Yee sees off ‘idol’ Mola for impressive success at French Grand Prix

Alex Yee had a clear plan of action when we spoke to him last weekend – and the first aim has been ticked off in style.

He said: “I’ll go across and race the French Grand Prix now, and see what happens. After that, Cagliari, Bermuda, Abu Dhabi… and then Christmas!”

Final flourish

The ‘see what happens’ in the French GP at Saint-Jean-de-Monts proved to be the latest impressive win of the season.

Coming into the final transition Yee – racing in Valence colours – still had work to do.

He paced it perfectly and moved into the lead inside the final two kilometres from a stacked field – but had to battle to maintain that.

Jelle Geens (BEL) and Leo Bergere (FRA) stuck with him but Yee wouldn’t be denied.

And to underline the quality of the opposition, Mario Mola (ESP) and Pierre Le Corre (FRA) then closed the gap as well, with Mola kicking into the lead in the closing stages.

But Yee kept his cool in a frantic finish, powering clear with the line in sight to hold off Geens, with Mola keeping on for third.

Full of respect

It was the perfect confidence boost for Yee following on from last week’s third in Super League Triathlon’s London opener, both races at shorter distances than the WTCS targets which lie ahead.

“It’s the first time I’ve raced for Valence in three years and I love to do them proud. They helped me so much when I was younger,” said Yee.

“I’m very happy to be back in France and at this race – I think I’ve DNF’d once here and then been 15th so it’s nice to race one well. It was a really hard sea swim and then the bike was very quick so I was very happy to be in the mix at the end.

“And it was great to be racing against one of my heroes Mario Mola, he’s one of my idols. A lot of respect for him, he was amazing.”