(Reuters) – Frenchman Dorian Coninx claimed his first world title on Saturday after a colossal effort in a breathtaking sprint finish to win the World Triathlon Championship finals in Pontevedra, Spain.
Coninx overtook Germany’s Tim Hellwig and compatriot Pierre Le Corre in an exciting final-lap sprint that saw the three athletes separated by seconds.
“World Champion, Still can’t believe it. French team did it again,” Coninx said on social media.
Favourites Alex Yee of Britain and Hayden Wilde of New Zealand missed out on the podium in a surprise turn of events.
Yee struggled in the water and on the bike, as he could not find his rhythm, and finished 29th after failing to recover.
Wilde was hit with a 15-second team penalty for equipment outside the box in the early stages of the eight-lap cycling and also had a large deficit after the swimming leg, finishing ninth.
With the Olympics on home soil next year, the French team, including former champion Leo Bergere, who finished fourth, will be the favourites for medals.
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City; editing by Clare Fallon)
