Britain\u2019s Alex Yee finished second to world champion Mario Mola of Spain as the ITU World Series kicked off in high-octane style on the Formula One track of Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n
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It was an impressive debut at the top level from the 21-year-old Yee, who trains in Leeds and had already showed his class by winning a second tier World Cup race in Cape Town, also over the sprint distance, last month.<\/p>\n
But it still wasn\u2019t quite enough to defeat Mola, who has won the past three world titles, and once again showed why his biggest strength is the run. The 29-year-old surged to the front with 1.7km remaining and eased clear of Yee in the final stretch to take the tape in 52min.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s above and beyond what I expected,\u201d Yee said, having run 14:07 for the 5km. \u201cI came in wanting to get a bit of experience, but I felt really prepared and ready to go and give it my best shot. These guys are my idols, and I look up to them and have watched them since I was a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mola recorded his 16th World Series victory and was generous with his praise for the young Brit, who has recovered from a near career-ending bike crash when racing in Calgary in 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to dig deep to bridge the gap,\u201d he said. \u201cI know how talented Alex is and it was great to have a battle against him. It\u2019s great to have a new generation coming up.\u201d<\/p>\n
What made Yee\u2019s result even more impressive was the quality of the field assembled in the Emirates\u2019 capital.<\/p>\n
The entire top 10 from last year\u2019s ranking were present, with newly crowned Super League champion Vincent Luis and last year\u2019s Commonwealth gold medallist Henri Schoeman among them. Double-Olympic medallist Jonny Brownlee was the only notable absentee.<\/p>\n
While Slovakian Richard Varga predictably led out of the water after the 750m swim, the race came together on the 20km cycle around the Yas Marina F1 track and a large pack entered T2 together.<\/p>\n
New Zealand\u2019s Hayden Wilde bravely took the race by its scruff and forged a six-second gap that he held until midway through the run, when first Yee and then Mola took charge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Spain\u2019s Fernando Alarza sprinted from the chasing pack to take the final spot on the podium, with Britain\u2019s only other competitor, Tom Bishop \u2013 on a course where he had his best WTS finish of second in 2017 \u2013 finishing strongly in ninth, one place ahead of an exhausted Wilde.<\/p>\n
There is now a six-week break before the World Series resumes in Bermuda for the second of eight events.<\/p>\n
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You can follow all the action live, plus re-live past races, highlights and interviews at triathlonlive.tv<\/p>\n<\/section>\n