It was the final twist in a dramatic morning of triathlon in Tokyo that had seen concerns over heat stress halve the run distance to 5km, world number one Katie Zafares crash out on the bike, and two-time world champion Flora Duffy return after more than a year out to be crowned the eventual victor.

The disqualifications also meant Vicky Holland, who needed a podium finish to guarantee Olympic selection, was promoted to third, which would have confirmed her slot for Tokyo 2020 – except the British selection criteria states a fundamentally changed race structure – such as halving the run distance – nullifies the opportunity.

At the time of publishing the British team have an appeal pending over the disqualification, but even if that is not successful – and it does appear clear-cut – Learmonth and Taylor-Brown gave selectors a huge nudge as they broke clear in dominant fashion to run stride-by-stride for most of the 5km run.

“I’ve never been as prepared for a race in my life,” Learmonth said before realising she had been disqualified. “Normally when I prepare everything goes wrong, so I was surprised it went so well. We worked well together, on the bike hoping to shell people. Because we’d done it all together, I was happy to cross the line together. My little belly must have edged hers. It’s not all about being lean.”

Her Leeds’ training partner, Taylor-Brown, currently ranked third in the World Triathlon Series, once place behind Learmonth, was equally blissfully unaware they had infringed. “It was hot, but I’m super happy,” she said. “I committed from the start and got in the front bike pack and we worked well together, dropping people constantly.

“On the run, me and Jess got a little bit of a gap, we jogged round and were chatting away. We worked together the whole time. We’re team-mates, room-mates and friends, and it’s nice to come across the finish line together with a smile on our faces.”

Holland produced the fastest run split, Non Stanford was promoted to seventh and Sophie Coldwell to ninth, indicating that the southern Japanese training base of Miyazaki that British Triathlon has used to acclimatise is paying dividends.

The decision to halve the run distance to 5km was made just four hours before the race start after a final check of the conditions.

The ITU defers to a measure called the Wet-Bulb Glow Temperature (WBGT), which combines temperature, humidity, wind chill and sunlight. Forecasts suggested that by the end of the run it would have risen to a ‘perceived temperature’ of 32, judged as an ‘Extreme Level’.

The water temperature for the 1,500m swim was also measured at a balmy 30.3 degrees, but it proved no obstacle for Learmonth who soon had the field strung out in the purpose-built Odaiba Bay, emerging 10sec clear of Summer Rappaport, the USA triathlete who would go on to benefit from Zafares’s crash to claim an Olympic qualification spot.

Zafares looked a looming threat in third, with the best of the other being Taylor-Brown in eighth, 17sec back, followed by Holland in 15th, Stanford in 17th, and Coldwell, whose strength is often the swim, in a disappointing 23rd.

Learmonth was pegged back by Zafares at the start of the bike, before the leading duo were quickly reeled in by a chase pack led by the returning 2016 and 2017 world champion Duffy.

Duffy was racing at this level for the first time since July 2018, yet showed few signs of rust as she pressed on at the front and on a technical course with many twists, Zafares came a cropper in seemingly innocuous circumstances when she appeared to hit a kerb on a straight.

The crash also brought down her compatriot Kirsten Kasper, but while Kasper was able to remount, it was race over for Zafares, who will look to recover before the World Series Grand Final in Lausanne in a fortnight where a comfortable mid-pack finish will ensure the world title.

The front group was whittled down to just seven by halfway with Holland, Stanford and Coldwell driving the pace of the second group to try and claw back some of the 58sec deficit.

At the front, Duffy and Learmonth continued to keep the tempo high and Emma Jackson, who won the last World Triathlon Series event in Edmonton was the next to suffer and lose contact.

The front pack made up of Duffy, Taylor-Brown, Learmonth, USA’s Taylor Spivey, Italy’s Alice Betto and Brazil’s Vittoria Lopes arrived in T2 1min 47sec ahead, before the two Brits and Duffy instantly opened a gap on to the 5km run.

