Hayden Wilde of New Zealand at the front. Photo: Iain McGregor / www.photosport.nz
New Zealand triathlete Hayden Wilde has won the 2024 supertri series title, despite being pipped at the line by Great Britain rival Alex Yee at the grand finale in Neom, Saudi Arabia.
Wilde's second-place finish was enough to confirm Crown Racing as the team champions for 2024, as well as the New Zealander being the overall series champion ahead of Podium Racing's Léo Bergere and Stars & Stripes' Tim Hellwig.
Bergere finished third in Neom in a battle for the ages that came down to the final metres in the hot and windswept desert location.
Having locked horns throughout the 2024 supertri season, as well as in the ITU World Championships and Olympic Games, Wilde and Yee's rivalry was reunited in the final stages of today's nine-discipline-strong triathlon.
Yee beat the New Zealander to the line by a second in the latest instalment of their era-defining rivalry.
Yee looked out of the picture with 400m to go but timed his run to perfection, overtaking Wilde and Bergere with the finish in sight to win another multisport classic in an unforgettable season for the 26-year-old Olympic gold medallist and ITU World Champion.
"It's what people want and I'm glad we put on a show for them ...I'm glad to be a part of it as these guys have been putting on a show for the last few races and I haven't been there. I came here with no expectations, and I just wanted to have fun and to make the people back home smile and maybe take part themselves. I'm loving been back racing and the simplicity of what the sport is all about," Yee said.
Wilde's win, along with Georgia Taylor-Brown in the women's race, also acted as confirmation that Chris McCormack's Crown Racing team would be the overall series winners in 2024 ahead of Tim Don's Podium Racing, scooping both bragging rights and a $375,000 prize pot for their success.
Today's race was also notable for being the final short-course triathlon of supertri legend Vincent Luis, who will begin his long-distance triathlon career in 2025. The French star would finish in seventh, one place behind another tri legend, Johnny Brownlee.