It was back to business for Britain’s
Alex Yee on Friday afternoon as he delivered a trademark 5km run to hold off a
strong field and earn the first World Triathlon Championship Series Abu Dhabi
gold of 2023.
It was the perfect way to banish the
Championship Finals blues of 2022 for the Olympic silver medallist, 30 seconds
back out of the water, bridging to the leaders early on in the 20km bike and
then seeing off a field stacked with incredible running talent that had boiled
down to Yee, Portugal’s Vasco Vilaca and Brazil’s Manoel Messias with silver
and bronze respectively.
“I came here with no expectations and
raced free and I guess that’s the outcome when you enjoy what you’re doing!”
said a satisfied-looking Alex Yee. “It’s just so good to be back racing these
guys. I just wanted to see how the last weeks of training in Australia had
gone, so it’s the fruits of our labour, it’s worked out well, and I was feeling
pretty good today.”
With last season’s top three of Yee,
Leo Bergere and Hayden Wilde all lined up on the far right of the pontoon, it
was France’s Vincent Luis with the curveball of a middle-pontoon starting
position that clearly paid off has he scooped the fastest swim of the day.
Emerging alongside teammate Dorian
Coninx, Mark Devay (HUN), Alessio Crociani (ITA) and Jamie Riddle (RSA), there
was 30 seconds back to Yee, 45 to Wilde and Messias.
Gustav Iden was also at the back of
the field, but it was Wilde who suffered a flat right out of T1 and would face
the next 20km riding solo as a result.
On the first of five bike laps, a
10-deep pack powered by Coninx, Riddle, Kenji Nener (JPN) and Matthew Hauser
(AUS) had daylight to Portuguese duo Vilaca and Ricardo Batista, Tyler
Mislawchuk also bridging up and the trio joined the leaders.
Ten seconds back were the likes of
Bergere, Yee, Stefan Zachaus (LUX) and Matthew McElroy (USA), but soon a full
50 athletes were riding in a huge train through the Yas Marina circuit.
Bergere, Riddle and Roberto Sanchez
Mantecon rolled the dice on lap three, but there break was short-lived, and
though Zachaus, too, tried to make a move, it was a mighty group that poured
into transition for the second and final time, all eyeing success at the end of
the 5km run.
Brandon Copeland (AUS) flew out of T2
first but was soon caught by Max Studer and Hauser, before Luis assumed control
at the pole, Yee moving into position right on his shoulder. Sanchez was next
to the front before Luis drove forward once more and things began to break up
over the first climb.
The first lap belonged to Messias as
he picked his way towards the front along with Mislawchuk, but a 10 second
penalty for the Canadian for an equipment violation would end his resurgent
podium challenge.
Yee was just biding his time,
however, working back to the front and then away up the hill, Messias and
Vilaca unable to answer the call and from there it was a one-man race to the
tape for Yee, erasing his Championship Finals pain with a golden start to the
campaign, Vilaca holding off Messias to silver.
Vincent Luis led Dorian Coninx and
Leo Bergere across the line, Roberto Sanchez in 7th, Matt McElroy, Max Studer
and Adrien Briffod rounding out the top 10.
“It has been three years since I was
on the podium in Hamburg and it’s amazing to start the season like this,” said
Vasco Vilaca. “An amazing race and amazing to run with Alex and Manoel going
all in to the end. Alex had an extra gear up the hill, so I just did my best.
Now I need to fight to stay in the medals and get among the podium again.”
Results: Elite Men
1. Alex
Yee GBR 00:52:53
2. Vasco
Vilaca POR 00:52:59
3. Manoel
Messias BRA 00:53:06
4. Vincent
Luis FRA 00:53:11
5. Dorian
Coninx FRA 00:53:14
ABOUT WORLD TRIATHLON
World Triathlon is the international
governing body for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of triathlon and all
related multisport disciplines around the world, including duathlon, aquathlon,
cross triathlon and winter triathlon. Triathlon made its Olympic debut in
Sydney 2000, with a third medal event, the Mixed Team Relay, added to the
programme at Tokyo 2020, while para triathlon was first added to the Paralympic
programme at Rio 2016. World Triathlon is proudly committed to the development
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transparency at our core as we seek to help triathletes at all levels of the
sport to be extraordinary.
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