyanskiDmitry PolyanskiDmitry Andreyevich Polyanski , is a professional Russian triathlete, 2009 U23 European Champion and permanent member of the National Elite Team....
, Kristian Mac Cartney, Manuele Canuto, Olivier Marceau. - Ste Genevieve Triathlon: Vincent LuisVincent LuisVincent Luis , is a French professional triathlete, the Junior European and World Champion of the year 2008, French U23 Champion of the year 2010, and part of the National Team called Collectif France Ambition 2012....
, Matthieu Marteau, Denis Vasiliev, David Mc Namee, Grégoire Berthon, Danilo Brustolon, Aubin Fouchet, Guillaume Bouchard, Yoann Simon. - Mulhouse Olympique Tri: Clark Ellice, Jonathan Ciavattella, Samuel Betten, Drex Box, Matthew Sharp, Mark Buckingham, Luciano Farias, Mattia Ceccarelli, Alex Uccellari, Daniel Hoffer.
- TCG 79 Parthenay: Shane Barrie, Jan Celustka, Boris Dessenoix, Luca Facchinetti, Stijn Goris, Eike Carsten Pupkes, Steve Roy, Brendan Sexton, Daniel Torok, Akos Vanek.
- Rouen Triathlon: Aurélien Lebrun, Arnaud Chivot, Benoit Gaudin, Benjamin Chabarot, Anton Chuchko, Alberto Casadei, Alberto Alessandroni, Daniel Fontana, Thomas Bishop, Todd Leckie.
- St Jean de Monts Vendee Triathlon: Kris Gemmell, Alexander Brukhankov, Ivan Tutukin, Yohann Vincent, Julien Leroy, Alfred Torok, Anton Ruanova, Andrea D'Aquino, Gavin Noble, Nicolas Alliot.
- Versailles Triathlon: Pierre Billa, Fabien Combaluzier, Olivier Constantin, Jonathan Tryoen, Boris Chambon, Kristof Kiraly, Franz Löschke, Marcus Herbst, Steve Worthington, Stefan Zacheus.
- Besançon Triathlon: Ben Allen, Daniel Rodriguez, Mickael Rosu, Manu Roux, Antoine Febvay, Xavier Corrotte, Benoît Bigot, Tom Bienaime, Christophe Baurand, Thomas Lihoreau.
- TOC Cesson Sevigne: Yvan Jarrige, Nick Beer, Rodolphe Boutier, Marc Yvan De Kaerel, Pierre Guilloux, Laurent Suppi, Maxime Toin, Nicolas Martin, Xavier Lefloch, Peter Kerr.
- Team Triathlon Baie de Somme: Tony Baheux, Fabien Guerrineau, Gwendal Manabre, Sergey Yakovlev, Bryane Keane, Massimo de Ponti, Royle Aaron, Andreas Secchiero, Rhys Davey, Duarte Marques.
- Tri Saint Amand Dun 18: Julien Coudert, Come Gilbert, Pierre Le Noach, Anthony Chassery, Alexis Roux, Antony Costes, Thomas Berenger, Alexis Regerat, Jérémy Grouhel, Damien Landon.
11 female teams:
- Poissy Triathlon: Jessica Harrison, Carole Peon, Erin DenshamErin DenshamErin Densham , is a professional Australian triathlete and Beijing Olympian 2008, U23 World Champion of the year 2006, Elite Oceania Champion of the year 2007, and triple gold medalist at three Elite Continental Cups plus Holten World Cup gold medalist of the year 2010.In 2009 Erin Densham was...
, Andrea HewittAndrea HewittAndrea Hewitt , is a professional triathlete, she placed third in the World Championship Series of 2009 and took part in the Olympic Games of 2008.- Biography :...
, Anna Mazzetti, Kerry Lang, Marine Bonnetaud, Kathrin Müller, Bérengère Abraham, Jade Diemunsch. - TC Chateauroux 36: Melanie AnnaheimMelanie AnnaheimMelanie Annaheim is a professional Swiss triathlete, member of the National Team and bronze medalist of the 2009 Swiss Championships....
, Ricarda LiskRicarda LiskRicarda Lisk , is a professional German triathlete, National Elite Champion of the year 2010, and a permanent member of the German Kader, i.e...
