Brownlee cruises to Kitzbuhel win

Brownlee wins in the rain in Kitzbuhel to top the ITU World Series

Published: June 20, 2011 at 7:37 am

Alistair Brownlee achieved back to back wins in the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series in wet and windswept Kitzbuhel, Austria. The emphatic victory follows his win in Madrid two weeks ago, and elevates him to the world number one position.



Britain’s Will Clarke finished fourth and now rises to eighth in the world, with his best performance since 2007.



Brownlee took up the lead in the swim and was always near the head of the large pack on the bike before breaking away with last year’s winner, Stuart Hayes and Brazil’s Reinaldo Colucci. The British athletes looked the liveliest throughout the bike section, with Will Clarke also attempting several attacks from the front before the group of three got away.



Brownlee took an immediate lead on the run and was never challenged as he ploughed through the heavy rain to a dominant win in 1:51:54. Hayes stayed in second place until he was caught by a small group containing his training partner, Clarke.



The finishing time for Brownlee was over forty seconds up on second placed Alexander Brukhankov of Russia.



He said: “I don’t think the conditions had that much of an effect on me until the last couple of laps on the run. I knew I had a decent lead and I knew I was racing next weekend so I didn’t push on too much.”



Next weekend will see Brownlee race at the ETU Triathlon European Championships in Pondevedra, Spain with younger brother, Jonathan, who opted to miss today’s race.



Alistair Brownlee added: “The race would have been easier to control if Johnny was here, that would have made the race a bit different. I’ve had two great races in two weeks, but I’ve got to recover and get ready for next week.”



Will Clarke recorded his best ever result in the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series. He looked strong in the final metres sprinting away from Australia’s Brad Kahlefeldt, who was third in the Series last year.



Stuart Hayes finished 13th and Scotland’s David McNamee had a strong performance in 17th. Harry Wiltshire was 32nd and Tim Don 45th.



Elite men’s results:

1. Alistair Brownlee GBR 1:51:54

2. Alexander Brukhankov RUS 1:52:38

3. Sven Riederer SUI 1:52:59

4. William Clarke GBR 1:53:08

5. Brad Kahlefeldt AUS 1:53:10

6. Laurent Vidal FRA 1:53:13

7. Vladimir Turbaevskiy RUS 1:53:17

8. Dmitry Polyansky RUS 1:53:20

9. Vincent Luis FRA 1:53:23

10. Bevan Docherty NZL 1:53:26

17. David McNamee GBR 1:53:52

32. Harry Wiltshire GBR 1:54:42

46. Tim Don GBR 1:56:43



Image Delly Carr/ITU