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As Duffy’s lack of race sharpness finally caught up with her, Learmonth and Taylor-Brown pulled away, looking comfortable throughout, but when neither contested the sprint finish and they linked hands to cross the line, it left officials first looking to the photo-finish to separate them and then turning to the rule book for a double disqualification.

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#TokyoTestEvent poll – DSQ or NDSQ?
What do you think – should @Jess_Learmonth & @georgiatb be DSQ’d for crossing the line hand-in-hand?

You have 24 hours to vote…@BritTri @worldtriathlon https://t.co/hiK5du3Sfw

— 220Triathlon (@220Triathlon) August 15, 2019

There was no shortened run course, no disqualifications for contrived ties and no discussion over whether performances would counted towards Olympic qualification criteria or not.

And three days shy of his 25th birthday, Canadian Mislawchuk could celebrate early as he outstripped Norway’s Casper Stornes in the closing stages to take the tape in 1:49:50 and the biggest win of his career.

New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde finished third, with Jonny Brownlee, who would have guaranteed his Olympic selection with a podium, in fifth, 37sec behind the winner.

Tom Bishop was the next Brit home in 15th place with Alex Yee experiencing a testing race throughout as he came in 4min 10sec adrift in 33rd.

“That’s the biggest race outside the Olympics for me,” Mislawchuk said. “I cannot believe it. I thought: ‘I may never have a chance to win a big race like this again. so I have to take it now.’ It’s a good omen and now I know how to prepare for next year.”

Conditions were overcast and windy, and with water and air temperatures at 29 degrees – unlike the women’s race where the run was halved to 5km – worries about heat stress for the competitors subsided, meaning the full Olympic distance could be contested. 

Also in contrast to the women’s race, a clutch of the big names in the World Triathlon Series were absent, including the top four in the rankings.

Neither series leader Vincent Luis of France, second place and reigning champion Mario Mola, nor fellow Spaniards Javier Gomez and Fernando Alarza, were present.

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Factored into the decision to stay away was staying fresh for the WTS Grand Final in Lausanne in a fortnight, because while Katie Zafares already has one hand on the women’s trophy, the men’s competition is tighter.

Diving into the waters of Odaiba Bay, Commonwealth champion Henri Schoeman was quick to take the initiative. The South African was first to complete the 1,500m swim, with Brownlee 9sec back in fourth, Bishop 48sec in arrears with Yee another 9sec adrift.

While the gaps at the front were large enough to forge a breakaway group on the bike, no-one was able or willing to push on enough and by the end of the third lap of eight, Bishop and pre-race favourite Jake Birtwhistle were back with the leaders that contained over half the 67-man starting line-up.

Yee and South Africa’s Richard Murray were two that hadn’t made it, over 1min behind in a much smaller chasing group and desperately in need of making inroads ahead of the run.

Yee’s breakthrough season had started with a win in a World Cup race in Cape Town, before finishing runner-up to Mola in Abu Dhabi and running through for an impressive fifth place in Yokohama, but he was finding life much tougher here.

The much-fancied Kristian Blummenfelt crashed out with two laps remaining, and WTS Bermuda winner Dorian Coninx also failed to finish the 40km bike leg.

On to the run and Wilde, Mislawchuk, who made his first WTS podium in Montreal in July, and Stornes, last year’s WTS Bermuda winner, opened a gap over the first 5km, with Brownlee 24sec behind running toe-to-toe with Norway’s Gustav Iden.

Backing up from a win in the previous WTS race Edmonton, Brownlee’s first at elite level since 2017, he went in with hopes high of the necessary podium that would cement his Olympic spot.

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But it wasn’t to be as the front three pulled further clear, until a late sprint from Stornes was bettered by Mislawchuk and the Norwegian could not respond.

In what has been a difficult week for organisers, the races were switched to a duathlon after early morning water tests showed high levels of E-Coli in Odaiba Marine Bay.

