When Alistair Brownlee lines up for the PTO 2020 Championship at CHALLENGEDAYTONA®, he knows all eyes will be on him.
The double Olympic champion expects he will be the man everybody wants to beat in Florida on Sunday December 6.
Brownlee, now 32 and currently #2 in the PTO World Rankings, will line up in a field of more than 100 elite triathletes. It is quite simply the deepest and strongest cast ever assembled, and the British superstar is relishing the challenge.
He gave a fascinating insight into a mindset which has produced enduring greatness as he appeared in the PTO’s ‘Unbreakable’ documentary series, which airs in the countdown to Daytona.
An opportunity for triathlon to shine
“The PTO 2020 Championship I think is a massive deal and it’s the most important race in triathlon of any distance in 2020, and it’s great to see in the men’s field, with all the best athletes from pretty much all the different forms of the sport are coming together in one race.
“I think from the wider perspective I’d really like the PTO to be able to show and demonstrate what a fantastic sport triathlon is to watch and be part of, so fans around the world can see a great race.
“There’s going to be a lot of strong competitors. I want to try and beat them anyway.
“I’m focusing on trying to win the race. That is what you’ve trained hard for, it’s what you’ve prepared for, it’s what you’ve made those sacrifices for. It’s going to be a fantastic race and I want to try and beat everyone else.
Alistair has a target on his back
“I think almost every other athlete in the field would be aiming for me in the PTO 2020 Championship, and yeah, I mean I’m trying to beat them as well so it’s all fair.
“People really revel in being the person who’s watched and the person who’s under pressure, and I think that for some people that brings the best out of them.
“It’s a tough sport that requires a lot of training. I think it gives ultra-athletes a bit of a name for being a bit mad sometimes.”
Pandemic brings a positive reset
The 2020 triathlon calendar has been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the extra time to think resulted in a positive impact for Alistair. It brought a welcome reset in reminding him how much he loves the sport.
“I think one of the big things this year has taught me is how much I love training, and love competing in sport, in triathlon.
“It seems a bit sad sometimes that I needed reminding of that, but I’ve obviously done triathlon for a long time and that has highs and lows, and I think I’m probably enjoying the sport more than I ever have in lots of ways.
“Not being able to race and not being able to compete, and having those goals kind of removed from my life, was definitely something I had to think about quite a lot.
“The big impact has made me realise how much I love it and, you know, want to keep competing and racing to the best of my ability.”
Alistair’s career has brought him medal after medal and victory after victory to stamp a glittering CV. A mix of the pandemic and injury though have caused him to miss the simpler things in 2020.
“I’ve had a few struggles this year, mostly in my training, I had actually quite a significant injury that I had to overcome.
“So that was a bit of a challenge, not training with other people like my brother and my friends that I train with every day. That was tough.
“And no competitions for a long time. I’ve always looked forward and trained hard to the next goal and obviously for a long time during the year they didn’t exist at all.”
