Two days after the Duathlon World Championships were decided in Townsville, athletes returned for the 2×2 mixed relay. In this event, one man and one woman compete as a team, with each leg consisting of a 1.7km run, 5km bike ride and a 900m run. Each athlete took turns competing in the race twice.

France started as favourites, with women’s world champion Marion Legrand (FRA) and men’s bronze medallist Thomas Laurent (FRA) poised for another win. But with a home team cheered on by local fans, a dangerous Belgian duo and further challengers in the form of Japan and Great Britain, a French victory was by no means a foregone conclusion.

First leg

Arnaud Dely (BEL) got off to a strong start, although Laurent followed him without losing more than a few metres. Luke Bate (AUS) also tried to keep in touch with the flying Belgian. Entering T1, the rest of the field had fallen behind as the leading three countries moved forward. Their gap only widened from there, but Bate lost valuable seconds in T2. ​​Dely and Laurent could not be separated in the final 900 metres, keeping pace for pace before handing over to their female teammates. Bate followed after keeping Australia 30 seconds ahead of their British rivals.

Return match

Duathlon World Champion Legrand started the race and gained time ahead of Jeanne Dupont (BEL), the bronze medalist in the individual race. Her lead grew as the race progressed. Kelsey Mitchell (AUS) managed to keep Dupont in sight, but more notably, Phoebe Barker (GBR) had reduced her gap to the Australian athlete. She only had to catch up with her rival on the bike and then they could ride together behind Dupont, one of those tasks that is always easier on paper than in reality.

Then disaster struck for Dupont. In the dead corner at the end of the first lap, she lost her stride and lost minutes with a jammed chain. Barker, who had caught Mitchell, passed Dupont, but the Belgian athlete was not going to give up without a fight. In T2, Barker escaped Mitchell’s attention and her flying run gave James Hodgson (GBR) a considerable lead over Bate. Ai Ueda (JPN) also turned back the clock and brought Japan back into the medal fight when she finished just 5 seconds behind Mitchell. Meanwhile, Legrand gave Laurent such a big lead that it was even medically confirmed.

Third leg

The third leg was where the unique nature of the 2×2 relay came into play. Laurent had put in a fantastic first leg and the question was could he do it again. The answer was simple. Yes. He could. By the end of his second leg he gave up a 1:20 lead after a flawless performance. Further back Hodgson and Bate continued their battle but Japan refused to give up without a fight as Ryosuke Kaneda (JPN) tried to close the gap. Hodgson ultimately had the last word, giving Great Britain a 14 second lead over Australia.

Fourth leg

With Legrand untouchable, the gold medal was never in doubt on the final leg, so she crossed the finish line first to claim her second world title in Townsville to the applause of a packed crowd. Barker followed in second place after a brilliant performance for the British team, but the bronze medal was still very much in her sights.

Dupont caught up late and fought her way back into the fray, but Ueda’s last-minute heroics took her past Mitchell and into 3rd place, adding another medal to her illustrious career. Such was the Japanese team’s joy at the finish line that this medal could go down in history as one of Ueda’s most special. The home team had to settle for 4th place after Mitchell held off a final charge from Dupont, and Belgium finished in 5th place.

What they had to say:

Thomas Laurent: “It was a good fight with the Belgians at the start. And after I handed over to Marion, she did a great job.”

James Hodgson: “It was a really hard, fast first run and I just tried to keep my composure on the bike so that Phoebe could stay with me.”

Phoebe Barker: “James really pushed on the first stage to keep us in the race and I just knew that if I could get the first run and the first bike right, I could take the time away from the Australians.”

Ai Ueda: “He (Ryosuke Kaneda) performed very well and it was exciting. It was very short and very fast.”

Check out all the results so far from the elite and age group action in Townsville here and follow all the Multisport World Championship updates across all World Triathlon social channels.