Cassandre Beaugrand is arriving in Pontevedra with something none of her rivals can match: a perfect regular season. Four WTCS starts, four victories, 4,000 points.

Heading into this race, Beaugrand leads Beth Potter by 225 points, followed by Tilda Månsson, 363 points back, and defending world champion Lisa Tertsch, 439 points behind.

If Beaugrand finishes on the podium, she wins the overall championship title. And this would be her second world title after achieving the massive Olympic and world championship double in 2024.

But there is still hope for Potter, Månsson and Tertsch. In fact, we only need to go back to last year’s Championship Final in Wollongong to understand why.

Tertsch entered the Final ranked fourth in the standings, seemingly an outside contender for the title. But when the women ahead of her faltered, Tertsch delivered the race of her career, winning the Final and jumping from fourth in the standings to first to claim her maiden world title.

For Beaugrand, the simplest route to the title is straightforward: take the tape and, with it, her second championship title and a repeat of her flawless 2024 season.

For Potter, victory in Pontevedra keeps the title firmly within reach. If Potter takes the tape and Beaugrand finishes fourth or lower, Potter will become world champion.

This makes Beaugrand the favourite and Potter our second pick, but there are still others who could shake things up…

Who Could Shake Up the Race?

The most notable potential disruptors, and longer-shot title contenders, are Månsson and Tertsch, although their pathways to the world title are narrower and require both Beaugrand and Potter to falter. But, as mentioned, Tertsch pulled off the unlikely feat last year in Wollongong, stunning her rivals.

And while we’re talking about the possibility of an upset, World Triathlon itself notes that only two of the five women who have led the Series heading into the Final this decade have held on to become world champion: Flora Duffy in 2021 and Beaugrand in 2024. In a race with margins this tight, nothing should be ruled out.

Beyond Tertsch as a potential upset contender, let’s turn to Månsson, who deliberately skipped the races in Weihai and Karlovy Vary, razor focused on the Final. Månsson has already beaten Potter to win in Yokohama and was shoulder to shoulder with Beaugrand until the final stretch in Quiberon. For Månsson, like Potter, she must start with a win and then look back. The title is hers if Beaugrand finishes sixth or lower and Potter third or lower.

Georgia Taylor-Brown is also worth mentioning, despite not being in contention for the Series title. Initially, Taylor-Brown had spoken about this short-course season as, at best, an opportunity to play around with the women at the front. But then that playing at the front turned into running first down the blue carpet to take the win in Karlovy Vary.

Taylor-Brown could play an important role in the race dynamics and in contending for the top positions that could shake up the standings. One thing’s for sure: there are several world-class stars on this start line, and we can’t wait to watch!

How to Watch

Watch live with Triathlonlive on Saturday at 18:00 local time, 12:00 EDT and 09:00 PDT.