Br Alistair 's SPEED SECRETS
What’s the perception of Ali Brownlee? If it’s not that famous shot of giving brother Jonny a shoulder to lean on in Cozumel, then it’s the image of a mud-splattered youth hacking over the fells, or a kid on a racing bike, heading home for a cup of Yorkshire tea.
Brought up on a diet of Yorkshire grit he may have been, but to reduce the double-Olympic champion to just an endurance machine with an iron will does him a disservice – it belies that Brownlee’s tactical mind, like his racing at its peak, has always been razor-sharp. “I’ve always made sure I’m on the start line with the best equipment”, he says to 220 at the Vorteq headquarters in Silverstone. “I spend too much time training to give seconds away to others.”
Embarking on his most daring season of a storied career, both the Olympic Games and the Ironman World Championship remain in the crosshairs. As we explored last issue, it’s an unprecedented ask, and while Brownlee has enjoyed one of the longest injury-free spells of his career, he’ll also be 32 by the time the key races arrive. Will he retain the footspeed to cope with the youthful swarm of ITU talent? Is he lacking the experience to combat eight hours under the Hawaiian sun?
What’s certain is that there’ll be little left to chance, whether heat acclimation or altitude, kit choice or aerodynamics.