, Alexandra Cassan-Ferrier, Kate Roberts, Julie Nivoix, Céline SchärerCéline SchärerCéline Schärer , is a professional Swiss triathlete, National U23 Champion of the year 2010 and member of the National Team .In 2006 Céline Schärer took part in her first ITU competition...
, Alicia KayeAlicia KayeAlicia Beth Kaye is a professional Canadian / US triathlete and Member of the USA Triathlon Project 2012 program....
, Kirsten SweetlandKirsten SweetlandKirsten Sweetland is a professional Canadian triathlete, the Junior World Champion of the year 2006, and the 2010 U23 World Championship silver medalist....
, Liz Blatchford, Svenja Bazlen. - TCG 79 Parthenay: Felicity AbramFelicity AbramFelicity Abram is an Australian professional triathlete.In 2003, at her very first ITU triathlon debut, Felicity Abram won the gold medal at the World Junior Championships, and in 2005, at the age of 18, she was admitted to the National Elite Team...
, Laurie Belkadie, Alice BettoAlice BettoAlice Betto is a professional Italian triathlete, National 2010 Elite Champion and National 2009 U23 Champion.At her international debut, i.e...
, Vendula FrintováVendula FrintováVendula Frintová , is a professional Czech triathlete, multiple Czech Champion in various categories such as National Champion of the years 2006 and 2007 and winner of the National Championship Series of the year 2009, Duathlon World Champion of the year 2009, and gold medalist of the World Cup in...
, Emma JacksonEmma Jackson (triathlete)Emma Jackson is a professional Australian triathlete, U23 World Champion of the year 2010, and 2009 Junior World Championships silver medalist....
, Justine Landais, Ainhoa Murua, Gaia Peron, Nicky Samuels, Margit VanekMargit VanekMargit Vanek, born 25 February 1986 in Budaörs, is a professional Hungarian triathlete, number 5 of the 2010 Hungarian Ranglista, and the Aquathlon World Champion of the year 2010.Vanek also takes part in non ITU races, e.g...
. - Stade Poitevin Triathlon: Felicity Sheedy-Ryan, Charlotte Lancereau, Holly Aitken, Holly Lawrence, Jessica Leroux, Lois Rosindale, Inna TsyganokInna TsyganokInna Tsyganok, Ukrainian Інна Циганок and Russian Инна Цыганок, born 24 January 1986 in Zhovti Vody, is a professional Ukrainian Russian triathlete, member of the Ukrainian National Team and National Champion of the year 2009....
, Mélissa Grignard, Louise Thebault. - Charleville Tri Ardennes: Emma MoffattEmma MoffattEmma Moffatt is an Australian professional triathlete. She won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and won the gold at the ITU Triathlon World Championships in 2009 and 2010. She was born in Moree, New South Wales....
, Delphine Py-BilotDelphine Py-BilotDelphine Py-Bilot is a professional French triathlete.Delphine Py-Bilot made her international breakthrough in 1999 when she won the bronze medal at the Junior European Championships in Madeira and placed fifth at the Junior World Championships in Montreal...
, Katrien VerstuyftKatrien VerstuyftKatrien Verstuyft , is a professional Belgian triathlete, National Champion of the year 2009, and member of the National Team....
, Olga DmitrievaOlga DmitrievaOlga Alekseyevna Dmitrieva , born 26 June 1981 in Saint Peterburg, is a professional Russian triathlete and member of the Russian National Team....
, Hollie Avil, Anja Dittmer, Vickie Holland, Mari Rabie, Sarah Groff, Alexandra Razarenova. - Brive Limousin Triathlon: Lea Duchampt, Emma Davis, Carla Stampfli, Linde Hermann, Lucy Hall, Alessia Orla, Pamela Geijo, Emeline Fraysse.
- TOC Cesson Sevigne: Emmanuelle Dole, Tina Herklotz, Sofie Hooghe, Jolien Lewyllie, Charlotte McShaneCharlotte McShaneCharlotte McShane is a professional Scottish born Australian triathlete and the 2008 Xterra U20 World Champion.McShane grew up in Helensburgh, Scotland, and in 2005 moved to a place near Bairnsdale, Victoria...
