World Triathlon Championship Series: Alex Yee miss out as Leo Bergere wins world title

Yee came through strongly on the run section of the race

Britain's Olympic relay champion Alex Yee narrowly missed out on the world triathlon title by finishing fourth in the series finale in Abu Dhabi.

The 24-year-old was second in the standings behind New Zealand's Hayden Wilde going into the race.

But although he finished two places ahead of Wilde, it wasn't enough as France's Leo Bergere triumphed.

It saw Bergere overtake both rivals in the standings and become world champion with Yee second overall.

"I just gave everything out there," said Yee, who won the Commonwealth individual and mixed relay titles in Birmingham in July.

"I was really suffering with cramp on the second lap of the run and just didn't have it in the end. It's been an amazing year and when reflecting on that as the outcome of the year, I've been really proud of what I've achieved and second in the world is not bad."

It was a first World Triathlon Championship series win for Bergere who finished in one hour 44 minutes and 14 seconds - 11 seconds clear of American Morgan Pearson while Yee, who won relay gold and individual silver at the Tokyo Olympics, was outpaced by Belgium's Jelle Geens in a sprint finish for third.

Bergere was in the top 10 out of the water and among a group of nine athletes who dominated the bike section as they built up a lead of more than 30 seconds on the chasing pack, which included Yee.

The Frenchman took the lead from Britain's Jonny Brownlee early in the 10km run and controlled the race after that.

Brownlee faded after that and eventually came in 26th, two minutes and 24 seconds behind Bergere.

"It's insane," said Bergere. "I don't know what to say. I didn't want to do the maths before the race, I just wanted to race all out and try to break away."