Brownlee shows his class

Alistair Brownlee won his first race since the Olympics by breaking the course record at the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon.

The 24-year-old Yorkshireman, who has dominated the sport over the past four years, winning two world titles and Olympic gold in London, was racing over the short course in Abu Dhabi, which featured an Olympic-length swim (1.5 kilometres) and run (10km), and a 100km bike leg.

Despite taking a wrong turn on the bike that allowed Dutchman Cesar Beilo to overtake him, Brownlee showed his class on the run to win by more than five minutes from Beilo in a time of three hours, 20 minutes and 18 seconds. That was 29 seconds quicker than the previous record, which was set in 2010 by Dutchman Jan Van Berkel.

Brownlee said at the finish: "The bike was a challenge. I saw a sign on the bike course and thought that was where I needed to go. It was only when I got back on the course I realised I had been there before.

"I tried to pace it quite well. I have no idea how to pace 100km on a bike, but it seemed to go okay. I felt tired towards the end but I didn't have to push too hard, which was good as it was getting hot.

"It's a bit of a shock as it is zero degrees back home and nearly 30 here, but it was early morning so I didn't struggle too much."

Brownlee will begin his campaign to wrest the world title back off brother Jonny at the World Triathlon Series race in San Diego next month.