, Aileen MorrisonAileen MorrisonAileen Morrison is a professional triathlete from Northern Ireland and a member of the Senior High Performance Squad, being one of the most promising London 2012 Olympics prospects....
, Delphine Rousseau, Jacqui Slack, Non StanfordNon StanfordNon Stanford is a Welsh professional triathlete.Non Stanford was a successful runner when in summer 2008 she changed to swim training because of an injury and joined the triathlon club of the University of Birmingham, soon becoming a top triathlete.In the 2009 British Triathlon Super Series she...
, Zsófia TóthZsófia TóthZsófia Tóth , also Zsófi, is a professional Hungarian triathlete, several times National Champion in various categories, number 2 in the national elite Ranglista and the 2011 National Vice Champion. Since 2005 she has been a permanent member of the National Team...
. - SASTRI 37: Greta Horvath, Emeline Duhamel, Cécile Meriaux, Kateřina DudkováKateřina DudkováKateřina Dudková is a professional Czech triathlete, Czech U23 vice champion of the year 2009 and member of the young Czech elite team....
, Abbie Thorrington, Ine Couckuyt, Hannah Drewett, Nicola Morgan, Monika OražemMonika OražemMonika Oražem is a professional Slovenian triathlete, National Sprint Triathlon Champion of the year 2009, and National Sprint Duathlon Champion of the year 2010...
, Elena Maria PetriniElena Maria PetriniElena Maria Petrini is a professional Italian triathlete, National Junior Aquathlon and National Junior Triathlon Champion, and Junior Aquathlon World Champion of the year 2010....
. - Lagardere Paris Racing: Emmie CharayronEmmie CharayronEmmie Charayron , the common form used also by the ITU for Emma Charayron, is a professional French triathlete, European Champion of the year 2011, ten times French Champion in various age categories, and both European and World Champion in the Junior class of the year 2009, and U23 World...
, Fabienne Saint Louis, Justine Guerard, Rebecca Robisch, Clémentine Kauffmann, Sonia Die, Pauline Purro, Charlotte Degoulet, Gwendoline Moussot, Sina Witte. - Saint Raphael Triathlon: Camille DonatCamille DonatCamille Donat is a professional French triathlete and swimmer.In France, Camille Donat represents Saint-Raphaël Triathlon and the swim club AMSL Frejus....
, Anne Tabarant, Virginie Le Vaillant, Caroline Lopez, Anastasiya PolyanskayaAnastasiya PolyanskayaAnastasiya Sergeyevna Polyanskaya, née Yatsenko is a professional Ukrainian and Russian triathlete, Russian Supersprint Champion of the year 2009 and 2010, and permanent member of the Russian National Team.Anastasiya Polyanskaya was born...
, Lyubov IvanovskayaLyubov IvanovskayaLyubov Andreyevna Ivanovksaya , born 20 June 1989, is a professional Russian triathlete from Yaroslavl and a permanent member of the Russian National Elite Team.- Sports career :Lyubov Ivanovskaya attended a high performance sports school in Yaroslavl, the Специализированная...
, Catherine Pickthall, Cécile Sultana. - Tri Val de Gray: Barbara Riveros, Fabienne Hebert, Marie-Clémence Prat, Anaïs Robin, Adélaïde Sautenet, Louise Vanderbroucke, Sandra Soldan, Jennifer Zenker, Stéphanie Auston, Melanie Sexton.
In 2011, Sartrouville won the Grand Prix with its super trio Alistair Brownlee
Alistair Brownlee
Alistair Edward Brownlee is an English triathlete who is the reigning, and back-to-back, ETU European Triathlon champion and a two time Triathlon World Champion having regained the title he first won in 2009 in 2011 in Beijing....
, Jonathan Brownlee
Jonathan Brownlee
Jonathan Brownlee is a professional English duathlete and triathlete. Brownlee is the two time and reigning World Sprint Triathlon Champion and is the former Under 23 Trathlon World Champion...
, and Javier Gómez. In the women's ranking, Poissy Tri placed first with its top runners Jessica Harrison and Anna Maria Mazzetti.
Points System
Each of the 16 male and 14 female teams nominates seven triathletes for the whole season, of whom five triathletes actually have to take part in the race.In 2011 at least one triathlete in each team must be French (two from 2012 onwards).