It meant the traditional first leg of a 750m swim was replaced with a 2.5km run, with the usual 20km bike and 5km run to follow.

The change of format did not deter the British contingent, with Townsend taking advantage of the absence of imperious Dutch duo Jetze Plat and Geert Schipper to lay down a marker for next year.

The former Royal Marine commando was first to take the tape in the wheelchair division, pulling back the head-start given to Ahmed Andaloussi due to his higher level of disability, to win by over 1min.

It was a British one-two in the PTS5 category where Steadman took the honours, reversing the result over fellow Brit Claire Cashmore from the Montreal World Series race in June and the national championship in May.

The Paralympic silver medallist from Rio produced a final 5km run of 20:26 to break away and win by 94sec, with reigning Paralympic champion, Grace Norman of the USA, in fifth.

With both Steadman and Cashmore former Paralympic swimmers, being able to take the top spots on the podium despite a revised run-bike-run format, outlined why the women’s PTS5 division is arguably the strongest hope for British medals next year.

The third British winner was Dave Ellis in the visually impaired category who was guided by three-time Olympian Tim Don. Ellis had missed out on Rio when his category was not among the nominated three men’s classes, but proved too fleet of foot, with a 16:39 final 5km to run out a comfortable winner.

Cornwall’s Melissa Reid also picked up silver in the PTVI class behind Jessica Tuomela of Canada, describing it as “one of the hardest races I’ve ever competed in”.

Fran Brown matched Reid’s feat in the PTS2 class where she was runner-up behind Hailey Danz of the USA. The 34-year-old from London is a former climber and has yet to finish off the podium in any paratriathlon she’s started.

There was a further medal for George Peasgood (PTS5), who took bronze as he was pegged back by his nemeses Stefan Daniel of Canada and Martin Schulz on Germany on the final leg.

It mirrored the results from Montreal and last season’s Grand Final on Gold Coast, with Peasgood once again showing he is the best cyclist in the division, but not having the footspeed to contend with the top two.

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Other British performances witnessed Commonwealth champion Jade Jones-Hall finish fourth in the wheelchair division, and in the PTS4 class, Steven Crowley finished ninth and Hannah Moore pulled out on the second run while leading.

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The British quartet of Jess Learmonth, Gordon Benson, Georgia Taylor-Brown and Yee, had led from the start and the contest looked to be heading their way on the anchor leg, when Yee strode out of transition for the final 2km run.

But France’s Dorian Coninx, a World Triathlon Series winner in Bermuda in April, refused to be shaken off and had enough energy left for a sprint finish on the blue carpet, where the two had to be separated by a photo-finish.

It was also Britain’s 50th mixed relay competition, but they just missed out on a 13th victory. “It was a great fight,” Yee said. “I gave everything I had and today it wasn’t enough.” USA finished third, ahead of Italy, with Australia in fifth.

The low water quality that meant the swim was cancelled for the Paratriathlon test event had improved sufficiently for the relay to take place over its planned format of a 300m swim, 7.4km bike and 2km run.

Learmonth retained her form from the individual race on Thursday to dominate the opening leg. After her usual strong swim, only Summer Rappaport could stay with the Brit out of T2 and on to the bike leg.

But the Leeds’ triathlete opened a gap on the American before they reached T2 and extended it to 22sec through the run before tagging Benson, with France’s Cassandre Beaugrand and Germany’s Laura Lindemann catching Rappaport by the handover.

Benson, a Rio 2016 Olympian who hadn’t started in the individual race here, had the tough ask of racing solo from the front and initially saw the advantage eroded before extending it to 15sec, with France’s Pierre Le Corre, USA’s Seth Rider and Italy’s Gianluca Pozzati prominent among the chasers.

