Alex Yee Edges Hayden Wilde in Montreal
Heavy rains had forced to switch the qualifiers to duathlons, once dry the heat was hellish, and nonstop action left the qualifying racing up and down. After the first two of three final races on Saturday, the field was whittled down to 10 starters Alex Yee found the energy at the blue carpet to pull away from Hayden Wilde to break the tape.
Unwilling to give in to a chain mishap on the bike, Wilde took the silver, finishing 3 seconds behind Yee and 4 seconds behind Leo Bergere of France,
“That one meant a lot,” Yee told World Triathlon media. “After a [recent] crash you can lose a bit of belief and the last two weeks have been hard but I came in here more fired up than ever. That may have played against me my first few races [back in action] but after the last race I only just made it through so I just wanted to enjoy it. I found my flow at the end. I’d been struggling through the rounds and my run has almost been a weakness but that last 100m I felt amazing and the crowd roaring me on was amazing.”
Races recap
In Race One, Tyler Mislawchuk was lacking in energy due to an exhausting hot day at Huatulco a week ago and an accident preparing for this race had taken a toll. While running up the hill to transition, Mislawchuk found himself off the back and fading well past the 20th mark needed to qualify for the final race. Fellow Canadian Charles Paquet filled in nicely as made the cut for race two in 20th position. Two other notables – Aussie Jacob Birtwhistle and Huatulco winner Genis Grau – also missed the cut.
Twenty men toed the sand for Race Two and Miguel Hidalgo, Kenji Nener, and Vincent Luis led out of the water, with Wilde and Yee 15 and 20 seconds back. In increasing heat, Richard Murray of South Africa and Tayler Reid of New Zealand faded out of contention – but Jawad Abdelmoula of Morocco looked on track to qualify for the top 10 in his inaugural WTCS race.
Miguel Hidalgo also faded out of the top 10, on the final lap of the run. Marten Van Riel of Belgium found himself in a heated battle with Brandon Copeland of Australia for the 10th and last qualifying slot for the final race – with the Belgian edging the Australian.
Final race
Vincent Luis and fellow Frenchmen Pierre Le Corre and Leo Bergere led the men out of the water, with Van Riel, Abdelmoula and Yee next up and Wilde and Geens readying for a surge back to the front.
Then Wilde’s chain came loose! He dropped off, but didn’t dismount, almost catching his finger reattaching the errant chain but finally it clicked and he was suddenly at full speed again. Lucky for the Kiwi, the leaders failed to go for the kill and Wilde was soon back among the top nine men arriving at T2.
Le Corre was first on the run, but stumbled with the bike. Messias hung in with the three Frenchmen, Wilde and Yee. Then Wilde rolled the dice and surged to the front and only Yee hung on.
The duo charged ahead shoulder to shoulder until they entered the grandstands, the crowd roaring as they battled towards the blue carpet. Finally, Yee found his old explosive kick and Wilde crossed for what looked an unlikely second place, Bergere with bronze ahead of Geens, and a career-best fifth for Messias.
“I was so gutted (about the chain),” said Wilde. “Coming into the third round I felt really good but I had to bridge the gap again. I thought, ‘Should I get off or keep going?’ I almost got my finger caught. I know I don’t have the kick against those boys, so I just tried to hook it.”
“I must say I like the atmosphere here in Montreal and I also like that type of format – there is no room for mistakes,” Bergere told World Triathlon media. “I burnt myself too early in the race to hope for a better spot, but still, I am happy. My goal this year is to win the Series but I know it will be really tough with the two guys sitting next to me,”
Montreal Super Sprint Eliminator
Montreal, Canada
June 25, 2022
S 1.5k / B 7.2 k / R 2 k
Pro Men
1. Alex Yee GBR S 03:55 T1 01:30 B 10:22 T2 00:30 R 05:39 TOT 21:55
2. Hayden Wilde (NZL) S 04:00 T1 01:26 B 10:22 T2 00:31 R 05:40 TOT 21:58
3. Leo Bergere (FRA) S 03:48 T1 01:37 B 10:21 T2 00:30 R 05:45 TOT 21:59
4. Jelle Geens (BEL) S 04:04 T1 01:27 B 10:16 T2 00:29 R 05:48 TOT 22:02
5. Manoel Messias (BRA) S 04:04 T1 01:27 B 10:16 T2 00:31 R 05:49 TOT 22:05
6. Vincent Luis (FRA) S 03:46 T1 01:38 B 10:23 T2 00:31 R 05:53 TOT 22:08
