With the Grand Final taking place in Edmonton, the 2014 series encompassed eight events with British athletes claiming 12 race podiums across the season.
The first race of the year took place in Auckland with a number of Brits taking to the start line including 2013 series silver medallists Jodie Stimpson and Jonathan Brownlee.
With Non Stanford not racing, Stimpson wore the number one on her arm as the 52 female athletes dived into the water for the start of the series.
A large group of athletes exited the water within moments of each other, and this group stayed together throughout most of the bike leg. In the closing stages of the eight-lap, 40km bike stage, a crash including Gwen Jorgensen (USA) gave opportunity for a three-athlete breakaway.
Stimpson, Nicky Samuels (NZL) and Kate McIlroy (NZL) managed to make the break almost a minute to the chase pack that was being led by Anne Haug (GER) at T2.
Haug and the chasers stepped up their pace throughout the run however, despite catching the two New Zealanders, Stimpson was too strong and strode clear in the first couple of kilometres to claim the victory.
In her first major race since London 2012, Helen Jenkins produced the third fastest run time of the race to claim the third spot on the podium.
Above: First and third for Britain in the opening race of 2014
In the men’s race, Jonathon Brownlee was among four other British athletes to take to the pontoon and faced well-known competition in the shape of 2013 World Champion Javier Gomez (ESP).
Henri Schoeman (RSA) and Richard Varga (SVK) led the athletes out of the swim, closely followed by Brownlee and Gomez.
What started as a large group of cyclists whittled down to a group of 16 including Brownlee and Tom Bishop. The two Brits, alongside Gomez, home athlete Tom Davison and a trio of Australians in Aaron Royle, Ryan Bailie and Dan Wilson, had a lead of over two minutes.
On the run, Gomez and Brownlee took charge of the race to assure one of them the win, with the Spaniard finding an extra gear with a kilometre to take the tape. Brownlee won the silver ahead of Aaron Royle who sprinted clear of his compatriots to secure the bronze medal.
The action stayed in the southern hemisphere for the second race of the series as the athletes headed to Cape Town.
Having finished first and third a couple of weeks earlier, Jodie Stimpson and Helen Jenkins spearheaded the team of six British women in South Africa.
Lucy Hall once again showed her strength in the swim to lead alongside Carolina Routier (ESP), with Jenkins not far behind them.
As the bike leg progressed, a group of 12, including Hall, Stimpson, Jenkins and Vicky Holland, emerged and broke free over the 40km.
The gap to the chase group was over two minutes by the time they arrived in transition, with Stimpson the first athlete onto the run alongside Holland.
Across the 10km it was Stimpson and Jenkins who made their way to the front to ensure a British one-two. Timing her sprint finish perfectly, Stimpson gave her all and claimed her second consecutive WTS win.
Gwen Jorgensen (USA) ran through the field to take third, with Vicky Holland also claiming a top ten finish in eighth.
The debut WTS race in Africa saw Jonathan Brownlee once again go head-to-head with Javier Gomez following their battle in Auckland.
Slovakian Richard Varga showed his usual strength to be the first athlete out of the swim and was soon joined by thirteen other athletes to create a lead group on the bike.
This group quickly established a lead of over twenty seconds over the chase group, which was being pulled forwards by home favourite Richard Murray.
Above: Jonathan Brownlee was second to Mario Gomez in the opening two races in 2014
The leaders worked intelligently and collectively to increase their lead throughout the 40km bike stage with a lead of well over a minute by the time they left T2 to take on the run.
In a repeat of the first race of the series, it was Brownlee and Gomez who established themselves at the front of the field, with Brownlee trying to be the aggressor in his attempt to take the victory.
Despite his pace on the beginning part of the run, Brownlee soon saw Gomez pull away from him as the Spaniard made it two wins from two. Aaron Harris also finished in the top ten for Great Britain, coming across the line in seventh.
From South Africa, the series moved to Japan and Yokohama for the third race of the series.
