The Brownlees have taken first and second at WTS Stockholm, their fourth Stockholm title in five years with Jonny winning here in 2012 and 2014, and Alistair in 2013 and now 2016. Last year’s winner Javier Gomez had to pull out due to illness and current WTS leader Mario Mola was also not racing.
But despite these two missing the race there was a high class field including Spaniard Fernando Alarza, who has scored a silver medal in Gold Coast and a win in Cape Town
The waters were less choppy in the men’s than the women’s and it was Richard Varga who was first out but the Brownles were in the lead group and exited the water side by side in 6th and 7th .
And in the bike leg there was no repeat of the woman’s race with an early and successful break away, no Flora Duffy attempting to ride solo. Instead the pack stayed together and despite attempts by Alistair and Andreas Schilling they would enter T2 in a mass and it would all come down to the run and who would have the legs for the 10km.
Within metres the Brownlees developed a six second lead which soon became 20 and then 45 seconds. From then on it was obvious it was going to be a one - two with them dominating the race, just like they did in Leeds where they also came first and second, but who would be victor this time? Jonny tried to break Alistair but in the end the elder brother just had more in his legs and was able to get away and take the victory.
This is the sixth time the brothers have come first and second at a WTS race. Frenchman Pierre Le Corre makes his second WTS podium and wins bronze, while there is a sprint finish between Alarza and Schilling for fourth place, with Schilling taking it on the line. Alarza finished in fifth and is now the current WTS leader. Brit Adam Bowden finished in 10th.
“It was tough, I mean it is a good course, it is technical. It was proper racing, you can make it difficult even when you are in a group. We did that, we tried to break it up a little bit and I think we did that. I felt good today, I definitely felt a step up from Leeds to be honest, well on my way to be to be well fit,” said Alistair
Jonny said: “I felt good on the run, but then he started putting some digs in, but in first two kilometres I felt okay. I knew that my legs were not sparkly and feeling really zoomy, but I just thought that if I could toughen it out on the last kilometre really hard that would be my best chance.”
“I feel that overall, my overall triathlon performance has been good, I think I just need to run about a minute faster, which I think I can do in the next six weeks if I can move my running on about that much I will be at my best, and that will be my best possible chance at winning another Olympic medal.”
“I am pleased with how I felt, I thought I had a good chance at beating Alistair because I felt good on the run. We got through the first two laps and I thought, ‘well that five kilometres went really quickly’ and then on that last lap I heard him breathing hard, and obviously with us training together I know when he is trying to hurt. So I thought I would give it a go, but then he was just a little bit better than me today. I am a little disappointed because I thought I had a good chance at beating him today, but I will come back and try again,” said Jonny.