Britain’s Alex Yee suffered a shock first defeat of the season to WTCS rival Matt Hauser of Australia at the third round of the French Grand Prix in Metz this weekend, with the Aussie proving too strong across the board for the Olympic silver medalist.
Having won both of his races so far this season at WTCS Abu Dhabi and WTCS Cagliari, Yee was widely tipped as the favourite, but could do nothing after Hauser executed a brilliant race from gun to tape.
Home favourite Dorian Coninx rounded out the podium in third, with Moroccan Jawad Abdemoula having one of his best races of the season in fourth and Japan’s Kenji Nener hanging tough for fifth after being in the breakaway with Hauser.
Hauser just too strong
Off the back of an impressive win at WTCS Montreal, Hauser showed he is the real deal as he took the race by the scruff of the neck and dominated the tempo throughout, starving Yee of any opportunity to make his own mark.
The Australian was out of the water in the lead pack with Triathlon Club Liévin teammate Jamie Riddle, as Nener, Leo Ouabbdesselam and Igor Dupuis also made the front group and got to work on the bike.
In the chase pack, Coninx and Poissy Triathlon teammates Tom Richard and Abdemoula shared most of the work, with Yee also towards the front of the group. As they looked set to catch the front, however, Hauser and Nener attacked and got away again to lead into transition.
Off the bike, the pair had almost twenty seconds over Yee, with the Brit chasing hard along with Coninx and Abdemoula. Despite their best efforts, they could only reel in Nener, as Hauser made it home with his lead intact and claim a second win on the bounce.
Metz French Grand Prix Results 2023
- Matt Hauser (Triathlon Club Liévin) – 51:05
- Alex Yee (Valence Triathlon) – 51:25
- Dorian Coninx (Poissy Triathlon) – 51:49
- Jawad Abdemoula (Poissy Triathlon) – 51:51
- Kenji Nener (Les Sables Vendee Triathlon) – 51:52
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