Yee exited T2 in 34th position, around 16 secs adrift of Schoeman and the leading pack, following a solid swim-bike effort.
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And within minutes of the run, Yee had marked down his intent, picking off the field one by one until he reached and overtook the South African. There was no catching the Brit now, and he finished 16secs ahead of his rivals to take the title. The race was then on for silver and bronze with USA’s Tony Smoragiewicz just edging out Portugal’s Joao Silver after a sprint finish. Schoeman would finish fourth.
Yee said: “I came here just to see how I was after four weeks in Stellenbosch training with the GB squad and it’s worked out really well! The bike was tough but kudos to the guys I was with who all worked really hard. I always say that in tri, you need a little luck. Today it went my way.
“I had a nightmare transition but apart form that I’m really happy. The headwind left me flagging in the second half, but I did my best to run strong.”
India Lee was Britain’s sole female representative, finishing 15th in a race won by Japan’s Ai Ueda.
Discovery Triathlon World Cup Cape Town RESULTS
Men’s race
Alex Yee, GBR, 52:04
Tony Smoragiewicz, USA, 52:19
Joao Silva, POR, 52:19
Women’s race
Ai Ueda, JPN, 57:23
Summer Rappaport, USA, 57:31
Tamara Gorman, USA, 57:44
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