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Alistair Brownlee back to winning form in Hamburg

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Olympic champion, Alistair Brownlee, won gold at the ITU World Triathlon Series in Hamburg, his first Series win of the year. Younger brother, Jonathan finished third, demonstrating good form with twelve days until the Commonwealth Games triathlon in Glasgow.

Racing over the sprint distance in front of a huge German crowd, Alistair and Jonathan had to overcome a slight deficit after the swim, but took control of the bike leg to put themselves in the right position to challenge on the run.

Having completed a good block of altitude training in St. Moritz since winning the European title last month, Alistair’s running looked visibly fluid and relaxed. He kicked away from Vincent Luis (FRA) and Jonathan with 500m to go, having already dropped Series leader, Javier Gomez (ESP).

Commenting on his decision to kick for home with 500m to go, Alistair said:  “I knew it was safest to go a little way out and just try and run the legs off everyone with a big surge, and that’s how it worked out.”

He added: “I think they’ve both outsprinted me in the past so I wanted to have a bit of a gap. Over 500m it’s a running race, over 100m it’s a gamble, so I chose to go at 500-600m.”

With the Commonwealth Games approaching he said: “I’m pleased with that, I’m better than I was and getting back to my old self I think. This season has been about the Commonwealth Games for me, so I’m happy that I’m fit now”

Jonathan Brownlee lost out in the sprint for the line to Luis, but was pleased to be back on the podium having not been at his best in the previous two rounds.

He said: “I’m pleased with my fitness.  There were a few things that technically were wrong but it shows that I’m getting fit after the start of the year when I was pretty terrible.”

Gomez retains the Series lead with Jonathan Brownlee in second position. Alistair has missed too many races to contest the Series title, but has his sights firmly set on the Commonwealth Games.

Gwen Jorgensen (USA) strengthened her lead in the women’s Series with her fourth win of the season. Jodie Stimpson was happy with fifth and Vicky Holland was seventh.

Helen Jenkins dropped out on the run due to a niggle in her foot, a precautionary decision, with Glasgow in mind. She holds on to third place overall in the Series. Jodie Stimpson moves up to second with just one more race left before the Grand Final in Edmonton at the end of August.

Tomorrow sees the ITU Mixed Relay World Championships. Great Britain has won this title on two occasions and will select the team for tomorrow’s race later this evening.

Looking ahead to the Commonwealth Games, British Triathlon Performance Director, Brendan Purcell said: “I think everyone is in a good position following big blocks of training coming into this race. We’re in a good position with twelve days to go.”

He added: “We took a precautionary decision with Helen, racing wasn’t the right thing to do today. Jodie felt there were things she could have done better but she’s in good shape and the boys are in confident mood.”

Results

Men:
1. Alistair Brownlee, GBR, 51:43
2. Vincent Luis, FRA, 51:45
3. Jonathan Brownlee, GBR, 51:48
12. Matt Sharp, GBR, 52:32
21. Adam Bowden, GBR, 53:03
22. Mark Buckingham, GBR, 53:03
29. Aaron Harris, GBR, 53:10

Women:
1. Gwen Jorgensen, USA, 56:54
2. Emma Jackson, AUS, 57:00
3. Kirsten Sweetland, CAN, 57:00
5. Jodie Stimpson, GBR, 57:15
7. Vicky Holland, GBR, 57:32
27. Lucy Hall, GBR, 58:43
52. Lois Rosindale, GBR, 1:03:07
DNF Helen Jenkins

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