Brownlee steps up preparation

ENGLISH triathlon star Alistair Brownlee will race in Mooloolaba next month as he prepares to defend his Commonwealth Games title.

The two-time Olympic gold medallist and defending Commonwealth Games individual and team triathlon champion will headline the March 10 race on the Sunshine Coast. It will be held three weeks before the main event on the Gold Coast.

Brownlee (pictured) will be joined in a high-class field that includes Australia’s Rio Olympic trio Aaron Royle, Ryan Bailie and Ryan Fisher. Commonwealth Games team members Luke Willian, Matt Hauser and Charlotte McShane will also take part.

Willian kicked off the final phase of preparations for the Commonwealth Games with a bang, winning the Gold Coast Triathlon, Luke Harrop Memorial race, at the weekend on a course that virtually mirrors the Games route.

Brownlee’s brother Jonathan, who won Commonwealth gold and silver alongside his sibling in 2014 as well as bronze and silver in the past two Olympics, will also compete on the Gold Coast.