On to the third leg and Taylor-Brown held off USA’s Tamara Gorman and France’s Leonie Periault during the bike stage, but was caught on the run, which sent Yee away with Coninx, just ahead of USA’s Ben Kanute, with Italy almost 30sec back and Australia the best of the race, just under a minute in arrears.

Kanute, a powerful cyclist, knew his only chance of victory lay in trying to gain a race-winning gap on the bike, but when that didn’t materialise, it was down to Yee versus Coninx on the run.

The Brit set the pace throughout the 2km run, but Coninx hung on before delivering a decisive finish.

It showed the strength in depth of France, who have won the past two mixed relay world titles and secured victory in Tokyo without their No 1 ranked performer Vincent Luis. 

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It was also spectacular way to conclude the test event races after a tricky week for organisers trying to make correct decisions over water quality and the potential of heat stress in the new venue of Odaiba Marine Bay.

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2. British qualification is no clearer. Despite the criteria for Olympic qualification being incredibly tough – primarily podiums in both the Yokohama World Series and Tokyo test event – there was still potential for it to sort out a couple of spots. But with no top three finishes in Yokohama, none on the men’s side in Tokyo, and the disrupted format in the women’s race, nothing, as yet, has been confirmed. On one hand it shows the strength in depth, particularly on the women’s side, but the risk becomes that competing triathletes have to peak twice in 2020, first for a further attempt to qualify and then the Games themselves. And as history has shown, that is not an easy task.

3. Tokyo too testing? Being part test event, part Olympic qualification event has worked well in the past for pre-Olympic action, but there were almost too many unknowns in Tokyo, which meant the testing part was rigorous, but the qualification aspect a lottery. While there was much brouhaha in the wider media over the disqualification of Jess Learmonth and Georgia Taylor-Brown for a contrived tie, the more critical part was providing clarification for the triathletes over whether, and by how much, their performances would count towards individual qualification. Vicky Holland, for example, knew that a podium guaranteed her a Tokyo 2020 spot. The race being cut to a 5km run ripped that chance away, yet she still produced the fastest run split, coped impressively with the heat, and, after the DQs, finished third. Does that help or hinder her chances? As the reigning world champion said: “I wouldn’t want to be a selector.”

4. A last word on the DQs. While the disqualification for hand-to-hand no-combat grabbed the headlines and split opinion, dwelling on it ad nauseam serves little purpose. As far back as 2012, triathletes were warned against deliberately crossing the line together, when the Brownlee brothers, dominant at the time, did the same at a lowkey race in Blenheim and were asked whether it was something they might consider in the Olympics. It’s been cast as a daft rule in some quarters, but is clearly stated in the rules and is there to respect the integrity of competition. Most within the sport would have known about it. Learmonth and Taylor-Brown just looked happy to have performed so well in the heat, and seemed oblivious, but while they went through the motions with the protest, few in the British Triathlon camp will really be complaining – including the duo, who are probably just kicking themselves over some lost prizemoney.

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5. What now for 2020? It’s difficult to know what comes next for triathlon at Tokyo 2020, but nothing should be off the table. The new venue at Odaiba Marine Park struggled due to the water quality and that has to remain a fear. It’s not just a concern for triathlon either, the marathon swimmers won’t want to be on the eve of competition wondering what kind of E-Coli strain they might pick up the following morning. The heat stress measurement – the wet-bulb glow temperature – that was adhered to resulting in a shortened women’s run, has now also set a precedent. The ‘perceived temperature’ of 32 degrees that led to alteration is not extreme for the city at this time of year, and with the Olympics even earlier next summer, a repeat is likely. Relaxing guidelines that are in place to protect athletes’ health seems risky without an admission they were too strict in the first place, so do mitigating arrangements need putting in place before the event itself? And does this mean, that as has been hinted at before, the Olympics will become a sprint distance race?

The greater showcase is welcome. The International Olympic Committee, while not currently in the habit of axing sports, has needed some persuasion to retain modern pentathlon and wrestling on its roster in recent years, so improving the popularity of tri through the two-woman, two-man contest helps further weave it into the fabric of the Games. 