The race saw Alistair Brownlee compete for the first time in the WTS in 2014 as 65 men took to the start line. The event was also the first points scoring opportunity in the athletes’ quest for qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Alistair and Jonathan made it out of the swim alongside Richard Murray (RSA) at the front of the field, with fifteen or so athletes leaving T1 together at the front.
Tom Davison (NZL), who was 45th coming out of the water, rode strongly in the chase pack to bring the two groups together, seeing close to fifty men cycling together in the latter stages of the bike.
The Brownlees, Mario Mola (ESP), Javier Gomez (ESP) and Murray were at the front of the field to see the five fastest men in the world battle it out.
Not long into the run, the brothers were dropped by the other three, with Murray and the Spaniards battling it out for position across the 10km.
As the run continued, Gomez and Mario pulled away from the South African to set up an exciting sprint over the final 100m, in which Gomez just had enough to take the win.
Having won the two opening races of the series, Jodie Stimpson was seeking to increase her lead at the top of the world rankings, however, would have to do it without Helen Jenkins to race alongside. Instead she was joined by Lucy Hall, Natalie Milne, Katie Hewison and Lois Rosindale.
Hall was one of the first athletes into T1, however there wasn’t a lead to be had as a group of twelve or so women entered the early part of the bike leg together.
As the 40km bike stage progressed, this soon developed into a group of around forty women, including the Brits, to set up an exciting foot race to the finish.
Leading the athletes into T2, Stimpson tripped over her bike and cut her foot which would ultimately end up in her needing stitches. Despite this however, she continued in the race for the 10km run.
Above: Jorgensen claimed her first win of the series in Japan
American Gwen Jorgensen showed her running strength to pull clear from the home favourite Ai Ueda as she took her first win of the 2014 series. Ueda crossed the line a minute later in second, with Jerzyk (POL) third. Stimpson battled through the run to finish ninth, with Hall the next highest placed Brit in 32nd.
Having hosted the Olympic triathlon and ITU Grand Final in 2012 and 2013, Hyde Park once again played host to the world’s best triathletes as London welcomed the 2014 series.
The athletes competed over a sprint distance (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run), with all the action taking place in and around the royal park.
Fifteen British athletes competed in the men’s and women’s races, with Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee seeking to repeat their medal winning performances from the Olympic Games two years earlier.
The men’s race was a proper sprint with a lightening pace set across all three disciplines. Varga (SVK), Raphael (FRA) and Polyankskiy (RUS) left the water with a twenty second advantage over the rest of the field, however it wasn’t long before they were reeled back in.
A lead group of nineteen athletes were joined by the chasers on lap three to see fifty athletes cycling together on the wide streets. Despite a couple of attempted breakaways, the group arrived in T2 together to set up a frenetic transition and a fast 5km run.
The Brownlees, Richard Murray (RSA), Javier Gomez (ESP), Mario Mola (ESP) Richard Pereira (POR) and Ryan Bailie (AUS) soon found themselves away and at the front as the battled it out to claim the top spot on the podium.
Above: It was a close finish in the men's race in Hyde Park
With a kilometre to go, Gomez and his compatriot, Mola, found some extra pace to edge into the lead and sprint down the blue carpet for victory. Murray sprinted to second with Pereira third, followed by Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee in fourth and fifth.
Jodie Stimpson claimed silver in the overall 2013 series rankings in London and returned to race in London hoping to rediscover the success of the first two races of the 2014 series.
Gwen Jorgensen (USA) who had become a dominant force in the series was among the first athletes out of the water, laying down the gauntlet for the race ahead. A formidable runner, this leading position early on was a mark of intention from the American.
Stimpson and Helen Jenkins found themselves in the chase group along with Vicky Holland, around eighteen seconds behind Jorgensen, Lucy Hall and the lead group of eleven athletes.
