Alistair Brownlee to race PTO US Open
The men's start list for the PTO US Open has been revealed and it's shaping up to be a race you won't want to miss...
Alistair Brownlee will be continuing his comeback from injury this month as he prepares to take to the starting line at the PTO US Open.
The race, set to take place on Sunday 18 September, looks as though it’ll be contested by a strong field, with a lot of top professionals featuring on the start list.
Among those lining up to go toe-to-toe with Brownlee are Lionel Sanders (CAN), Sam Long (USA), Sebastian Kienle (GER) and Kyle Smith (NZL).
Brownlee will be hoping to continue his return to form after the first half of the Brit’s season was seemingly one to forget. He missed the Ironman World Championship in St George through illness and then had to pull out of his Sub7 attempt with a hip injury.
Kristian Blummenfelt and stand-in Joe Skipper, who’ll both be absent at the PTO US Open in Dallas, each subsequently went under seven hours in Germany as Brownlee watched on from the commentary box.
The double Olympic gold medallist returned to action at the PTO Canadian Open at the end of July and looked in fine fettle, only for stomach issues on the run to derail his chances. Brownlee eventually crossed the line in 24th.
It’s been better news since then, however. He took the tape at the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Swansea event in early August and followed that up with a win in Sweden at Ironman Kalmar.
In doing so, he took one of the last remaining qualification slots for the Ironman World Championship in October and set the fastest Ironman time ever by a British triathlete with a blistering 7:38:48.
After Dallas, Brownlee’s attention is then expected to turn to Kona.
Top image credit: Nigel Roddis/Getty Images for Ironman