Having been showcased in Commonwealth competition and become increasingly commonplace on the World Triathlon Series, it has few detractors, but what the format receives in plaudits, it also lacks in scrutiny. The mixed relay only works if it serves to complement the main event – yet there are warning signs that it might just undermine it. 

As so often in life, potential ramifications don’t arise from poor intentions, but a flawed system. In this case it’s predicated on the longstanding truism that medals equal money, leading to national teams protecting funding by prioritising events where podium performances are most likely. 

There is precedent. In the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland withdrew their female entrants from the individual event, saving them solely for the relay – and leaving home fans puzzled as to why there was no-one to cheer when the Auld Enemy had two on the podium. 

This gaming of selection further threatens to mar Tokyo2020. Astute performance directors may feel compelled to concentrate on a well-drilled quartet for the shorter- format racing, instilling their charges with the message that should the solo competition not be going to plan they should ease up and save their legs. 

The antithesis of the Olympic spirit? Absolutely. Far-fetched? Far from it. Last year in Hamburg, Australia’s Ashleigh Gentle was off the pace in the sprint race and quit. “Under normal circumstances I would NEVER usually ‘just DNF’,” she revealed on social media. “Under instruction from Triathlon Australia, I pulled out near the start of the run to save myself for the mixed relays.” 

The Australians were beaten into second place by France the following day, the irony being that Gentle went on to win the end-of-season Grand Final and finish sixth overall in the series. In completing just five races compared to her rivals’ six, that decision not to stay the course in Hamburg resulted not just in loss of face, but several thousand AUS dollars.

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Elite sport is full of calculated decisions, and when rewards are high, this is understandable if not commendable. But it’s also incumbent on those providing governance to make sure the framework of competition is robust so it cannot be abused in this manner. If triathletes don’t give their all in individual competition it might slightly increase the chances of a team medal but will damage something far more important – the long-term faith in our sport.

He is now on the search for up to four disabled children aged between 8 and 15 to join Jonnie’s Blade Camp (working title) which will air on Channel 4 in 2020.

 Jonnie said: “My own story and those of many Paralympians prove sport and an active lifestyle is possible regardless of disability.

 “Giving disabled youngsters the support and encouragement they need to stay active doesn’t just help them physically, it can potentially provide them with a life-changing sense of confidence and self-worth.

 “This isn’t the search for the next Paralympic sprint champion, this project is about opening young people’s eyes so they can release their potential and realise how much they can achieve whether that’s participating in structured sport or just running around and messing about in the playground with their friends.”

 Jonnie will initially meet the children and their families and find out more about them and set a goal, such as taking part for the first time in a school sports day. Each child selected to take part in the series will receive, and keep, their own running blade.

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 Jonnie will meet the children several times over the course of about eight months to inspire, train and take them on a journey to a more active life. He’ll also stay in regular contact with them to find out how they are doing and offer support and encouragement.

 Parents of children who regularly use a prosthetic leg to take part in sport are being invited to put forward their children’s names as potential participants. Parents who feel their child could benefit from joining Jonnie’s Blade Camp can contact the production company, One Tribe TV, which is helping Jonnie set up the project.

 The children may be limb-disabled above or below the knee and may have lost both legs.

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 Parents who are interested in putting their children forward for the series should contact [email protected]

The 30-year-old American came a cropper in the Olympic test event in Tokyo a fortnight ago where she appeared to catch her wheel on a barrier leg and was fortunate not to be more seriously injured.

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But despite the scare and battle scars she will line up in Switzerland a clear favourite after one of the most dominant WTS campaigns since the series inception in 2009.

Zafares will add any points gained from the Grand Final to the four victories and a runners-up spot already achieved as her five best counting results. The upshot is she only needs a best placed finish of 12th to secure the title and an extra $83,000 from the ITU bonus pool.

