More than 100 athletes from around the world on Sunday took part in the first World Triathlon Cup event to be held in Hong Kong, but local athletes suffered a disappointing outcome.

The second leg of the World Cup circuit kicked off with athletes plunging into Victoria Harbour for a 750m swim, before joining a 20km cycle race and finishing with a 5km run.

British triathlete Sian Rainsley won the women's event, finishing the race in just under one hour.

“I was out injured last year, so I didn't get to race, so I was just so happy to be back
on the start line… It was a really hard year, so just to come back and have a good race makes me really happy,” she said.

Americans Katie Zaferes and Kristen Kasper took silver and bronze, while Hong Kong's Bailee Brown finished 40th in 1 hour 2 minutes 41 seconds.

Brown said she was grateful for all the fans who came and supported the local athletes.

“Everyone was so loud and supportive and it just made me feel very emotional. I've never had so much support. I could hear my name, I could hear Hong Kong. It was nice, it was very hot, very humid. But I had a fun time running, biking, just hearing everyone,” she said.

In the men's event, Spain's Alberto Gonzalez Garcia clinched his first World Cup win, narrowly beating his fellow Spaniard Antonio Serrat Seoane by five seconds.

Garcia said the hot weather had made the race a bit challenging.

“[Today’s weather is] like in Malaga when it's summer, but here it's not summer… But we have fun, so it's good," he said

Kenji Nener from Japan came in third.

Hong Kong's Olympic hopeful Jason Ng crossed the finish line in just over an hour, after falling behind due to a tire puncture to his bike.

“The bike puncture is not really something I can handle. I think it’s just bad luck. I had a similar issue in last year's final tournament… I don’t know, just not good today,” he said.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung hailed the event as a success, saying the atmosphere was great and successfully drew in visitors.

But he also stressed that the success of an event isn't just about the number of tourists.

“We also want to achieve direct benefits for the overall development of sports, and the promotion of Hong Kong's image to the world. We want to tell the world that Hong Kong, despite being a small place, is capable of hosting world-class events. This message is very important, and it's one of the many goals we consider when planning future events,” he said.