Alex Yee wins World Championship, while Taylor Knibb lights up Las Vegas!

Alex Yee took third in the World Triathlon Championship Series finals in Torremolinos on Sunday to secure the overall World Championship that had eluded him for three years. The title is a cherry on top of a season highlighted by an all-time finish to win a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. 

“I probably had a bit of a monkey on my back from the last three years of falling short, and that’s made this one even sweeter,” Yee said after the race. “I think when something eludes you and then you finally get it — nothing that comes easy to you feels good.

“I think to have that moment now is just, I can’t even describe it. It’s amazing.”

Torremolinos was won by New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde, followed by France’s Léo Bergere. Including Yee, all three triathletes also made up the Olympic podium (1. Yee, 2. Wilde, 3. Bergere) and the WTCS overall podium (1. Yee, 2. Bergere, 3. Wilde). The competition among those heavyweight competitors made for one of the most exciting seasons of triathlon for fans in recent memory. 

“I had to work really, really hard to get to that third spot,” Yee said. “And it’s great to be on the same podium as we were in the Olympics, and then share that in the grand final, but then also in the overall rankings as well. It was a really special year. And what a way to top it off. And hopefully people will round out the season, excited to watch the next year of racing.”

Wilde, Bergere, and company didn’t make it easy on the Olympic champion. Yee entered the race knowing he needed to “just” finish in the top six to secure his overall title, but he quickly found himself gapped by a breakaway group of five strong riders on the bike leg, forcing him to hit the gas.

Yee kept his cool and, as has often been the case, was able to rely on his run to punch back at his rivals. He was 1:40 down on the five leaders after the second transition, and proceeded to methodically eat into their advantage over the course of four 2.5-kilometer laps. At the midpoint of the run, Yee was within 30 seconds of the runners in third, fourth, and fifth. Near the end of the third lap, he put the trio behind for good. He finished 26 seconds back of Bergere for bronze. 

So closed an exhausting, but oh-so-rewarding, 2024 season for the 26-year-old Brit.

“I keep telling myself, it’s pretty straightforward, I’m here because I want to be,” Yee said. “And on the start line, sometimes you can feel like, ‘Why am I doing this? What am I doing?’ But you want to be here. You work so many hours and this is the best bit where you get to put on a show and give it your all. And what an amazing feeling.”

Three starts, three wins. With a victory by two-plus minutes over Julie Derron on Saturday, Taylor Knibb remained perfect in the T100 Triathlon World Tour this year, giving her a sizable advantage atop the overall standings heading into the Championship Final in Dubai from Nov. 16-17.

Knibb won in pure Knibb-ian fashion. She was 16 seconds behind Flora Duffy at the start of the bike, but she quickly charged to the front, taking the lead just four kilometers into the second leg and never looking back. She finished the bike 4:55 ahead of the next closest rider. From there, Knibb comfortably finished out the run for the win.

“I definitely made mistakes. But I think given how I was leading into the race, I couldn’t ask for a better race,” Knibb said. “I was instructed by my coach that we go from the start, and I took it a little too literally and I probably had the best start of my year [laugh]. And then I paid for that in the second lap of the swim. I was like, ‘Oh, I might be done for the day.’ But then recovered on the bike and just tried to run as well as I could. 

“That course though, [oof].”

In the men’s race, Marten Van Riel took second in a thrilling duel with fellow Belgian triathlete Jelle Geens. Van Riel was the first man off the bike and onto the run, but Geens quickly caught up and repeatedly pressured Van Riel on the uphill sections of the course. Though Van Riel was able to catch up on the downhills, the comeback efforts took their toll, and Geens eventually broke away for good to win by 38 seconds.

Before Saturday, Van Riel had never finished in any position other than first in a middle-distance triathlon — a perfect six-for-six. He’s made a habit of thrilling victories. He just couldn’t find an answer for his compatriot’s attacks on the run. 

“[Geens] got the better of me today. I came back four times in the downhill but finally cracked on the fifth uphill,” Van Riel wrote on Instagram after the race. “I’m pretty disappointed, but I guess all fairytales (or win streaks) have to come to an end. Me and Jelle always said we wanted to be on the podium of a WTCS together, we were often close but never did it, but now on the T100 Series we did it first try.”

Both Knibb and Van Riel are now solidly in the lead for the overall women’s and men’s T100 titles, respectively. Knibb currently leads by 13 points over Ashleigh Gentle, and Van Riel by 19 points over Magnus Ditlev. Neither should start celebrating yet, however. As Knibb noted, those leads can go away “in an instant” with 55 points on offer to the winner in Dubai.

Sam Long is also in the running for the final overall podium. He took sixth on Saturday, and is now fifth overall and just five points out of second place in a very tight men’s field. With a big performance in Dubai, he could finish the season with major hardware. He already has two second-place finishes on the T100 circuit this year.

Dubai will be a mean race. The heat could be stifling, even in November. Knibb, Van Riel, and Long have nearly a month left to prepare for what should be an incredible finale. 

“I’m gonna do a heat prep, and I am going to both listen to my coach and communicate well with my coach. I think that those are two very key things,” Knibb said. “I’m very grateful for our relationship and that he listens so well and adapts so well, and he sees how my body’s doing and responding, or not, to training.

“I’m just very grateful and excited for another one.”