A THINKING MAN’S SPORT

BICYCLE RACING AND TRIATHLON: A THINKING MAN’S SPORT

Alistair Brownlee and LONDON
"I don't think was too good yesterday or anything like that; it would be pretty sad if you said that," Brownlee told insidethegames.

"In every triathlon, you have to be as good as you can be and do your best to win even if it means your rivals get a good look at your tactics.

"But I don't really think that people will study what I did yesterday with regard to the London 2012 Olympics.

"In the past, people have had the opportunity to study me going into big races but no one has really found a clever way of stopping me so far.

"I think at the Olympics things will be harder.

"For example, I expect Gomez to be a lot stronger and better tactically than he was because I think he got a lot of things wrong yesterday.

"I also don't think it will be so easy for me to get away on the bike but I don't think anyone will watch the tape yesterday and work out a way to stop me from that."

MACCA AND BROWNLEES IN LONON WCS

McCormack: The kid is absolutely amazing. He is brilliant in both the physical and mental game of this sport, but seriously is just a born winner. That makes him special. I think athletically guys like Gomez and others are just as good. However, where he stands head and shoulders above everyone else competing is he wins in his racing style. He has absolute confidence in his abilities to attack these guys (along with his brother), and I think he draws strength from the fact that most of the guys racing nowadays don’t have that same mindset. The ITU has created a mindset amongst many of the athletes, coaches and federations that it is a running race that wins these titles. Alert guys: every time Brownlee has raced he has won on the bike, then delivered the fastest run. We were told prior to London that no one would escape on this course. RUBBISH!!!!!!! It is not the courses that allow breakaways. It is the athletes that take them.

Along with his brother, they simply dictate these races and do what they want. The escape in London was perfectly executed—Jonathan rolled off the front and Alistair was gone with the Russian. Rana showed you can ride across to the breaks if you want to, but you have to commit to that. The field has a commitment issue to chasing on the bike. It’s both crazy and frustrating to see. If the world does not start seeing that it is the way both the brothers work off each other that feeds their success both in training and in racing, they will see gold and silver medals handed over to both these guys in 12 months time. They are perfect teammates. It is beautiful to watch!

Alistair is riding the bike far superior than most of the guys in this field, and all of them continue to work more specifically on their runs. This will open this weakness up even further as they miss what needs to be done to give themselves a chance in these events by getting more bike-specific in their preparations, or at least having people counter these moves to bring the breaks back. Many of these guys are settling for a fifth, sixth or seventh-place finish and are happy with that. Alistair is a winner, and would be mortified with himself with anything less than that. This is the difference in the game. It is so obvious to see. He has shown all year that he will attack on the bike. He has done it in every race he has done. No one has done anything about it. Coaches, athletes and federations are going back and thinking that the sport is the same as it was last year. He has changed the game for sure. It is ride or die now.