For each of the five competitions the ranking of the clubs is determined by the three so-called triathlètes classants l'equipe, i.e. the individual positions of the three best triathletes of each club are added and the club with the lowest sum is the winner, and so forth.
The ranks of the rest of each team are irrelevant. For the whole circuit, however, the clubs are assigned points on the basis of the club ranking of each individual competition. The best male team, for instance, receives 20 points for the first place in one competition etc.
For the season 2011 the French triathlon Federation FFTRI was not only unable to secure the right number of clubs, some clubs, especially female elite teams, seem to have difficulties in hiring five elite triathletes for each race:
- At the opening triathlon in Nice (24 April 2011), Charleville Tri Ardennes (CTA) was unable to start with five runners and should have been disqualified, as Alexandra RazarenovaAlexandra RazarenovaAlexandra Razarenova is a professional Russian triathlete, member of the Russian National Elite Team, Russian Elite Champion of the year 2011, and European U23 Champion of the year 2011.- Sports career :Razarenova attended an elite sports school in St...
did not start. - In Dunkirk, for instance, Stade Poitevin had to recur to Natalia ShliakhtenkoNatalia ShliakhtenkoNatalia Sergeyevna Shliakhtenko is a professional Russian triathlete, Master of Sport, and reserve member of the National Team....
although she was no member of the club any more and her name was not included in the start lists. - In Paris, TRI Olympique Club Cessonnais had to do without the obligatory fifth triathlete because the only French triathlete among the five nominated runners, Alexia Bigot, did not start (DNS). According to the Réglementation Sportive any club which does not take part in alle five triathlons of the circuit (with all the five obligatory triathletes) should be excluded from the Grand Prix.
- Apart from the three decisive runners (the triathlètes classants l'équipe), several clubs nominate only foreign juniors without significant ITU competition experience.
- Sometimes even the three triathlètes classants l'équipe of smaller clubs are foreign juniors. The three best triathletes of Saint Avertin Sports Tri 37, for instance, were foreign juniors: Monika OražemMonika OražemMonika Oražem is a professional Slovenian triathlete, National Sprint Triathlon Champion of the year 2009, and National Sprint Duathlon Champion of the year 2010...
(24th in the individual ranking), Horvath (35th), and Hannah Drewett (38th). Hannah Drewett, a British junior, even managed to plave 38th among the elite without any prior ITU competition experience. - Lagardère for instance completely depends on Emmie CharayronEmmie CharayronEmmie Charayron , the common form used also by the ITU for Emma Charayron, is a professional French triathlete, European Champion of the year 2011, ten times French Champion in various age categories, and both European and World Champion in the Junior class of the year 2009, and U23 World...
. With this top triathlete, the club regularly achieves medals, without her it is among the last clubs of the ranking. - The official start lists often turn out to be inaccurate. At Tours (28 August 2011), for instance, TOCC nominated five unknown French triathletes, but at the race there were three internationally well known U23 triathletes competing in the World Championship Series: Zsófia TóthZsófia TóthZsófia Tóth , also Zsófi, is a professional Hungarian triathlete, several times National Champion in various categories, number 2 in the national elite Ranglista and the 2011 National Vice Champion. Since 2005 she has been a permanent member of the National Team...
, who had announced her participation long before on Twitter, Charlotte McShaneCharlotte McShaneCharlotte McShane is a professional Scottish born Australian triathlete and the 2008 Xterra U20 World Champion.McShane grew up in Helensburgh, Scotland, and in 2005 moved to a place near Bairnsdale, Victoria...
, and Mariya ShoretsMariya ShoretsMariya Sergeyevna Shorets is a professional Russian triathlete, Russian U23 Champion of the year 2011, bronze medalist in the Elite ranking, and a member of the National Team....
