Rio 2016 Olympics: Alistair and Jonny Brownlee suited to triathlon course as they target one-two

(Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

The reaction in Yorkshire when the Brownlees took up triathlon was one of partial bewilderment.

Jonny, 26, recalls straight faced: “People thought it involved shooting and a horse. It was a weird sport that people didn’t understand.”

The brothers have done much to change the perception, thanks to Alistair’s gold and Jonny’s bronze at London 2012 and success on the world stage in the surrounding years.

Instead of misconceptions, Jonny says: “People now stop us in the street and ask us about the form of Javier Gomez and Mario Mola.”

Those two Spaniards had been seen as the biggest rivals to the Brownlees, but five-time world champion Gomez was ruled out of Rio last month after breaking his elbow in a cycling crash. And although Mola has dominated the season, the terrain of the biking section means the Rio course does not play to his strengths.

The Brownlee brothers have had their own perils, with Alistair undergoing ankle surgery a year ago, then collapsing with heat exhaustion in the Gold Coast in April, while Jonny suffered a stress fracture in his leg to bring last season to a premature end.

But, fittingly, at their last two World Triathlon events — in Leeds and Stockholm — Alistair has led home a Brownlee one-two, timely results in their final races before Rio.

So can the British public expect a repeat by the brothers?

Alistair said: “I don’t think you can expect it, really, but there’s definitely a chance of it happening.

“The course really suits us. We like the hard bike racing, which should count against Mario Mola, and the theory is it would come down to a hard run at the end, hopefully between Jonny and myself — but it’s impossible to predict.”

Ominously for his rivals, Alistair believes he was some way off his peak in both Leeds and Stockholm and a four-week training camp in St Moritz has since ensued.

The 28-year-old says: “I don’t think I’m a million miles off 2012 and the pressure we’re under is nothing compared to London. Then it was off the scale.

In Pictures: Team GB's medal run at Rio 2016 Olympics

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“But the whole point of the Olympics is to get yourself into the best shape possible so you can win every way possible. You simply have to be in better shape than everyone else.”

There are times when both have been in peak form, only for their challenges to dissipate, such is the demanding nature of the event.

“The really bad ones are terrible,” says Alistair.

Jonny, 26, added: “Sometimes when you cross the line you think to yourself that if it had been another two metres further you wouldn’t have made it because you’re hurting that much.

“It’s really that last seven kilometres of the run that the pain really begins and the mind and body start shutting down.”

Jonny has learned from past difficulties. A year ago, he pushed his body too hard, too early in the year, which resulted in the stress fracture.

Reflecting on 2015, he said: “I learned a lot about how not to do it.”

His build-up to Rio, as a result, has been far more meticulous and it has also gone under the radar, meaning he has not won a triathlon since the Gold Coast in 2015.

Victories breed confidence but Jonny is not too concerned after failing to chalk up a winning streak.

“Of course, it’s easy to settle for second or third and not win races,” he said. “But that’s not been the case. I’m not that bothered as there’s been different reasons why I’ve not won.

“All that matters is Rio and I think we’ve got a great shout of a one-two, but the men’s triathlon is so, so competitive.”

The question is whether the younger brother can overcome the psychological barrier and beat his sibling.

When to watch

Men’s triathlon,

3pm, today

BBC1

Jonny says confidently: “I definitely believe I can and I know when Alistair was away last year that I probably still would have beaten him in the form I was in. Leeds was the first time that Alistair and I had properly raced in two years and I got a puncture.”

Alistair’s recent return to winning ways should give him the edge here in Rio.

“Winning always gives you confidence and it’s even better to win when you don’t give yourself a shout,” he says, reflecting how he felt to a degree going into the Leeds event in June.

Four years ago in London, it was gold for Alistair to Jonny’s bronze, with Gomez splitting the two on the podium — and Jonny having to receive medical treatment for heat exhaustion before the medal ceremony.

The Brownlees were expecting the days leading up to today’s Rio exertions would be nervous ones but there is a confidence that the men’s triathlon in Brazil could be even more of a family affair than it was in 2012.

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