ITU Triathlon world champions will be decided this weekend as the 2012 season comes to an end at the Barfoot&Thompson World Triathlon Grand Final in Auckland, New Zealand.
Jonathan Brownlee has the opportunity to win his first senior world title, while elite junior, U23 and Paratriathletes aim for medals as part of the GE Great Britain Triathlon Team.
Brownlee famously won bronze at the London 2012 Olympic Games, and although he says his experience at the Games cannot be bettered, winning the world title would cap a remarkable year for the 22 year old.
He said: “To win the world title would be incredible, especially to follow Alistair as the champion. It’s been a long season and the Olympics was my major focus this year, but I now have a big opportunity this weekend and I hope to make the most of it.
“Alistair wanted to be here but we’ve both been so busy since the Olympics, it’s been crazy and he needed a break. The World Series races in San Diego and Madrid were two of my best ever, so I’ve shown I can race without him, but it does change things.
“My ideal race would be to be part of a small break away on the bike. It’s no secret that I like to race like that and the tough bike course in Auckland should break things up a bit.”
Brownlee starts with a cushion of 180 points over Olympic silver medallist, Javier Gomez. To guarantee the title he will need to finish on the podium in the Grand Final race, which will feature a cold water swim and severe climb on the multi-lap bike course.
A full list of the GE Great Britain elite teams and the schedule of events are below. The Elite Women’s and Men’s events will be televised live on the BBC Red Button, and a highlights programme with be shown on BBC2 on Sunday 21 October at 2:05pm.
The Age Group events are previewed here.
Schedule of Events
All times are local NZ and then London
U23 Women - Saturday 20 October - 9:15 (Friday 9.15pm)
Elite Women - Saturday 20 October - 12:15 (Saturday 12.15am)
U23 Men - Saturday 20 October - 15:15 (Saturday 3.15am)
Junior Women - Sunday 21 October - 11:00 (Saturday 11.00pm)
Elite Men - Sunday 21 October - 13:05 (Sunday 1.05am)
Junior Men - Sunday 21 October - 16:00 (Sunday 4.00am)
Paratriathlon - Monday 22 October- 15:15 (Monday 3.15am)
GE Great Britain Team
Senior: Jodie Stimpson, Adam Bowden, Jonathan Brownlee, Mark Buckingham,Aaron Harris, David McNamee?
U23: Lucy Hall, Lois Rosindale, Non Stanford, Tom Bishop, Matt Sharp?Junior: Sophie Coldwell, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Marc Austin, Gordon Benson?
Paratriathlon:?Tri 1: Karen Darke, Jane Egan, Liz McTernan, Jimmy Goddard, Darron Shields, Joe Townsend?
Tri 3: Steven Judge, James Smith ?
Tri 4: Clare Cunningham, Faye McClelland, Lauren Steadman
?Tri 5: Matthew Emmerson?
Tri 6: Charlotte Ellis, Melissa Reid, Iain Dawson
Image: Janos Schmidt/ITU
