Britain’s Alex Yee and Beth Potter claim victories at World Triathlon Championship Series in Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI: Great Britain’s Alex Yee and Beth Potter made a winning start to their season after triumphing in the elite races of the World Triathlon Championship Series Abu Dhabi, presented by Daman, on Friday.

Held at Yas Marina Circuit, the world’s best athletes began their quest to claim vital ranking points to qualify for next year’s Olympic Games in Paris on a day that also featured the Para Cup races.

In the women’s race, world No. 5 Potter put on an impressive performance as she battled in the hot conditions to reign supreme and claim her first-ever gold at the highest level.

Riding in a six-deep break on the bike, Potter pulled clear with teammate Sophie Coldwell over the 5 km finale. She finished the race in just under an hour, 57:56, finishing ahead of Coldwell and USA’s Taylor Spivey, who claimed silver and bronze medals respectively.

Potter, 31, was thrilled with her victory, saying: “It’s fantastic to win. I worked hard on the swim to stay in contention and then tried to get a bit of a gap for the rest of the race. The bike was good for me, and I felt I was technically good, although it was hard...

“The hot weather made the race more challenging, but given it’s only a sprint race, I kept going until the end. This will give me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season, and I will keep training hard when I go back to Leeds.”

Meanwhile, in the men’s race, world No. 2 Yee could not have asked for a better start as he powered to victory with a time of 52:53. The 25-year-old, who won silver at the 2020 Olympic Games, delivered a trademark 5 km run to hold off a strong field and add another gold to his collection.

For runner-up Vasco Vilaca of Portugal, who finished six seconds adrift, it was his first