A 35th place in Hamburg this season aside when Zafares fell victim to another bike crash, she hasn’t placed that lowly in a race she’s finished since the 2016 Grand Final of Cozumel. A successful placing will also banish any lingering memories from last year where she led the standings all season before being beaten by Vicky Holland in the final race to relinquish the crown.

If the American does slip up, the most likely benefactors are the British pair of Jess Learmonth and Georgia Taylor-Brown. The duo shot to more mainstream attention after the Olympic test event for crossing the line hand-in-hand and being controversially disqualified, but they also showed the form in Tokyo that has made them two of the most consistently high performing triathletes this year.

Learmonth has a WTS runner-up and three third places to count on this season to go into Lausanne second overall, and Taylor-Brown won in Leeds to place third in the standings. 

But hope rest on a Zafares mishap. If Taylor-Brown wins in Lausanne, Zafares would have to finish 15th or below for the 25-year-old to take the title. For Learmonth to be successful, a victory would need to be complemented by Zafares finishing 13th or lower. If Learmonth did this win the race, it would still be a breakthrough. Despite seven World Series podiums, and a European triathlon crown from 2017, she is yet to win a WTS race.

Non Stanford also lines up in Lausanne after a consistent season highlighted by victory in Hamburg. Having placed a revised seventh in the Tokyo test event after the disqualifications, the 2013 world champion and fourth-placed Rio Olympian will want to round off the WTS by staying in the forefront of British selectors minds for Tokyo next year. 

Also on the start-line is Vicky Holland. The Bath-based triathlete and reigning world champion has dealt with injury and not had the season she wanted in trying to defend her title, but looks to be heading into form after posting the fastest run split on the shortened 5km leg in Tokyo. 

The Grand Final is not a British selection race for the Olympics and the climate and terrain are markedly different, but if Holland’s continues to show she can produce on the big stage, then it puts her in good stead for the chance of a third Olympic Games.

Sophie Coldwell is also on the start-list and will be looking for another top 10 finish after her ninth place in Leeds and a revised ninth in the test event. She’s also placed 14th in Hamburg and 15th in Edmonton and won a second tier World Cup race in Cagliari in May, to show that she’s thriving at this level. As a strong swim-biker, expect Coldwell to be in the thick of the action from the start.

Rounding out the British contingent is Beth Potter, the track 10,000m runner turned triathlete. Potter is the reigning European champion having won in Weert in Holland in May and finished a respectable 14th in her only WTS start in 2019. The Scot is racing in her first Grand Final and will be looking for the swim of her life to try and stay with the pace early and keep herself in contention.

Of the other competitors, the return of Flora Duffy – the 2016 and 2017 world champion – to ITU racing brings plenty of expectation. Duffy hadn’t raced for over a year before a powerhouse cycling display in the Tokyo test event led to her eventually being crowned the winner, and with a fortnight’s more run training in her legs, and a challenging bike course that suits her strength, few would be surprised if the Bermudan fashioned a third Grand Final victory to go with previous wins in Rotterdam (2017) and Cozumel (2016).

The final name that jumps out is that of 2012 Olympic champion and 2016 Olympic silver medallist, Nicola Spirig. The Swiss athlete, now 37, who has returned to racing after a third child, will relish testing her mettle against younger rivals and placed eighth in her single WTS outing in 2019. She’s also fond of the venue having won a World Cup race in Lausanne last year and a world mixed relay title here in 2010. To underline Spirig’s longevity in the sport, she also finished fifth here in the junior women’s race 21 years ago as a 16-year-old.

As Friday au d’oeuvres, the Under-23 and junior world titles are also on the line. Britain is represented by Olivia Mathias, Sophie Alden and Kate Waugh in the U-23 race. Mathias is the highest ranked Brit and has tasted victory this season over the sprint distance in a European Cup race in Olsztyn in northern Poland in May. The highest ranked triathlete is France’s Emilie Morier, who finished a commendable 12th place in the Tokyo test event and was part of the successful mixed relay quartet that won the world title in Hamburg.

