WTCS Abu Dhabi: Lisa Tertsch leads German women podium sweep

Lisa Tertsch led a German podium sweep as the World Triathlon Championship Series got underway in Abu Dhabi.

The 26-year-old justified her top billing by sprinting to victory from team-mates Nina Eim and Laura Lindemann in the first of the seven-race series that culminates in the Championship Finals in Wollongong, Australia in October.

France’s Leonie Periault finished in fourth place, with another German, Tanja Neubert, in fifth. Britain’s Kate Waugh opened up her season with 10th place, having been one of the aggressors during the bike leg.

It was an early starter to the World Triathlon Championship Series, which meant that many of the main contenders, including reigning world champion Cassandre Beaugrand and Britain’s Beth Potter chose to skip the event.

That did present an opportunity for others to step up, with Germany’s two Olympic mixed team relay gold medallists Tertsch and Lindemann both among the favourites.

So too were Luxembourg’s Jeanne Lehair, France’s Periault and Britain’s Waugh, who was the only GB triathlete racing, in contrast to eight pro women from Germany. 

Another noticeable name was 2016 Olympic champion Gwen Jorgensen. The 38-year-old missed out on selection for the Paris Olympics but did finish 2024 with a World Cup win, the second tier of racing, in Japan. 

The veteran also had more WTCS podiums than the rest of the field combined, but having struggled to stay in contention on the bike leg, she would eventually finish 29th and more than 2min back.

Alongside Hamburg, Abu Dhabi was one of only two sprint races on the 2025 WTCS calendar, but in a change to the scoring system for this season, sprint races were given equal weighting with standard distance events.

What happened in the swim?

It was a changed course for the 2025 event that would no longer use the Formula 1 circuit for the bike and run legs, and the early afternoon non-wetsuit swim was a 750m out and back dash from a beach start.

Bianca Seregni made an early break on the left-handed course, and with Belgium’s Jolien Vermeylen for company had clear water on the rest of the field. 

The Italian has proven her calibre in the swim over recent years, but her bike-run combination is also improving, as shown by a career-best eighth place finish in last year’s WTCS finals in Torremolinos-Andalucia.

Seregni was first into transition in 8:56, closely followed by Vermeylen, with USA’s Taylor Spivey, who has also signed a T100 contract for 2025, leading the rest of the field, 18sec behind.

Germany’s Tertsch and Lindemann were also in close attendance, with Jorgensen at 30sec and Waugh slightly further back than she’d have wanted in 29th place and 35sec in arrears.

What happened on the bike?

The 20km bike leg featured five flat and fast laps that included a couple of tight chicanes.

Seregni and Vermeylen’s lead didn’t last a lap with almost the entire field coming together by the time they reached the athletics track, with the numbers contributing to a crash towards the rear of the field involving Italy’s Verena Steinhauser and Spain’s Miriam Casillas García.

Jorgensen was struggling to stick with the pace, and on lap three Waugh turned up the heat even more with the first significant breakaway of the afternoon. 

The field came back together on lap four, but it was whittled down to fewer than 30 athletes, before Waugh led them to the second transition at 38:01.

What happened on the run?

After Waugh’s initial burst, it was a large group that headed out onto the two-lap 5km run with a trio of Germans at the front.

Eim, Lehair and Periault all took turns to lead, and as they headed onto the final lap, it was the Frenchwoman surrounded by Germans, Lindemann, Eim and Tertsch who were vying for the podium.

With a headwind on different parts of the course, there were some tactical moves, but Tertsch seized the initiative with a few hundred metres and stormed down the blue carpet for victory in 54:28, followed by Eim and then Lindemann for a German podium sweep. 

Periault finished fourth, with Mexico’s Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal in fifth, as Waugh managed to hold on for a top 10.

Tertsch said:

“It was a great race and I’mn very happy with the way I executed it, but I also prepared really well. It was cat and mouse on the last lap on the run, but that’s racing and everyone has to play their cards. Last year was a very exciting year with many firsts and I learnt a lot, and I’ll take those lessons into this year. 

Eim said:

“It’s really a dream come true to get on the podium – and I achieved it in the first race of the season. I couldn’t have expected a better start and told myself the whole time: ‘You can do this, you can do this!’ The last kilometre was really hard, but I gave it everything I had and I was so happy that I got second.”

Lindemann said:

“That was a really tough race, warm and very fast and I was feeling the pain after the season break. It’s always a shock for the body, but a lot of fun too. We tried to stay focused at the front of the bike and not risk a crash in a big group and I think we did a good job. The whole run smashed me in the end, there was not much left for a good sprint finish, but I’m super happy to complete a historic German podium.”

WTCS Abu Dhabi: Women’s final standings

1. Lisa Tertsch (GER) 54:28
2. Nina Eim (GER) +2
3. Laura Lindemann (GER) +3
4. Leonie Periault (FRA) +7
5. Tanja Neubert (GER) +18
6. Rosa Maria Tapia Vidal (MEX) +18
7. Jeanne Lehair (LUX) +26
8. Bianca Seregni (ITA) +29
9. Diana Isakova (AIN) +31
10. Kate Waugh (GBR) +34

WTCS 2025 calendar

• Abu Dhabi (February 15-16)
• Yokohama (May 17)
• Italy (location TBC) (May 31)
• Hamburg (July 12-13)
• Karlovy Vary (September 14)
• Weihai (September 26)
• Championship Finals, Wollongong (October 15-19)