. - Many triathletes seem to be unhappy about the fact that, paradoxically, the French Club Championship is no team championship but is exclusively based upon the individual ranking of the club's best two or three top triathletes, i.e. the foreign elite stars. At Tours (28 August 2011), for the first time, a slight relay element was introduced. The first two and the second two triathletes of each club form a team and the slower triathlete of each sub team will give the start signal to the following team mate. The fifth triathlete of each club is running alone without a slowdown colleague. For the dominant Grand Prix teams with three foreign guest stars this might turn out disadvantageous because the third top star will be slowed down unless the club has a fourth top star. At Tours, Sartrouville could defend its leading position only thanks to Jonathan BrownleeJonathan BrownleeJonathan Brownlee is a professional English duathlete and triathlete. Brownlee is the two time and reigning World Sprint Triathlon Champion and is the former Under 23 Trathlon World Champion...
, who, as the fifth solo runner, could easily outdo all competitors and win the gold medal for his team.
In general, it seems that the official Rules (Règlementation sportive) are not strictly applied. E.g. at the official podium ceremony in La Baule (17 September 2011), Saint Raphaël Tri (Anna Tabarant, Polyanskaya
Anastasiya Polyanskaya
Anastasiya Sergeyevna Polyanskaya, née Yatsenko is a professional Ukrainian and Russian triathlete, Russian Supersprint Champion of the year 2009 and 2010, and permanent member of the Russian National Team.Anastasiya Polyanskaya was born...
, Ivanovskaya
Lyubov Ivanovskaya
Lyubov Andreyevna Ivanovksaya , born 20 June 1989, is a professional Russian triathlete from Yaroslavl and a permanent member of the Russian National Elite Team.- Sports career :Lyubov Ivanovskaya attended a high performance sports school in Yaroslavl, the Специализированная...
, Camille Donat
Camille Donat
Camille Donat is a professional French triathlete and swimmer.In France, Camille Donat represents Saint-Raphaël Triathlon and the swim club AMSL Frejus....
and Daniela Chmet
Daniela Chmet
Daniela Chmet , is a professional Italian triathlete, 2007 National Sprint Champion and Biathle World Champion of the years 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2009....
) did not turn up. According to the rules, this should have led to a penalty. Nevertheless, the club received all 11 points for the third place in La Baule.
Foreigners' Dominance
The high amount of international guest stars has always raised criticism in France. On the one hand, FFTRI is proud to gather some of the best elite stars of the world, on the other hand the rankings clearly show that the French triathletes are a small and irrelevant minority among the Grand Prix participants.In the old Réglementation Sportive of the season 2007/08, the importance of the foreign guest stars was still restricted because among the three triathlètes classants l'équipe only one (EU) foreigner was allowed.
Season 2010
The rankings of the opening Grand Prix triathlon held at Dunkirk on 23 May 2010 give the following picture.- According to the individual female ranking, among the best 10 female triathletes there were only 2 French triathletes, among the best 20 triathletes there were only 4 French triathletes, and among all 70 female participants there were only 26 French triathletes. On the other side, among the 9 participants who did not finish (DNF) there were 7 French triathletes.
- In the club ranking the foreigners' dominance is even more obvious. As said before, there were 14 female teams and for the club ranking only the three best triathletes of each club, the triathlètes classants l'équipe, are relevant. Thus there should have been 42 triathlètes classants l'équipe, but OSML Natation-Triathlon had three DNF triathletes and so in this club there were only two triathlètes classants l'équipe. This means that at Dunkirk for the club ranking there were only 41 female triathletes, of whom only 11 were French. And of these 11 French triathletes, only 5 belonged to the best 11 clubs. In other words: among the 33 triathlètes classants l'équipe of the 11 best clubs, there were only 11 French triathletes.
- In five out of 14 clubs there were no French triathletes at all among the three best triathleteas, which means for five clubs the club ranking was based exclusively upon the foreigners' positions. In seven teams there was only one French triathlete among the three triathlètes classants l'equipe of these clubs, but they were the third of the three, and thus had little relevance for the club ranking.
- The second best club at Dunkirk, Tri Club Chateauroux 36, achieved this top position only thanks to its foreign stars: Magali Di Marco, Svenja Bazlen, and Ricarda LiskRicarda LiskRicarda Lisk , is a professional German triathlete, National Elite Champion of the year 2010, and a permanent member of the German Kader, i.e...
, and even the two other triathletes of this team were foreigners: Melanie AnnaheimMelanie AnnaheimMelanie Annaheim is a professional Swiss triathlete, member of the National Team and bronze medalist of the 2009 Swiss Championships....