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The women’s junior world championship, often a precursor to those who’ll break through to the top or the triathlon world is raced over the sprint distance and Britain is represented by Erin Wallace and Sophia Green. The last British winner was Scotland’s Kirsty McWilliam in 2008, backing up success for Hollie Avil the previous year.

The French triathlete decided to skip the Tokyo Olympic test event a fortnight ago to prepare thoroughly and requires no worse than a fifth place finish to lift the trophy.

The omens are good for Luis. The 30-year-old has excelled in previous Grand Final competitions, winning in 2017 in Rotterdam and last year in Gold Coast. And in six WTS races in 2019, only once has he finished outside the top five, and that was a sixth place finish in Leeds.

His closest rival is training partner under Joel Filliol and three-time and defending champion, Mario Mola of Spain. Mola also opted to sit out the contest in Tokyo, but after winning the opening race of the season in Abu Dhabi struggled for form before runners-up spots in Edmonton and Montreal reignited his hopes.

In the most unpredictable year of WTS men’s racing to date, no fewer than 15 triathletes have made the podium and six start in Lausanne with at least a mathematical chance of lifting the crown.

For the evergreen Javier Gomez to win a record-breaking sixth title it would require victory for the London 2012 silver medallist and Luis slipping to eighth and Mola to third or below.

It would take an even more unlikely finishing scenario – or more likely a huge bike pile-up – for Spain’s Fernando Alarza, Australia’s Jake Birtwhistle or Belgium’s Marten van Riel to be in with a chance.

For a third straight year, no Brit is in contention, showing that is has not been a vintage season for the home contingent and the Brownlee-led charge of the past decade looks to have finally relented.

It has been a breakthrough year for Alex Yee, though, who can boast a second in Abu Dhabi and fifth place in Yokohama to go with a World Cup in win in Cape Town in February. Yee’s running calibre was underlined not only by his WTS form but a personal best 13:29 clocking over 5,000m in the London Anniversary Games in July. If the Londoner can continue to turn his potential into results then Olympic year promises to be even more fruitful.

Yee lines up with Jonathan Brownlee as the only two Brits in the 68-strong field. Brownlee looked back to form after winning in Edmonton – his first WTS triumph since Stockholm 2017, but will not have been content with a fifth place in the Tokyo test event given the absence of Luis, Mola, Gomez and Alarza.

Brownlee has a chequered history in the season-ending Grand Final and has never won it. It was the scene of his near collapse in Cozumel in 2016 and he was out-sprinted by the slimmest of margins by Javier Gomez in 2013. Both times the title was his for the taking. On the one occasion he was crowned champion, in 2012, Gomez also beat him in the finale in Auckland.

Lausanne is a challenging course that should suit him, though. He split the two Norwegians, Gustav Iden and Kristian Blummenfelt to finish runner-up in a World Cup race in the Swiss town last year and did win a now-discontinued ITU sprint world title there in both 2010 and 2011 – on the first occasion getting the better of Tim Don and then seeing off both Gomez and his brother Alistair for gold.

Ben Dijkstra, James Teagle and Harry Leleu are the Brits in contention for the Under-23 race that takes place on Friday. There’s an Antipodean feel to the favourites, with Australia’s Matt Hauser and Brandon Copeland, and New Zealand’s defending champion Tayler Reid all in contention. Dijkstra is the best ranked of the GB triathletes and teamed up with Yee, Sophie Coldwell and Georgia Taylor-Brown as part of a winning quartet in the World Triathlon mixed relay series in Nottingham in June in a race that was turned into a duathlon.

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Marcus Dey and Toby Osman will contest the junior men’s event, a title that was won by Alistair Brownlee in Lausanne 13 years ago.