{"id":148631,"date":"2025-09-20T04:07:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T04:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/148631\/"},"modified":"2025-09-20T04:07:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T04:07:13","slug":"gravel-biking-baptism-of-fire-sets-jonny-brownlee-up-for-supertri-jersey-as-he-helps-next-gen-make-their-mark-elite-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/148631\/","title":{"rendered":"Gravel biking ‘baptism of fire’ sets Jonny Brownlee up for Supertri Jersey as he helps next gen make their mark – Elite News"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s lots to look forward to for triathlon legend Jonny Brownlee<\/a> ahead of his return to Supertri Jersey<\/a> this weekend.<\/p>\n

Top of the list of course is the fact that he\u2019s preparing to become a dad for the first time.<\/p>\n

But before then he returns to Supertri\u2019s spiritual home and the venue where he and Alex Yee<\/a> \u2013 along with Hayden Wilde<\/a> \u2013 provided one of the most iconic finishes back in 2021.<\/p>\n

Now spearheading his own team alongside uber manager Tim Don this is very much a full circle moment and one he\u2019s enjoyed doing this season as he helps mentor many of the younger athletes on the team.<\/p>\n

We caught up with him to chat about that, his own form and much more as he looks to go one better than four years ago when Supertri last visited the Channel Islands.<\/p>\n

\u2018Baptism of fire\u2019<\/p>\n

Last weekend Jonny and brother Alistair were involved in the British Gravel Championships in Dalby Forest, as was fellow Olympic triathlon and Supertri star Georgia Taylor-Brown<\/a> who took a terrific second place in the Elite Women\u2019s race<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Alistair and Jonny had to settle for 15th and 18th respectively in the men\u2019s race after a frantic start, which Jonny thinks will stand him in good stead for Jersey.<\/p>\n

He told us: \u201cIt was one of the hardest things I\u2019ve ever done in my life on my bike but it was absolutely brilliant and I loved it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a bit of a baptism of fire in the first 20 minutes. I hadn\u2019t been able recce the course so the first 10 minutes was flying down at 60 kilometers an hour not knowing what\u2019s coming, which I struggled with.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I burnt too many matches and then I settled in a group with me and Alistair and another guy \u2013 basically the way to describe it was max out for 30 minutes and then you\u2019ve got about three hours to go!<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m hoping it\u2019s going to set me up well for the technical streets of Jersey because after doing it in the mud and the gravel, that should feel quite comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sprint finish!<\/p>\n

Jonny was sixth last time out in Chicago and, asked what sort of shape he\u2019s in, he said: \u201cI\u2019m really fit. My run sessions have been really good and I\u2019ve tried to enjoy this last month and do different things at this stage of my career.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut at the same time I\u2019ve trained well and I would say my running is the best it\u2019s been for a few years. I just want to go out there and show it and I\u2019m looking forward to racing.<\/p>\n

\"JonnyJonny Brownlee<\/a> at Supertri Chicago 2025 [Photo credit: Supertri]<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously. I really like racing in Jersey and have got some great memories. It\u2019s a really iconic venue \u2013 it feels like it\u2019s where Supertri got going and really kicked on. All the fans come out and support it and the crowd makes it \u2013 it\u2019s kind of like an amphitheatre of triathlon.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about that race in 2021, it\u2019s one he looks back at fondly despite coming out on the wrong side of the photo finish: \u201cIt was off the back of the Olympics and I wanted to show I could still do it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember it was a real tough, honest race. Hayden got ahead of us and then Alex came past me, and I thought, I can go with him here. And then, as we caught Hayden, I felt great and thought, here\u2019s my opportunity to go around them and I did everything I could to get to that last corner first.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was thinking if I can do that then it\u2019s going to take someone good to come around me. And then I had that feeling, oh Alex is coming, oh, he\u2019s gone!<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great race and even though I got beaten, I go back and watch it every now and then. I think that\u2019s what Supertri racing is great for, those really close finishes and not knowing who\u2019s going to win into the last few seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t seen it, then take a look at the clip below\u2026<\/p>\n