Above: Lucy Hall was first out of the water in many races in 2014 including London
On the run, Jorgensen was challenged by Alice Betto (ITA) and Nicky Samuels (NZL), however once she got into her stride, there was no stopping her as she navigated the 5km run with the fastest time of the day to win by thirty seconds.
Behind her, her compatriot Sarah Groff would take second with Emma Jackson (AUS) making her way from the chase group to claim bronze.
Helen Jenkins was the highest placed Brit, coming across the line in seventh, with Stimpson eleventh and surrendering her place at the top of the overall rankings to Jorgensen.
From London, the WTS headed stateside to the windy city, Chicago. The venue for the following year’s Grand Final, Helen Jenkins was the only British female to make her way there in 2014.
Carolina Routier (ESP) was the first woman out of the water and led by ten seconds as she arrived in T1.
A group of seven soon caught up with the Spaniard with Emma Moffatt (AUS) setting the pace to try and stay ahead of Gwen Jorgensen in the chase group. As the leaders, including Jenkins, completed their eight-lap, 40km cycle, they had a lead of a minute over Jorgensen.
In front of her home crowd, with family watching on, the American quickly discovered her pace on the run to eat up the ground and swallow up the lead group one by one, reaching Jenkins and Juri Ide at the front.
Above: Jenkins took second behind Jorgensen
It didn’t take long for her to pass them to take the lead and become the first woman to claim six WTS titles. Jenkins ran clear of Ide to finish second, with the Japanese athlete in third.
The men’s race also saw one Brit taking part with Adam Bowden wearing the GB trisuit.
Local athlete, Ben Kanute, was the first athlete out of the water alongside Aurelien Raphael (FRA) who had set the pace early on in the swim.
The Spanish pair of Javier Gomez and Mario Mola weren’t too far behind the initial leaders as they transitioned from swim to bike.
Two large groups emerged on the bike and cycled separately across the 40km course. That was until late on in the leg when Tom Davison (NZL) and Cameron Good (AUS) stepped up their speed to come into T2 with a lead approaching forty-five seconds.
Bowden was at the front of the fifty or so athletes chasing them down alongside Richard Murray (RSA) and Sven Reiderer (SUI).
Gomez, Mola and Richard Pereira (POR) soon broke free to chase and overtake the leaders to set up an all Iberian battle for the order on the podium.
Gomez made his move part way through the run, ensuring his fourth win of the series. Pereira backed up his performance in London to cement his breakthrough to outpace Mola and claim second.
Adam Bowden held his own to finish seventh, just over thirty seconds behind Mola in third.
The action returned to Europe as Hamburg hosted the WTS for the thirteenth time. This sprint distance race welcomed nineteen of the top twenty men, including both Brownlees, Matthew Sharp, Adam Bowden, Mark Buckingham and Aaron Harris for Great Britain.
The 750m swim saw many of the top athletes exit the water together, with Henri Schoeman (RSA) and Javier Gomez (ESP) among the first athletes through T1.
It didn’t take long for Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee to establish themselves in the lead group of around twenty athletes, with Richard Murray (RSA) and Mario Mola (ESP) notable absentees following poor swims.
The Brownlees, Gomez and French athletes Dorian Coninx and Aurelien Raphael all tried to drive the pace of the lead group forwards and attempted individual breaks of their own, however no one was able to make it stick.
This saw the group all arrive in T2 within a couple of seconds of each other, leading to a fast run to the finish line.
A four-man frontline of Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, Gomez and Vincent Luis (FRA) made a move early on to leave the others behind, jostling for position throughout the 5km.
Above: 2014 was Alistair's first win in Hamburg
Gomez was the first to fall away as Alistair put the hammer down to pull away. Luis edged out Jonathan to take second as Alistair won in Hamburg for the first time.
Five women from Great Britain took to the pontoon in Hamburg, with Jodie Stimpson hoping to gain ground on Gwen Jorgensen (USA) in the overall series who had already racked up a bronze and three golds in 2014.
