Britain's Alistair Brownlee, now the hot favourite to take the Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship Series men's title and be crowned the 2009 World Champion, today declared himself fit and ready to take on the Challenge at Saturday's Grand Final on Australia's Gold Coast.
Brownlee, the 21 year old from Leeds whose brother Jonathan, 19, is contesting the junior men's title on the Gold Coast this weekend, has scored four series victories so far and has reached the Gold Coast as the current World no.1.
His wins came in Madrid, Washington DC, Kitzbuhel and London and he only needs to finish in fifth place or better on Saturday to become senior World Champion for the first time.
Brownlee's closest challenger is the defending champion and the only man to beat him this year, at the European Championships, Spaniard Javier Gomez.
If Gomez can win on the Gold Coast and Brownlee finishes sixth or worse, then the title will go to the Spaniard.
Brownlee remains confident about his chances. Speaking from the British Triathlon Training Camp on the Gold Coast he said: "I'm feeling pretty good. I've been here for a week now and I think I've got over the journey and the jetlag and I'm looking forward to racing."
Brownlee won Madrid and Washington DC with a breakaway and Kitzbühel and London by posting the fastest run. He has proven that he can win from any front position and says he won't be employing any new race tactics in the final.
"No, I definitely won't be changing anything. In a triathlon final anything can happen. Strategy goes out the window quite often and you've got to be able to cope with any situation.
"Sometimes they [the races] don't go quite right so I just get ready to race one of a million different ways," he said.
With thirteen triathletes having a mathematical chance of taking the men's title, there have been fears countries may use team tactics to target the talented young British athlete - separating him from his opposition and orchestrating a breakaway.
But Brownlee said he's not expecting any collusion."I can't see team tactics taking a role on the day, but we'll wait and see," he said.
Reigning world women's champion Helen Jenkins, from Bridgend, said she's enjoying the luxury of 'flying under the radar' leading into the Gold Coast event.
She's currently sitting in sixth place behind American Sarah Haskins in fifth, and series leader Australian Emma Moffatt.
She said: "It's been quite different for me this year with this series because I had a long break last year [after the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games] and never really got into it until the second half of the season.
"It's nice not to have all the attention on me this time around, it lets me get about my training and I've been improving steadily throughout the season so I hope the final will be my best race of the year.
"I'm feeling pretty good and I've trained really well since London [where she finished third] and on the day you've got to give it your best, but I hope I've improved a bit since London".
Cambridge's Will Clarke, whose training base is in Loughborough, is currently sitting in 15th place and is also keen on finishing the season on a high personal note. "I had a reasonable winter and I think this race will be my best for the year. I like the course. It's fast and flat and I'm looking forward to the weekend," he said.
Great Britain's other contestants in the men's event include Tim Don, the Londoner who is currently ranked no.18, and Olly Freeman at no.40.
The Great Britain women's entry includes Liz Blatchford at no.21 who showed well in the penultimate Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championships Series leg in Yokohama ten days ago as well as Jodie Swallow, ranked 39th and Kerry Lang, ranked no.50.
British Triathlon Performance Director Heather Williams said all is well in the camp. "I can honestly say we have a full set of fit athletes," she said.
For start lists, previous results, previous race footage and background biographies visit: www.triathlon.org.
For information about the sport in Britain visit: www.britishtriathlon.org.
Race Timetable (UK times):
11th September: 01.00 U23 women; 03.30 U23 men
12th September: 06.15 Elite men
13th September: 02.45 Junior women; 04.15 Junior men; 05.45 Elite Women
GB ENTRIES
Dextro Energy Triathlon -- ITU World Championships Series Grand Final -- Australia
(12 September).
Includes date of birth, current residence and home town.
MEN
Alistair Brownlee: 23 April, 1988, Lives: Leeds; From: Leeds
Tim Don: 14 January 1978; Lives: Loughborough; From: London
Will Clarke 31 January 1985, Lives: Loughborough: From: Cambridge
WOMEN
Helen Jenkins: 8 March, 1984; Lives: Bridgend, Wales; From: Elgin, Scotland
Liz Blatchford: 5 February 1980; Lives: Gold Coast, Australia; From: Manchester
Jodie Swallow: 23 June 1981; Lives Loughborough; From: Havering, Essex
Kerry Lang: 24 January 1976; Lives and From: Glasgow
U23 MEN
Aaron Harris: 10 June 1988, From: Portsmouth
David McNamee: 20 April, 1988; Lives: Stirling, Scotland
U23 WOMEN
Hollie Avil: 12 April 1990; Lives: Bugbrooke, Northants; From: Northampton
Jodie Stimpson: 8 February 1989; Lives and From: Oldbury, W. Midlands;
Vicky Holland: 12 January 1986; Lives: Loughborough; From: Gloucester
JUNIOR BOYS
Jonathan Brownlee: 30 April, 1990; Lives: Leeds; From: Leeds
JUNIOR GIRLS
Vicky Graves: 30 June, 1990. Lives: York; From: York
Performance Director and Team Leader: Heather Williams; Senior Coach: Joel Filliol
The Dextro Energy Triathlon -- ITU World Championships Series: Venues and Dates
>BR>Tongyeong, Korea, 3 May; Madrid, Spain, 31 May; Washington, DC, 21 June; Kitzbuehel, Austria, 12 July; Hamburg, Germany, 26 July; London, Britain, 15 August; Yokohama, Japan, 23 August; Gold Coast, Australia, 13 September.
British Triathlon
British Triathlon is the National Governing Body for Triathlon, Duathlon and Aquathlon in Great Britain, responsible for leading growth and performance of the sport and overarching British matters including relationships with the International Federation, the International Triathlon Union (ITU). Triathlon is a sport that is inclusive, empowering and life changing. A dynamic, attractive and exciting sport from youth to senior and Olympic level. Triathlon also provides opportunities for Paratriathletes and Age-Group participation. British Triathlon aims to promote excellence in our sport, and create opportunities for everyone to achieve their personal triathlon challenges. For more information visit: www.britishtriathlon.org.
ITU
The World Championships Series is the brainchild of The International Triathlon Union, the world governing body for the Olympic sport of Triathlon and all related MultiSport disciplines: Duathlon, Aquathlon and Winter Triathlon. ITU was founded in 1989 at the first ITU Congress in Avignon, France, and has maintained its headquarters in Vancouver, Canada, since then. It now has over 120 affiliated National Federations around the world and is the youngest International Federation in the Olympics. Triathlon was awarded Olympic status in 1994. ITU is proudly committed to supporting the development of the sport worldwide through strong relationships with Continental and National Federations, working with its partners to offer a balanced Sport Development programme from grassroots to a high-performance level. For more information, visit: www.triathlon.org.
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