Alistair Brownlee secures hat-trick of European titles

by Erin Greene on 21 Jun, 2014 04:37 • Español
Alistair Brownlee secures hattrick of titles

Olympic Champion Alistair Brownlee took his fifth victory in Kitzbuehel and claimed his third European gold medal on Saturday. Although a big lead pack of 53 athletes entered T2, after a fast transition Brownlee immediately opened up a gap over eight athletes. Dmitry Polyanskiy (RUS) and Vicente Hernandez (ESP) were the fastest runners of this chase pack and sprinted to silver and bronze, respectively.

The weather conditions were nothing like the women’s race on Friday. The sun was out all day, warming up the Schwarzsee lake in Kitzbuehel to make these European championships a non-wetsuit swim.

The Polyanskiy brothers were the first ones to exit the water after the 1500m two-lap swim, but they were closely followed by a big pack of 25 athletes, with favorites Brownlee, Hernandez, Fernando Alarza, Joao Pereira, and Alessandro Fabian close behind.

At the halfway point of the bike course, two big groups came together to form one big lead pack of 54 athletes. Despite a few breakaway attempts, the lead group stayed together and entered T2 for a fast and nervous transition.

From there it was a one man show for Brownlee who showed he’s back at almost full strength. Matthew Sharp initially led the chase for Great Britain, with Russians Polyanskiy and Bryukhankov, along with Alarza, Hernandez, Pereira and David Mcnamee (GBR).

One after one they dropped off because of the fast running pace from Hernandez, Polyanskyi and Alarza. In the finish chute it was Polyanskyi who took a well deserved silver medal, while Hernandez took his very first major international elite medal with bronze.


Article gallery
Related Event: 2014 Kitzbühel ETU Triathlon European Championships
20 - 22 Jun, 2014 • event pageall results
Results: Elite Men
1. Alistair Brownlee GBR 01:54:08
2. Dmitry Polyanskiy RUS 01:54:35
3. Vicente Hernandez ESP 01:54:39
4. Fernando Alarza ESP 01:54:54
5. Alexander Bryukhankov RUS 01:55:07
Related articles
  • Fast paratriathlon racing in Kitzbühel
    Paratriathletes kicked of the continued European Championship action on Saturday with some fast-paced racing. Check out highlights from the races here.
    03:25 - 21 Jun, 2014
  • Spirig claims fourth European title
    In her first ITU race of the season, Olympic Champion Nicola Spirig came out swinging, claiming her fourth European Championship Title in Kitzbuehel.
    04:50 - 20 Jun, 2014
  • Top paratriathletes take to Kitzbuehel
    The stunning Austrian city of Kitzbühel will play host to the 2014 European Paratriathlon Championships this weekend in what is expected to be one of the most competitive paratriathlon races of the year.
    02:57 - 20 Jun, 2014
  • European heavyweights to clash in Kitzbühel
    Reigning Olympic Champions Alistair Brownlee (GBR) and }Nicola Spirig (SUI) will race and are amongst one of the strongest lineups at a European Championships event in years.
    02:52 - 20 Jun, 2014
Tracker Pixel for Entry