Frenchman Dorian Coninx has won the 2023 World Triathlon title in Pontevedra, Spain, after the pre-race series leaders Alex Yee and Hayden Wilde had yet another Grand Final to forget.
Coninx’s win comes just one year after teammate Léo Bergere snatched the 2022 title at the Grand Final in Abu Dhabi, capitalising on similarly troubled races from Yee and Wilde, who were then also chasing for the crown.
Joining Coninx on the podium in Pontevedra was Germany’s Tim Hellwig in second and France’s Pierre Le Corre in third.
The victory meant Coninx, who was in fifth place going into Final, took his first world title; Wilde, despite a troubled race, finished runner-up in the 2023 series; and Bergere third in the overall standings.
Yee, meanwhile, will just be happy that he’d already ticked off his year’s goal of qualifying for the 2024 Olympics at the Test Event in August.
Here’s what went down…
What happened in the swim?
A glorious evening in Pontevedra set the stage for the final round of the 2023 World Triathlon series. A balmy 21.3°C meant the swim was non-wetsuit for the men’s title decider, which got underway at 5:20pm local time.
Yee started the seventh and last race top of the rankings, poised to become the first British world champion since Jonny Brownlee back in 2012.
But a torrid swim, which saw him 25secs down after the first 750m lap, set him up for a day playing catch up. Sadly for the viewing public, his main title contender Wilde was having a similarly fraught day, denying a final fight between the two top-class rivals.
Montreal WTCS winner Matt Hauser (AUS) led the men out after 17:57mins, followed by Jonas Schomburg (GER) and Sunderland WTCS winner Pierre Le Corre (FRA).
Defending champion Bergere was ninth out, third-place in the rankings pre-race Vilaça (POR) came out 17secs down, Brownlee 23secs, Kristian Blummenfelt 31secs.
Yee and Wilde lost even more time on the second swim lap of two to hit T1 in 50th and 51st place, respectively, nearly 50secs in arrears on the leaders.
What happened on the bike?
A solid lead group of 14 swiftly merged on lap one of eight of the 40km course, housing Hauser, Coninx, Henri Schoeman (RSA), Vilaça, Brownlee, Marten Van Riel and Morgan Pearson (USA).
Wilde, who managed to catch the second chase pack alongside Blummenfelt 25secs back, was slammed with a penalty for dropping his swim cap on the pontoon of the swim exit.
Another blow for the young Kiwi, following his bike crash en route to the Paris Test Event in August and a mistake during Super League Toulouse at the start of September.
Yee, however, was stuck in the second-to-last chase group, almost a minute adrift by the end of lap two; a gap that only increased as the bike leg progressed.
By lap three, the lead group had swelled to 24 athletes, but Wilde continued to sit in the chase pack of 19, 28 secs behind.
Heartbreakingly for the British fans, the time deficit to Yee’s crew of eight was up to 1:24mins by the end of lap four, as GB’s Max Stapley was asked by team management to drop back to help his compatriot in what was a relatively weak pack of riders.
At the end of lap five – 1:40mins.
Lap six – 1:51mins.
Lap six also saw Brazil’s Miguel Hidalgo facing a pending DSQ for not following the prescribed course.
Lap seven – 2:03mins
T2 – 2:18mins
By this point, Vilaça was in the championship lead.
What happened on the run?
Vilaça positioned himself right at the front off the bike, but it was Hauser who took initial control of the four-lap 10km run.
By the end of the first lap, Pearson pulled out some solid air as he chased his first WTCS win, Bergere was second, Vilaça in third.
Wilde, having taken his penalty on lap one, was 26th, 48secs down; Yee 41st, a demoralising 2:17mins shy of Pearson.
Halfway through and Vilaça was seen seen dropping back, unable to keep pace with the French trio of Bergere, Coninx and Le Corre.
The latter, at 33 one of the oldest in the field, took Pearson halfway through lap three, running just ahead of fellow Frenchman Coninx and Bergere, and Germany’s Tim Hellwig and Lasse Lührs.
By the bell, Wilde was 13th, 43secs behind the leaders and only one place ahead of a now struggling Vilaça.
Elsewhere, Blummenfelt was 24th, 1:16secs behind; Brownlee 29th, 1:42 down; Yee 38th, 2:33secs.
On the final lap, Hellwig fancied a shot at the front, but he had three Frenchmen breathing down his tri-suit.
Who won the 2023 Word Triathlon title?
At the final turn, Bergere was the first to drop off, leaving Hellwig, Le Corre and Coninx to sprint it out for the win.
In the end, Coninx, who qualified for his home Olympics at the Test Event, was the first over the line ahead of Hellwig in second and Le Corre in third, the final medal also securing Le Corre’s position in Paris.
“I just wanted a nice race, but this is way better than expected,” said Coninx at the finish.
On his tumultuous race, Wilde said: “In reality, if I’d grabbed [my swim cap] I would have been in Alex’s [bike] group and be two minutes down.
“But yeah I’m gutted, I did most of the work on the bike. I just needed 20seconds, we had a good group but no one really wanted to work. I ran as hard as I could, and made the right call by taking the penalty on the first lap.
“I’m pretty buggered now, I don’t normally spew after races but I did today.”
2023 World Triathlon Grand Final men’s results – top 10
1. Dorian Coninx, FRA 1:42:22
2. Tim Hellwig, GER 1:42:22
3. Pierre Le Corre, FRA 1:42:22
4. Léo Bergere, FRA 1:42:28
5. Lasse Lührs, GER 1:42:44
6. Csongor Lehmann, HUN 1:42:54
7. Matthew Hauser, AUS 1:43:04
8. Tyler Mislawchuk, CAN 1:43:09
9. Hayden Wilde, NZL 1:43:17
10. Lasse Nygaard Priester, GER 1:43:20
14. Vasco Vilaça, POR
17. Kristian Blummenfelt, NOR
29. Alex Yee (+2:40mins), GBR
34. Jonny Brownlee, GBR
35. Barclay Izzard, GBR
56. Max Stapley, GBR
2023 World Triathlon Championship Series Men’s Final Standings
1. Dorian Coninx, FRA
2. Hayden Wilde, NZL
3. Léo Bergere, FRA
4. Vasco Vilaça, POR
5. Alex Yee, GBR
6. Pierre Le Corre, FRA
7. Matthew Hauser, AUS
8. Tim Hellwig, GER
9. Kristian Blummenfelt, NOR
10. Csongor Lehmann, HUN