(Switgzerland) und Alia Cardinale (Costa Rica), which will be forbidden by the Grand Prix rules from autumn 2010 on. Tri Club Nantais neither had a French triathlete in its team nor could it nominate five triathletes. - Not only do the foreign guest stars outnumber the French participants and play the decisive role: the French triathletes, too, often lack any relation with the club they represent. The bronze-medalist club of Dunkirk 2010 and the overall Grand Prix winner of the year 2009, Beauvais Tri, for instance, signed four international elite stars on, Andrea HewittAndrea HewittAndrea Hewitt , is a professional triathlete, she placed third in the World Championship Series of 2009 and took part in the Olympic Games of 2008.- Biography :...
, Vicky Holland, Hollie AvilHollie AvilHollie May Avil is an English triathlete who was the European and world junior triathlon champion in 2007. She is the youngest athlete ever to podium at successive debut World Cup races....
and Anja Dittmer, plus the Southern French triathletes Delphine Py BilotDelphine Py-BilotDelphine Py-Bilot is a professional French triathlete.Delphine Py-Bilot made her international breakthrough in 1999 when she won the bronze medal at the Junior European Championships in Madeira and placed fifth at the Junior World Championships in Montreal...
from Montpellier and Charlotte MorelCharlotte MorelCharlotte Morel , is a professional French triathlete, nine times National Champion in various duathlon and triathlon categories , e.g...
from Boulouris, both of whom live and train far away from Beauvais. - The male ranking confirms the foreign dominance. Among the three qualifying triathletes (triathlètes classants l'équipe) of the 5 best clubs, i.e. among the 15 most relevant triathletes there were only 2 French triathletes. In the individual ranking, which is independent of the triathletes' status as triathlètes classants l'équipe, the discrepancy between the percentage of French participants and their performance is evident: 50 out of 84 triathletes are foreigners, but among the best 40 participants there are only 7 French triathletes, but e.g. 8 Russians.
Season 2011
To some extent this sesaon is irregular. On the one hand, traditional guest stars withdrew and concentrate on ITU races for the 2012 Olympics qualification. On the other hand, five clubs which had already been admitted to the Grand Prix, among which the female gold medalist and male silver medalist Beauvais, declared to withdraw in autum 2010.So in 2011 there are only 11 instead of 14 female teams.
The opening triathlon in Nice (24 April 2011) proves the undiminished foreigners' dominance in spite of the new regulation according to which each club has to be present with five triathletes at each competition with at least one French triathlete among them.
- Among the three best triathletes (triathlètes classants l'èquipe) of the winning team Sartrouville there is no French national: Alistair BrownleeAlistair BrownleeAlistair Edward Brownlee is an English triathlete who is the reigning, and back-to-back, ETU European Triathlon champion and a two time Triathlon World Champion having regained the title he first won in 2009 in 2011 in Beijing....
, Jonathan BrownleeJonathan BrownleeJonathan Brownlee is a professional English duathlete and triathlete. Brownlee is the two time and reigning World Sprint Triathlon Champion and is the former Under 23 Trathlon World Champion...
and Javier Gómez. - Among the 30 triathlètes classants l'èquipe of the best ten clubs there are only seven French triathletes.
- Five of the ten best clubs do not have any French triathletes among their three triathlètes classants l'èquipe.
- The individual ranking is indicative, too. among the top ten triathletes there are only two French triathletes, among the top thirty there are only seven French triathletes.
- On the whole there were 46 French and 44 non French participants. Among the last thirty participants (DNF included), however, there are 25 French triathletes.
- In the female ranking the situation is slightly better because many traditional guest stars do not participate in the 2011 circuit. In the individual ranking there are five French top ten triathletes, among the top thirty female triathletes there are 13 French triathletes.
- Among the last thirty triathletes (DNF included) there are only 16 French triathletes.
- Among the nine triathlètes classants l'èquipe of the best three clubs, there are four French triathletes: Carole Péon, Emmie CharayronEmmie CharayronEmmie Charayron , the common form used also by the ITU for Emma Charayron, is a professional French triathlete, European Champion of the year 2011, ten times French Champion in various age categories, and both European and World Champion in the Junior class of the year 2009, and U23 World...
and Julie Nivoix.