Asked if he can go one better this weekend, he replies: \u201cObviously I\u2019m not getting any younger and this type of racing definitely gets harder. But this enduro format should suit me because it\u2019s just tough, hard racing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first swim can be carnage. You then run up a big steep hill out the water. The bike\u2019s just twisty and hard \u2013 you\u2019re always having to be on the pedals and sprinting out of corners and then two laps on each run means it\u2019s a real honest run as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, like I said about the gravel racing, where you go hard for the first bit and hang on, this is pretty similar. You go hard for the first 20 minutes and then you\u2019ve got another two rounds to go. So, for me, in these races, I\u2019m getting through the first round and seeing where I am and then going from there and hopefully I\u2019m competitive and can use my endurance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bright future<\/p>\n

Yee<\/a> of course followed in the Brownlees\u2019 footsteps \u2013 he\u2019d famously watched them as a fan at London 2012 \u2013 and Jonny is relishing helping the younger members on his team, whether they are British or not.<\/p>\n

Marcus Dey, Brandon Pye and Oliver Conway will be alongside Brownlee in an all-Brit men\u2019s line up and he\u2019s full of praise for all of them, particularly Conway after seeing him race in Toronto before a stunning WTCS debut last weekend when he was fourth in Karlovy Vary.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cYou kind of hear about these guys but I went away from Toronto going, yeah, this lad\u2019s gonna be good. He\u2019s got it in his head and he\u2019s obviously got a really good engine. He rides well, he runs well off it and he basically races well.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t get the result in Toronto because his chain came off but he got it last weekend which was really good to see. And if he can do it on that course at Karlovy Vary, he can do it anywhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s got a good chance of podium in the weekend. We want to support these British athletes coming through and give them the opportunity to compete on this kind of big global stage in the hope that they can take that into their careers going forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cOllie Conway is probably a good example of that. Someone who in Toronto, like I say, didn\u2019t have the best overall finish but he was there going, yeah, I could have been on the podium in that if my chain hadn\u2019t come off. And then he isn\u2019t going to World Series going, oh, no, it\u2019s Matt Hauser or whoever, I can\u2019t beat him. He\u2019s going, you know, I can beat these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Change of focus<\/p>\n

And for the women it was a certain \u2018Swim Bike Run\u2019 book by the Brownlee brothers which helped inspire Belgium\u2019s Jolien Vermeylen take up triathlon.<\/p>\n

Expertly recruited for Brownlee Racing by Tim Don, whom Jonny says \u201cis the best team manager out there\u201d, she couldn\u2019t have made a better impression in her first start \u2013 running away from the field for a debut win at Supertri Toronto<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"JolienJolien Vermeylen wins in Toronto [Photo credit: Supertri]<\/p>\n

Jonny explained: \u201cWe want to have people who have got a bit of story on our team. And Jolien actually started triathlon because she read our book. So I really liked that one. She told me in Toronto that she had been a swimmer when someone gave her our book at which point she\u2019d never heard about triathlon but thought that\u2019s pretty cool and something she\u2019d try.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo that was quite nice. And then in Toronto, I basically showed her around the bike course, showed her how to corner and it worked out pretty well!<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully I can continue to pass on advice to other athletes like Jolien to help them have good races.\u201d<\/p>\n

So things are all going very nicely for Jonny and after the grand finale at Supertri Toulouse it will be time for a well-deserved break as he gets ready to become a father for the first time.<\/p>\n

Other races could have been on the agenda but as Jonny rightly pointed out: \u201cI\u2019ve been travelling around the world for the best part of 20 years, so I think I\u2019ve earned the right to be at home and take a breath for a little bit and get ready \u2013 including finishing the nursery!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s lots to look forward to for triathlon legend Jonny Brownlee ahead of his return to Supertri Jersey…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148632,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,68364,101,67267,67268,67269,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-148631","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-jonny-brownlee","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-super-league-championship","12":"tag-super-league-triathlon","13":"tag-supertri-championship-jersey","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}