2022 Lac-Mégantic CanadaMan/Woman Triathlon
The weather conditions were favorable and the field of 125 starters eager to tackle the challenging and beautiful Lac-Mégantic CanadaMan/Woman Triathlon.
With 3700 meters (12,139 feet) of elevation change, and some technical trail running late in the race full focus and grit were required, and that was also true for the volunteers and race organizers and media.
When it was all said and done Antoine Jolicoeur-Desroche captured the men's title in a course record time of 9:40 and crushed the competition along the way. Jordan Bryden finished in a respectable but distant 10:52 and Nick Cosman grabbed 3rd place in 10:57.
Roxanne Létourneau grabbed the women's title in 15:37 and Sylvie Roy, took the runner-up spot in 16:01. Daniele Crivelaro finished 3rd in 16:29.
All images © Kai-Otto Melau
Going full on aero in his Spaero kit, much to the enjoyment of Kai-Otto Melau
Just before the 4:30am start at Lake Mégantic there was some nervous energy but soon the adrenaline kicked in.
The sunrise was impressive but the athletes were likely too busy to take it all in.
Sophie Chiasson on her way to 11th place in the female division and 3rd place in F45-49.
Carl Girard tried hard to escape these young fans, but they were very persistent.
There were fans lined up at certain parts of the course and Etienne Leclerc seemed to enjoy their presence.
These cows were also quite intrigued by the athletes cruising by, but Guillaume Belanger was too busy fighting for an overall podium spot. In the end he finished 5th overall and 1st in M30-34.
Antoine Jolicoeur Desroches had a smoking fast 5:05:24 bike split on the way to the title, but actually did most of his damage to the competition during the tricky marathon.
Racing past this red roofed barn on his red Cervelo P5 Thiago Menuci ended up in 6th place overall.
Jordan Bryden cresting on of the rollers on his way to the runner-up spot.
With the next uphill already in sight Wanis Boukra-Bettayeb pushed on towards 29th place overall and 5th place in M25-29.
Guillaume Belanger was all smiles with the end somewhat in sight.
The rollers were seemingly everywhere and Simon Paquette managed a 5:02:53 run and 3rd place in M25-29 and 14th place overall.
Well now, that terrain was quite tricky but that did not stop athletes from smiling. Francis Tanguay seen here leading this group through this section.
Poles are a pretty rare sight in triathlon, but not at tough events like this one.
Alexandre Letellier looked quite adept with his poles, but in the end he finished 47th overall.
