Yee Edges Wilde at Yokohama WTCS
Friends and Olympic co-medalists Alex Yee of Great Britain and Hayden Wilde of New Zealand ran away from the rest of the field, then Yee’s race-fastest 28:50 10k run brought the Brit home in 1:43:30 with a 10 seconds margin over the Kiwi and 19 seconds over 3rd-place Leo Bergere of France. Yee, one of the fastest runners in the sport of triathlon, ran shoulder-to-shoulder with Wilde from the halfway portion of the run, then found a thimbleful of extra energy to pull away in the final 200 meters. Yee’s win was his second WTCS victory.
The morning was raining and the ocean was cold, but by the 1 pm start, the water and air were warm enough so the swim was non-wetsuit and Frenchman Vincent Luis dominated in the calm waters of Yokohama Bay and Fellow Frenchman Dorian Coninx (18:13 swim split) was the only one able to stay with him.
Coninx and Luis led out the bike, with Yee and Wilde 40 seconds behind and scratching hard to join the ever-increasing front pack. Within two laps, Yee and Wilde did catch up. With the pack expanding in size, Jacob Birtwhistle and Matt McElroy of the U.S. kept within a minute of the leaders. With no breakaways, the pack topped off at 35, and Germany’s Jonas Schomburg started the run in the lead, with Bergere, Le Corre, and Takumi Hojo of Japan right on their heels.
Meanwhile, Luis was having physical problems and was last of the lead pack to start the run. Meanwhile Yee and Wilde were slicing past 30 men and were closing on Schomburg with 9 kilometers to go.
Nearing the finish line, Yee outsprinted the New Zealander and claimed his second WTCS victory. In Yee’s and Wilde’s wake, Bergere took third – the 5th WTCS third place of his career. Matthew Hauser of Australis made up gobs of ground with an impressive 29:33 run split. Coninx ran 29:51 to close out in 5th place.
Exulting in his victory, Yee paid tribute to his rival. “I am really pleased with the result. Some things to work on but that’s always positive to take away from the first race of the year. The win is amazing. Kudos to Hayden (Wilde), he was lightning on the run. I had to summon every ounce of my being to get around at the end. The first 5km (of the run) Hyden (Wilde) really took it out and I was a little down on transition so I had to work quite hard to get back on. At 2 kilometers, Hayden was really moving and it was just us two and we started to run shoulder to shoulder. It’s nice to share the moments as we’ve grown up in the circuit together, He beat me last weekend at the Arena Games Triathlon Singapore, (and) I beat him here, (so) it’s going to be an exciting year.”
Wilde also paid tribute to his rival. “I thought it was going to be easier, but it was actually harder. I forgot how hard racing was. I am enjoying being back, any racing we can get, I will take. After two years nearly of not much being available, it’s great to have the circuit back again. It kind of felt like the Olympics again without big Kristian (Blummenfelt). Alex and I just battled together. I knew I had to have a really good transition to get out on the run quick and hit that first 5km hard to put a bit of sting in Alex’ legs. I may have burnt a few too many matches for myself at the end, just didn’t quite have that kick.“
“My tactic was taking a little more risk than usual to have no regrets, so I am really pleased with this third place,.” Bergere told World Triathlon media. “I tried to catch Hayden and Alex, but the guys in front were just too fast for me.”
World Triathlon Championship Series – Yokohama
Yokohama, Japan
May 14, 2022
S 1.5k / B 40k / R 10k
Pro Men's Results
1. Alex Yee (GBR) S 18:47 T1 00:54 B 54:37 T2 00:24 R 28:50 TOT 1:43:30
2. Hayden Wilde (NZL) S 18:59 T1 00:51 B 54:26 T2 00:21 R 29:03 TOT 1:43:40
3. Leo Bergere (FRA) S 18:26 T1 00:53 B 54:55 T2 00:20 R 29:27 TOT 1:43:59
4. Matthew Hauser (AUS) S 18:29 R1 00:52 B 54:57 T2 00:20 R 29:33 TOT 1:44:09
5. Pierre Le Corre (FRA) S 18:23 T1 00:52 B 54:59 T2 00:20 R 29:45 TOT 1:44:17
6. Dorian Coninx (FRA) S 18:13 T1 1:00 B 55:01 T2 00:21 R 29:51 TOT 1:44:25
7. Vasco Vilaca (POR) S 18:22 T1 00L52 B 54:59 T2 00:31 R 30:09 TOT 1:44:52
8. Ricardo Batista (POR) S 18:25 T1 00:54 B 54:57 T2 00:22 R 30:16 TOT 1:44:52
9. Makoto Odakura (JPN) S 18:25 T1 00:56 B 54:59 T2 00:23 R 30:20 TOT 1:45:02
10. Kevin McDowell (USA) S 18:44 T1 00L52 B 54:40 T2 00:25 R 30:23 TOT 1:45:02
13. Matthew McElroy (USA) S 19:16 T1 00:54 B 54:50 T2 00:21 R 29:55 TOT 1:45:14
24. Seth Rider (USA) S 18:23 T1 0:55 B 55:00 T2 00:23 R 31:11 TOT 1:45:50
42. Chase McQueen (USA) S 18:21 T1 00:54 B 55:03 T2 00:24 R 35:00 TOT 1:49:40
