Alex Yee returned to the top of the triathlon podium today, displaying his proven class and awesome footspeed to win the first Supertri League event of the season in Toronto, Canada, ahead of Csongor Lehmann and Vasco Vilaça.
Having focussed on the London Marathon for the first half of the 2025 season (producing a 2:11hr marathon in April), Toronto was the Olympic champion’s first triathlon race of the season – not that he looked rusty with a series of lightning-fast transitions and dominant run leg performances over the chasers.
“It’s nice to be back in the fold,” said Yee at the finish. “I enjoyed that. I wanted to do Supertri because it gave me three opportunities to do a tri and to learn from them very fast. I loved every second of it – it was an amazing crowd at an amazing venue. I think, like everyone, when you do your first race of the season you worry that you’ve lost it all, but I’ve still got it. It was a nice confidence boost as I was pushed to my limits today.”
The 27-year-old’s comprehensive win was the second of the day for the Brownlee Racing team (now managed by Tim Don), having witnessed Supertri debutant Jolien Vermeylen triumph in the women’s race just ahead of the men’s race. The chief dark cloud for the team was seeing Jonny Brownlee eliminated from the event for falling into the bottom two on Stage 1. “I think I made every mistake in the book today,” was Brownlee’s honest post-race verdict.
Finishing behind Yee was Hungarian Csongor Lehmann of Stars & Stripes, who hadn’t raced Supertri since Malta in 2019 but put on a thrilling display of swim, bike and run prowess to secure silver. Supertri podium regular Vilaça was third for Crown Racing.
THE ELIMINATOR RETURNS
Supertri’s debut showcase in Canada’s most populated city was the opening event in the four-leg 2025 series, with stops in Chicago, USA, (23 August), Jersey in the British Isles (21 September) and Toulouse, France, (5 October) to come.
The Toronto route was an open and fast course compared to some of Supertri’s more technical options, with a swim in Ontario Place, before a 200m run to transition via a bridge, before biking and running around Exhibition Place.
The Toronto leg saw a return of the original Supertri Eliminator format, which provides a short break between each of the three 300m swim, 4km bike and 1km run stages, allowing athletes to reset their equipment. The big twist is that the last two athletes to cross the finish line at the end of Stage 1 and 2 will be eliminated.
For 2025, the four teams are Brownlee Racing, Crown Racing, Podium Racing and Stars & Stripes Racing, the latter failing to trouble the top five here in Canada.
RACE BREAKDOWN
STAGE 1
Onto the first 300m swim of the day and Stars & Stripes’ Chase McQueen and Marcus Dey of Brownlee Racing were straight to the fore, a chop on the water caused by a headwind making it an extra physical test for the athletes. The battle for the Short Chute saw a huge field converge ahead of the pontoon, with Dey nudging McQueen out of the way to take it for Brownlee Racing. Dey’s storied teammates Alex Yee and Jonny Brownlee were 10secs behind, however.
A slick transition saw Yee join the lead group on the 4km bike, but Brownlee had work to do to join the main pack and avoid the Eliminator. Podium Racing’s Alberto Gonzalez Garcia took the lead but Brownlee was in all sorts of danger at the rear. Csongor Lehmann of Stars & Stripes would take the Short Chute.
The first 1km run of the day saw gripping action at both ends of the field, with Lehmann the first to cross the line ahead of Yee and Crown Racing’s Vasco Vilaça. At the back, meanwhile, Brownlee Racing would witness the shock of seeing 34-year-old Jonny Brownlee eliminated from the race 20secs behind, alongside his teammate Dey.
STAGE 2
The second 300m swim of the 2025 Supertri season saw a main group come together, this time with John Reed taking the Short Chute for his Podium Racing team. Yee again was around 10secs back.
A smooth transition saw Reed enter the 4km bike with daylight behind him and the chasing field. Powerhouse runners Vilaça and Yee would ominously come to the front of the bike pack, with Yee flying out of transition to enter the run course first.
The second 1km run was dominated by Yee and Vilaça, with the former in possession of a Short Chute, finishing together some 4secs ahead of the chaser. Eliminated would be McQueen and Reese Vannerson of Stars & Stripes.
STAGE 3
The deciding final stage would begin with Yee having a two second advantage over Vilaça. A main group would form throughout the choppy 300m swim, with Lehmann exiting the swim first ahead of Yee.
The final 4km bike commenced with Lehmann and Yee to the fore, ahead of Portugal’s proven Supertri player Vilaça. Knowing all too well about Yee’s run prowess, Vilaça would push the pace at the front ahead of Lehmann, but the main field and contenders would all arrive into T2 together ahead of the deciding run.
The double 2km run began with Vilaça and Lehmann shooting out of the traps and Yee sitting in just behind. The Short Chutes from Yee and Lehmann would push Vilaça to third, before Yee turned on the afterburners to create daylight behind his race rivals, surging to victory some 4secs ahead of Lehmann and six in front of Vilaça.