2012 Highlights: Alistair returns to top form as Kitzbühel podium predicts London medallists

by Erin Greene on 28 Nov, 2012 07:47 • Español

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Highlights of the 2012 Kitzbuehl ITU Mens Elite Race

Nestled in the Austrian Alps, Kitzbühel was the last ITU Olympic distance race prior to London 2012. It served as one of the final opportunities for the elites to compete against each other and fine tune their race strategies. It also marked Alistair Brownlee’s return to triathlon after suffering an injury that forced him to sit out most of the 2012 ITU season.

Alistair Brownlee (GBR) made himself a clear favourite for the Games with his performances in the years ahead of 2012. But his Olympic form was questioned when he missed races and had to change his training strategy to accommodate the injury.

However, Alistair squashed any doubts with a dominating performance in his debut return at Kitzbühel. At the start of the swim, his shape appeared shaking when he trailed on the first lap of the swim. But after the second lap, he was back to looking like his normal triathlon superstar self. Alistair, along with brother Jonathan Brownlee and Ivan Vasiliev (RUS), stormed off to build a quick and early lead on the bike.

It didn’t take long, however, for the strong German cycling group of Jan Frodeno, Steffen Justus and Maik Petzold to reel the leaders in. A large lead pack entered T2 together, but Alistair was a man on a mission running for the finish line. He posted a blistering sub-30 minute 10k split for gold, announcing his sensational return. Jonny finished nearly a minute later, followed by Javier Gomez. Read about the race here

The podiums at both the men’s and women’s races in Kitzbühel foreshadowed the 2012 Olympic medallists. In London, Alistair again put up a dominating run for Olympic gold, while this time Gomez bested Jonathan for silver.

Similarly, the women’s medal stand in Austria closely resembled that of London. In Kitzbühel, the group of Nicola Spirig (SUI), Lisa Norden (SWE), Andrea Hewitt(NZL) and Sarah Groff (USA) broke away on the run. However, just like in London, it was Spirig and Norden who dropped the group in the final moments.

Armed with wins from the ITU World Triathlon Madrid and the European Championships, Spirig out sprinted Norden at the last minute to claim the WTS win. Norden took silver and bronze went to Hewitt in Kitzbühel, while Erin Densham (AUS) took third at the Olympics. Read up about the women’s race here

Article tags nicola spirig london 2012 lisa norden world triathlon series jonathan brownlee javier gomez alistair brownlee

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Related Event: 2012 ITU World Triathlon Kitzbuehel

23 - 24 Jun, 2012 • event page • all results

Results: Elite Women
1.	Nicola Spirig	SUI	02:05:37
2.	Lisa Norden	SWE	02:05:40
3.	Andrea Hansen	NZL	02:05:43
4.	Barbara Riveros	CHI	02:05:45
5.	Jessica Harrison	FRA	02:05:57

Results: Elite Men
1.	Alistair Brownlee	GBR	01:50:13
2.	Jonathan Brownlee	GBR	01:51:02
3.	Javier Gomez Noya	ESP	01:51:18
4.	Alexander Bryukhankov	AIN	01:51:27
5.	Dmitry Polyanskiy	AIN	01:51:41

Results: Para Triathlon Male TRI-6
1.	Patrick Bocchi	ITA	01:12:58

Results: Para Triathlon Male TRI-5
1.	Martin Falch	AUT	01:09:52

Results: Para Triathlon Male TRI-4
1.	Yannick Bourseaux	FRA	01:00:53
2.	Oliver Dreier	AUT	01:05:48
3.	Alessio Borgato	ITA	01:08:28
4.	Sergio Marcantognini	ITA	01:16:55
5.	Luca Gattoni	ITA	01:22:51

Results: Para Triathlon Male TRI-2
1.	Andrea Bozzato	ITA	01:10:57
2.	David Peiffer	FRA	01:19:55
3.	Christian Troger	AUT	01:22:44
4.	Andrea Devicenzi	ITA	01:31:52

Alistair Brownlee storms to Olympic gold at London 2012
Alistair Brownlee came into the Olympic Games as the favourite and the British star did not disappoint as he ran away with Olympic gold. Javier Gomez took silver while Jonathan Brownlee claimed bronze
01:55 - 07 Aug, 2012
London 2012 Olympic Games: Spirig Sprints to First Olympic Gold
In a nailbiting all-out sprint to the finish, Switzerland's Nicola Spirig edged out Sweden's Lisa Norden in Olympic triathlon's first ever photo finish for the gold. Australia's Erin Densham claimed the bronze.
12:44 - 04 Aug, 2012
Alistair Brownlee awesome in comeback race in Kitzbühel
Alistair Brownlee is back. He produced a masterful performance in Kitzbühel today and clocked a 29:51 run split to storm to his 12th WTS title. Jonathan Brownlee took silver while Javier Gomez held on for bronze
05:29 - 24 Jun, 2012
Sensational Spirig golden again in Kitzbühel
Nicola Spirig showed off her brilliant finishing kick as she powered to her second straight ITU World Triathlon Series victory in Kitzbühel. Lisa Norden and Andrea Hewitt rounded out the podium in a spectacular women's race
05:26 - 23 Jun, 2012