Alistair Brownlee issues stark Strava warning: 'It makes it more difficult for athletes'

When the 36-year-old made his Olympic debut backmost astatine Beijing 2008, helium was hardly adjacent tracking his grooming sessions connected a GPS, ne'er caput refreshing his telephone to spot the kudos rotation in

Alistair Brownlee believes the existent Strava craze has led to unhealthy comparisons wrong elite sport.

When the 36-year-old made his Olympic debut backmost astatine Beijing 2008, helium was hardly adjacent tracking his grooming sessions connected a GPS, ne'er caput refreshing his telephone to spot the kudos rotation in.

But with the emergence of societal media and fittingness tracking apps specified arsenic Strava, the treble Olympic triathlon champion admits it has made it easier for athletes to beryllium distracted by what their competitors are doing and hide to absorption connected their ain grooming plan. With examination starring elite athletes down the incorrect path, Brownlee believes the cardinal to his ain triathlon occurrence has been zoning successful connected his ain interior goals and not paying attraction to what his rivals are doing.

And speaking up of this weekend’s inaugural Dubai T100 Triathlon World Championship Final, helium is urging others to bash the same.

"It's the oldest cliche successful athletics isn't it, you request to power the controllables," helium said. "It's genuinely important to absorption connected yourself internally, but it's absorbing having been progressive successful athletics for specified a agelong time.

"The interconnection of societal media and Strava, wherever radical tin perpetually spot the sessions your competitors and different radical are doing, radical present basal themselves disconnected that. That wasn’t determination for astir of my career. You did your grooming and possibly uploaded it onto a machine and earlier that you didn't adjacent usage GPS. You had nary thought what your closest rival was doing.

"It forced you to deliberation internally and that's however I person ever been, but it makes it much hard for athletes these days to absorption internally due to the fact that they tin spot what others are doing."

An interior mindset has seen Brownlee soar to treble Olympic golden and go a household sanction successful the world of triathlon, inactive competing internationally implicit the longer distance.

Brownlee is 1 of the elite excavation of athletes taking portion successful the inaugural play of the T100 Triathlon World Tour, a archetypal of its benignant bid that aims to bring a caller assemblage to triathlon.

The Brit has seen a turbulent clip connected the tour, sitting 11th successful the wide standings aft 2 DNF's retired of six races owed to wounded and wellness issues. But with the Dubai T100 Grand Final looming, Brownlee has reflected connected the larger interaction of the bid connected his aboriginal distant from athletics arsenic helium aims to animate a caller question of long-distance triathletes.

"Hopefully I'm feeling beauteous steadfast present and volition beryllium overmuch amended up of the weekend," helium said. "For me, the main extremity is to contention with the champion successful the satellite and the T100 has allowed maine to bash those aggregate times successful antithetic venues and locations.

"As I commencement to deliberation astir what I'd similar to bash successful a post-sporting career, a batch of it is astir motivating radical to beryllium much progressive and beingness athletics filled lifestyles.

"I deliberation the T100 tin beryllium a large portion of that and it's providing that inspiration and accidental for radical to contention successful the pro oregon amateur races. It's a cardinal portion of the puzzle."

The inaugural Dubai T100 Triathlon World Championship Final to crown the archetypal ever T100 World Champions takes spot connected 16-17 November. The women’s contention is unrecorded and exclusive connected Eurosport successful the UK from 1315 connected Saturday 16 November, with the contention starting astatine 1330. Followed by the men’s contention connected Sunday 17 November astatine the aforesaid times. Fans tin besides ticker for escaped connected PTO+