WEST DES MOINES (AP) — Simon Whitfield’s perfectly timed lean produced a major victory for the Canadian triathlete — and gave his bank account a hefty boost.

Whitfield outran five other athletes in a sprint to the finish Saturday to win the Hy-Vee ITU Elite Cup Triathlon. He leaned at just the right moment to edge Australian Brad Kahlefeldt, Germany’s Jan Frodeno and New Zealand’s Kris Gemmell by one second.

It was a sweet turnaround for Whitfield, who finished second to Frodeno at the Beijing Olympics last year

‘‘Jan got the best of me and I wanted to prove that I still have that sprint and could rise to the big races,’’ Whitfield said. ‘‘While I’d take the gold, this is a nice consolation prize.’’

A lucrative prize, too. The men’s and women’s winner each received $200,000, the richest first-place prize on the world triathlon circuit.