Alex Yee was nowhere near the fastest in the first two legs but broke away in the final leg to take the victory
Lead photo by Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters
(Reuters) – Alex Yee won the Paris 2024 triathlon men’s test race on Friday by 13 seconds to give Britain the double following Beth Potter’s victory in the women’s race a day earlier.
Yee was nowhere close to being the fastest after the 1.5-kilometer swim and the 40-kilometer bike legs, but he surged to the head of the pack on the final running leg to take victory, completing the 10 km leg in 29 minutes flat.
Portugal’s Vasco Vilaca finished second while Dorian Coninx came in third after a three-way battle with fellow Frenchmen Pierre Le Corre and Leo Bergere for the final spot on the podium.
“I just loved it. I pushed that middle three kilometers—that was where I think I really put an effort in—but by the end I was having to do a bit of management because I was starting to die a little bit,” Yee said.
The Arc de Triomphe is seen as Britain’s Alex Yee competes during the elite men triathlon test event | Photo by Emmanuel Dunand/Pool/Reuters
“I have been feeling absolutely horrible in the pool so I’m glad I was able to put something representative together from the hard work I’ve been putting in.”
British triathlete Potter outgunned home hopeful Cassandre Beaugrand in a final sprint to win the women’s test race on Thursday.
The swim leg was held in the Seine after the river passed a water quality test.
Earlier this month, organizers canceled the Open Water Swimming World Cup in Paris after heavy rainfall caused the water quality in the famous river to dip below minimum health standards.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Conor Humphries)