Jonny Brownlee: Last year's collapse took triathlon to new levels

The Olympic silver medallist was just a few hundred yards away from taking glory in Cozumel, Mexico, last year, when suddenly the heat and exhaustion took its toll.

It seemed that would end his race, only for brother Alistair to pick him up, haul him towards the line and throw him down for second place.

Victory in Mexico would have given Jonny the world title but, while Rotterdam is now his Saturday focus, Brownlee junior was keen to look at the past as well as the future.

"I couldn't remember anything at the time but it was memorable after because it changed a lot of my life and I was more recognised for a while," he said.

"It took triathlon out of sport into other areas and while it is not the way I want to be remembered in my sporting career, I've come to accept that it was good for the sport and good to get more recognition for the World Series, although hopefully it doesn't happen again.

"Hopefully, it's a course that suits. The river is very choppy which makes the swim hard, it suits an all-round triathlete who can swim, bike and run.

"The bike leg is hard because you have to be good technically, as well as strong, and the weather is very similar to Yorkshire, which makes it very different to last year."

While last year's finale saw Brownlee challenging for top honours, this has been a rather more disrupted season.

That included being forced to carry his bike in Yokohama, while also taking silver in his home race in Leeds and successive fourth-place finishes in Montreal and Edmonton.

Sportsbeat 2017