Making his home country proud, Alistair Brownlee (GBR) captured a breakaway win at the 2015 ITU World Triathlon London on Sunday. With the familiar crowd cheering him on in Hyde Park as he crossed the finish line at 50:39, the Brit was able to tally his second WTS victory of the season.
“I didn’t expect that at all after struggling through two races so far,” Alistair said. “I just went for it, I the gap very quickly and got into my stride. I felt really good. I was just delighted to actually be able to race to the best of my ability. I’m delighted to win, but really I’m just pleased that I felt good.”
Taking the silver medal was Spain’s Fernando Alarza, who claimed his first WTS podium of the year. He was followed by Vincent Luis of France with the bronze. Luis’ performance earned him his third podium position of the season after a second-place finish in Abu Dhabi and third-place finish in Cape Town earlier in the year.
Lining up for the sprint race, the typical London weather left the men with particularly cold-temperature conditions to get through the short one-lap swim, four-lap bike and two-lap run course. Wetsuits in tow, Henri Schoeman (RSA) and Richard Varga (SVK) led the 750-kilometre swim and into the first transition.
Despite coming out of the water with a respectable position, home turf advantage could not swing in favour of Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) as a mechanical problem on the bike forced him to lose his momentum and leaderboard position.
The bike malfunction saw the younger Brownlee fall more than a minute behind on the first of four laps.
“I got on the bike and I heard a shout that I had a puncture,” Jonathan said. “It took me a while to change it and the wheel was catching the whole way around on the brakes, and the race was gone from there. When I was that far behind, even though I ran as fast as I could. I was fit and I wanted to show it today.”
Meanwhile older brother Alistair led the lead pack around Hyde Park alongside the likes of Aaron Royle (AUS) and Vincent Luis (FRA) in an 18-man pack.
Expert sprinters Mario Mola (ESP) and Richard Murray (RSA) also missed the first group and were forced to start from a deficit on the two-lap run.
Luis and Brownlee continued their quest for a podium as they took the top spot early on the 2-lap run. But Alistair left nothing to chance and blasted away on the first lap to create an insurmountable gap. A gap that would lead him right into the finish line and right into the position of hearing Great Britain’s national anthem alongside his national people.
With two medals still up for grabs, the last lap of the run saw a battle between Alarza, Luis and Ryan Baile (AUS) all pushing til the end. But ultimately it was Alarza and Luis who were able to exert a last-minute effort to take home the silver and bronze.
“I have always been close to the podium, but never on it. I like London, I’ve always raced well here, and I’m so happy to finally finish with a medal,” Alarza said. “The Spaniards have been working hard for a long time. I’m from the same generation as Mario, but he had success before me, and of course someone like Javi has paved the way for us.”
Despite his absence, Javier Gomez Noya (ESP) maintained his Columbia Threadneedle leader position in the rankings after winning his first WTS race in Yokohama, Japan on May 16.
