Supertri Neom 2024: Georgia Taylor-Brown wins series, Alex Yee wins grand finale

Alex Yee proved top dog in a repeat of the Olympic podium, as the Paris gold medal winner out-sprinted overall series champion Hayden Wilde and Leo Bergere in a dramatic Supertri finale in Neom.

In the women’s competition, Georgia Taylor-Brown secured the fourth place she needed to win a third Supertri overall title, but it came down to the wire. 

Had Beth Potter – who finished 2sec behind Taylor-Brown – made the pass, or Jeanne Lehair been able to overtake race winner Cassandre Beaugrand, then it would have been Luxembourg’s Lehair who knocked the Brit off top spot.

The fifth and final round of the 2024 series showcased dramatic racing in the desert.

Tayler Spivey and then Vasco Vilaca both crashed on the bike when leading their respective races – and Lehair and Wilde bizarrely took their bike helmets on to the run after mix ups in transition.

What happened in the women’s race?

Liv Mathias took charge in the opening round of the triple swim-bike-run Enduro concept that has been adopted throughout the 2024 series that has been staged in Boston, Chicago, London, Toulouse and Neom.

It consisted of three fast-paced continuous supersprint triathlons starting with a 300m swim, followed by a four-lap 3.2km ride and then a two-lap 1.6km run.

Taylor-Brown struggled early on while Mathias grabbed the first short chute for Brownlee Racing and then came into T2 first to block another team earning the second short chute. 

It was Olympic champion Beaugrand who claimed the final shortcut for Crown Racing to round out the opening mini tri.

Stage two was headlined by Spivey – who still had a chance of the overall title – sliding out on a right hand bend, before Lehair got her hair tangled in her helmet strap and was forced to carry it for the first lap of the run.

It didn’t stop her breaking clear at the front along with Beaugrand, with Taylor-Brown knowing she would need to be handily placed among the chasers if she wasn’t going to let the title slip away. 

There were myriad permutations for the final mini triathlon, but Beaugrand was just focused on adding another win to her stellar season in which she added a world title in Torremolinos to her Olympic gold from Paris.

Even a short chute for Lehair couldn’t stop Beaugrand’s charge, as Leonie Periault steamed through for third place. 

Taylor-Brown was grateful to be handed the short chute secured by team-mate Beaugrand earlier in the race. Being able to cut the run course gave her an added boost to seal the fourth place ultimately required to take the overall series win.

And after wins in Chicago, London and Toulouse and a second place in Boston, few would deny it was a deserved success to add to her Supertri titles from 2021 and 2022.

What happened in the men’s race?

After a second place in Boston followed by wins in Chicago, London and a third in Toulouse where a shoe came off on the run, it was Wilde’s series to lose in Neom.

That never really looked likely, but the bigger question was who could take the bragging rights in the desert as Yee, Bergere and former world champion Dorian Coninx all lined up, alongside Toulouse supertri winner Vilaca.

Not for the first time, Stars & Stripes’ Chase McQueen led out the opening swim, with Vincent Luis, in his last short course race, in close attendance.

Bergere then took the short chute for the fastest through the bike leg and into T2, before Wilde, mimicking Lehair in the women’s race, took off on the run wearing his helmet.

Vilaca showed his running legs to pip Yee and block Brownlee Racing winning the final short chute, before the in-form Portuguese started breaking away through the second mini tri.

It ended in disaster though as Vilaca overcooked a left hand corner to hit the deck and although he recovered and battled on would ultimately be timed out on the 90sec rule.

The final leg saw the three leading athletes exert their authority and by the time it came down to the final run, Wilde, Yee and Bergere – the only one of the trio to have been given a short chute – were clear. 

Wilde surged first as he had done in the Paris Olympics, but it all came back together and rounding the final bend it was Yee who kicked for home, just taking the tape from Wilde, with no more than 2sec separating all three.

Supertri Neom 2024: Women’s results

1. Cassandre Beaugrand 53:25

2. Jeanne Lehair +8s

3. Leonie Periault +19s

4. Georgia Taylor-Brown +23s

5. Beth Potter +25s

Supertri Neom 2024: Men’s results

1. Alex Yee 48:25

2. Hayden Wilde +1sec

3. Leo Bergere +2

4. Dorian Coninx +21

5. Tim Hellwig +27

Supertri 2024: Final women’s standings

1. Georgia Taylor-Brown 59pts

2. Jeanne Lehair 57pts

3. Cassandre Beaugrand 56pts

4. Taylor Spivey 48pts

5. Kate Waugh 44pts

Supertri 2024: Final men’s standings

1. Hayden Wilde 62pts

2. Leo Bergere 55pts

3. Tim Hellwig 49pts

4. Alex Yee 47pts

5. Dorian Coninx 43pts

Supertri 2024: Final team standings

1. Crown Racing 420pts

2. Podium Racing 391pts

3. Stars & Stripes 338pts

4. Brownlee Racing 312pts