“Come and join me in London”, says Ali Brownlee

“Come and join me in London”, said World Champion Alistair Brownlee today at a national Sports Journalists’ Association (SJA) lunch in London as he announced his intention to make the 2010 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship, London, a key part of his 2010 season.



“The Hyde Park triathlon is a really important event to me and to the sport of triathlon. It’s a big showcase for us. I’m hoping that lots and lots of keen triathletes – as well as novices that are just starting out – will sign up to race in the age-group events over the Hyde Park weekend. It’s a great atmosphere and will be lots of fun”.



Brownlee, the 2009 winner, will compete at the event in Hyde Park over the weekend of July 24/25 as he aims to use his performance in London to help defend the world title he won in stunning fashion last year and help his long term objective of winning an Olympic medal in 2012.



Triathletes who are keen to experience the buzz of racing on the Olympic venue on the same day as the stars can sign up at www.triathlon-wcs-london.org.



Brownlee told an SJA guest list including Canadian Joel Filliol, the British Triathlon Federation Head Coach: “The Dextro Energy Triathlon, London, is hugely important to me. With the Olympic Games coming at the same venue, this is the one to win.



“It’s also great to lay down a marker in front of the home fans and London will be more crucial this year because I’m almost certain to miss the first two events of the ITU World Championships Series because of injury”, he added of the UK Sport-supported elite event.



Brownlee is recovering from a femoral stress fracture and will not know until the end of this month how his early season will shape up. There is a Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championships Series event in Madrid in early June and the European Championships in Ireland in early July.



Meanwhile, mass participation races will take place in all age-groups at Hyde Park, using the same course as the elite races on. Age-groupers can register at www.triathlon-wcs-london.org.



The race will be broadcast live on the BBC and British Eurosport, with a 52 minute highlights show on Channel 4.