Brownlees, Gomez, Murray and Mola face off over the sprint distance at ITU London this weekend
Javier Gomez has won all three of this year’s ITU WTS races so far, making him the man to beat (Photo: Janos Schmidt/ITU)
This weekend’s edition of ITU London marks the fifth time Hyde Park has hosted an ITU World Triathlon Series race and the best of the best will be racing in Britain’s capitol this year.
Javier Gomez, the Brownlee brothers, Mario Mola and Richard Murray all on the start list. In the last three races, we’ve seen the men duke it out over the Olympic distance, but the course will be halved on Saturday, which could just be a game changer.
Gomez vs Brownlees in London
• 2009 – Alistair 1st, Jonathan 26th, Gomez DNF
• 2010 – Gomez 1st, Jonny 2nd, Alistair 10th
• 2011 – Alistair 1st, Jonny 2nd, Gomez 4th
• Olympic Games – Alistair 1st, Gomez 2nd, Jonathan 3rd
• 2013 – Gomez 1st, Jonathan 2nd, Alistair 52nd
In the four years London has been on the WTS schedule, either Alistair Brownlee (GBR) or Javier Gomez (ESP) has won the race, ping-ponging the title back and forth to each other.
With the Spaniard winning last year, that could mean it is historically Alistair’s year to serve up the final volley. However, if this season’s record is any indicator, Gomez will be the man to beat.
But there’s another twist this year with the event set to be contested over half the standard distance. Jonathan Brownlee (GBR), who has medalled in three of the four World Triathlon London races, is tough to beat in a sprint. Further, he endured a tough loss to Gomez in front of a home crowd down the finish chute last year, which he will surely want to avenge.
He’s yet to win this year and has yet to win in London, meaning Jonny just might have the fuel to fire him across the finish first.
Over the past few seasons, training partners Mario Mola (ESP) and Richard Murray (RSA) have been slowly inching closer and closer to the top of the rankings. Two weeks ago, both scored huge breakthrough performances, making the podium ahead of the Brownlee brothers in Japan.
The duo have immense run speed and Mola already dazzled with his sprinting abilities when he blew past Gomez at the New Plymouth World Cup earlier this year. In fact, he’s the only man that’s beat or come close to his compatriot so far this year. With confidence as their new weapon, look out for Mola and Murray down the finish chute.