A dramatic Grand Final in Spain sees the world title stay with France for a second year in a row <\/p>
Frenchman Dorian Coninx<\/a> has won the 2023 World Triathlon title in Pontevedra, Spain, after the pre-race leaders Alex Yee<\/a> and Hayden Wilde<\/a> had yet another Grand Final to forget.<\/strong><\/p>\n Coninx\u2019s win comes just one year after teammate L\u00e9o Bergere<\/strong><\/a> snatched the 2022 title at the Grand Final in Abu Dhabi, capitalising on uncharacteristic bad races from the then title-chasers Yee and Wilde.<\/p>\n By the tape, Coninx was taking gold ahead of Germany\u2019s Tim Hellwig and France\u2019s Pierre Le Corre.<\/p>\n The win handed Coninx, who was in fifth place going into Final, his first world title; Wilde, despite a troubled race, finished runner-up in the 2023 series; and Bergere third.<\/p>\n A glorious evening in Pontevedra set the stage for the final round of the 2023 World Triathlon series. A balmy 21.3\u00b0C meant the swim was non-wetsuit for the men\u2019s title decider, which got underway at 5:20pm local time.<\/p>\n Yee started the seventh and last race top of the rankings, poised to become the first British world champion since Jonny Brownlee<\/strong><\/a> back in 2012.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Montreal WTCS winner Matt Hauser<\/strong><\/a> (AUS) led the men out after 17:57mins, followed by Jonas Schomburg (GER) and Sunderland WTCS winner Pierre Le Corre<\/strong><\/a> (FRA).<\/p>\n Defending champion Bergere was ninth out, third-place in the rankings pre-race Vila\u00e7a (POR) came out 17secs down, Brownlee 23secs, Kristian Blummenfelt<\/strong><\/a> 31secs.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n A solid lead group of 14 swiftly merged on lap one of eight of the 40km course, housing Hauser, Coninx, Henri Schoeman<\/strong><\/a> (RSA), Vila\u00e7a, Brownlee, Marten Van Riel<\/strong><\/a> and Morgan Pearson (USA).<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\nWhat happened in the swim?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What happened on the bike?<\/strong><\/h2>\n