Alice Betto (ITA) came through the swim in the fastest time, however thirty athletes were within fifteen seconds of her as they passed through T1 in front of a packed grandstand.
Lucy Hall, Helen Jenkins, Vicky Holland and Stimpson were all amongst the large lead group around the 20km bike stage. Also in the group were Jorgensen and Emma Jackson (AUS), both known for their running ability.
Early on the run it was Stimpson and Canadian Kirsten Sweetland who took to the front, however Jorgensen and Jackson were both making up ground behind them and picking off their competitors to move through the field.
Jorgensen became the first woman to make it four WTS wins in a row, with Jackson outsprinting Sweetland to take the silver medal on the line. Stimpson and Holland both secured top ten finishes, coming home in fifth and seventh respectively.
Also taking place in Hamburg that weekend was the Mixed Relay World Championships, with the GB team hoping to reclaim their position at the top of the world.
Despite finishing her 300m at the front, Lucy Hall handed over to Jonathan Brownlee with a bit of a deficit to the leaders. Jonathan however soon made up for this with a rapid bike leg that saw him make up ten seconds to come into T2 neck-and-neck with the leaders.
Jonathan laid down the fastest run of the second leg of the relay to give Vicky Holland a lead as she dived into the water.
She was caught at the end of the 6.6km bike leg, handing over to Alistair Brownlee in fifth place, only three seconds behind leaders Australia.
Alistair started his charge on the bike leg, with Luis (FRA) going with him all the way to set up a grand finale on the run.
Above: Hall, Holland, Alistair and Jonny won the Mixed Relay World Championship for Britain
A renowned sprinter, Luis challenged Alistair across the 1.6km run, however the Brit just had enough in the closing stages to break clear and win by four seconds where he was greeted by the rest of the British team.
Hungary took bronze as Great Britain made it a hattrick of Mixed Relay World Championship wins.
The final race before the Grand Final in Edmonton saw the athletes head to the Swedish capital, Stockholm.
Having claimed gold and bronze in Hamburg, both Brownlees raced again in Stockholm as part of a five man British squad that included David McNamee for the first time that year.
Alistair and Jonathan came out of the 750m swim in fifth and sixth as they entered the sloped transition twenty seconds ahead of Javier Gomez (ESP).
It didn’t take long for the brothers to breakaway on their own to open up a thirty second lead, a lead that they would extend to almost a minute on the chase group coming out of T2.
Side by side throughout the 10km run, Jonathan made a break in the closing stages and, grabbing a Union Flag on the finish chute, claimed his first victory of the 2014 series by six seconds from his brother.
Above: Jonathan edged out Alistair to win in Stockholm
Behind the two, a sprint finish for third saw Gregor Buchholz (GER) claim his first WTS podium, leaving Mario Mola (ESP) fourth and Richard Murray (RSA) fifth.
As she had done throughout the series, Lucy Hall was well placed out of the swim, however Jodie Stimpson wouldn’t make it amongst the leaders.
Cycling on her own for a lot of the 20km bike leg, Stimpson caught the chase group which was a minute behind Hall and the other leaders.
Sarah Groff (USA) was the first woman onto the 5km run, quickly pulling ahead of the rest, a position she would maintain to the finish line as the New Zealanders, Andrea Hewitt and Nicky Samuels, battled it out for second and third. Hall secured her position in the top ten with a ninth-place finish.
Edmonton hosted the 2014 Grand Final and, following his victory in Sweden, Jonathan Brownlee would head to Canada only 282 points behind Javier Gomez as the pair once again battled for the summit of the overall series podium.
Groff had overtaken Stimpson to claim second place in the overall standings by 55 points before the Grand Final in Edmonton. Both were behind Gwen Jorgensen who looked set to claim the title in Canada.
The action from across the racing at the 2014 Edmonton Grand Final will be covered in a subsequent Swim, Bike and Rerun, looking at the best action from British athletes in recent years.
