Leeds Triathlon: World Series

# Did you ever wanted? # Did you want it bad?

# In my heart, in this cold heart # I believe if I'd just try

# You believe in you. Good afternoon, everybody, and

welcome to round four of the World Triathlon Series, or, as it is

officially called, the Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds.

We are set for what is going to be an epic day of racing. The city has

been buzzing all weekend. It's only the second time it has hosted a

World Series race. Just like in 2016, hordes of spectators have been

making their way onto the streets of Leeds. We are expecting around

80,000 people for the men's and women's races. You can expect every

single one of them to make their voices heard. And you can expect the

local fans to bring the noise as well. Certainly off the back of an

England under 20s World Cup win. Incredible stuff just here on BBC

Two. We have a line-up of athletes all hoping to impress here in Leeds

this afternoon, including, say it quietly, the Brownlee brothers. They

will be here for the first and only time in 2017. We also have a very

impressive women's race coming up, including the world champion Flora

Duffy. Down at the start, about five kilometres that way, is Louise

Mitchell. Good morning to you. This is the pontoon they will be diving

off shortly. With me here is Mark Jenkins, former Team GB triathlete.

This is a really nervy moment. They are just arriving behind us. What is

it like for them? This women can be the most important part of the race

for many athletes. They are really nervous for the swim. The water is

about 16.5 degrees, so our girls are used to the cold, so that's a good

thing for them. Fingers crossed for them. You are here throughout the

afternoon. Thank you. We will be hearing from Mrs Jenkins a little

bit later in the programme in the commentary box. Leading the line for

Great Britain in the women's race will be Non Stanford, who had a 2016

Olympics to remember, but possibly for the wrong reasons. She was

beaten to bronze by her then housemate and Team GB team-mate,

Vicky Holland. She will be keen to be back on the podium here in Leeds.

She spoke to Louise Mitchell. It is lovely to be here in your hometown.

Where are we going? A few little hills. We ride around here quite a

lot. This is part of our Monday leap. Let's go. I'm coming. This is

a full-time job, isn't it? Yeah, it really is. The life of the

triathlete is very quiet. If it isn't, you probably are not training

enough. Do you ever question why you are doing this? Yes. Most races,

there is a part that isn't fun. Aaron Royle, your boyfriend or

partner? Boyfriend. Partner sounds a bit old. Initially he was a bit

shocked at how wet it was here. He is very disappointed that his Aussie

tan has faded. Vicky has moved away. Do you miss her a little bit? Miss

her loads. The first few months especially. Hopefully she misses me.

I'm sure she does! What are your aims for Leeds? To smash it? Always.

You want to deliver in front of your home crowd and give the British man

is a win. Non, thank you so much. Thank you for coming. Was very glad

to show you around. Thank you. No doubt Non is going to go for it here

in Leeds today. Somebody who knows exactly how and why is her former

housemate and Team GB colleague, Vicky Holland. She is going to go

blazing for this race. Absolutely. Leeds is her adopted city. She was

disappointed with her race here last year, and she has had a little

injury struggle and some illness recently, but I really feel she has

the shape, form and class to pull something off today. And without

Gwen Jorgensen, the biggest name in triathlon out of action, pregnant

and expecting her first baby. This could be a chance. Yes, Non has been

doing great. She has become very known for this swim- bike breakaway,

and it has gone so well for her today in every race she does. I

think she will do nothing different today. In the commentary box, Helen

Jenkins, Andy Anderson and Matt Shilton.

COMMENTATOR: Good afternoon everybody. The athletes are lined

up, diving and swimming in Waterloo lake in Roundhay Park. They will

complete 1500 metres. The bike stage is just short of 40 K and we will

complete the race with a run. The water is a little cool, so it is a

wet suit race, but conditions are pretty good, as we say good

afternoon to former world duathlete on champion, any Anderson. Good

afternoon. The field is a little smaller than we see usually. Just

over 30 athletes. Cold water, but it doesn't look like it is affecting

the athletes at the moment. They are used to racing in all conditions.

Flora Duffy and Non Stanford, my two picks for the day, were very close

on the pontoon. Non had a great swim in Yokohama, and she will be happy

to be close to flora. A good choice for her. That is the voice of Helen

Jenkins, the 2008 world triathlon champion, joining us in the

commentary box in Leeds this weekend. They are on their way. A

pretty decent pace. I think that is Jess leading there on the side. Key

in the early stages of this race, particularly for Non Stanford, who

didn't have a good swim here last year, is to make sure she gets

herself on some fast feet. She had a great swim in Yokohama. One of the

best we have seen. Unfortunately, crashed there, and put her chances

of being on the podium behind her. She did finish in a strong sixth

place at the end of the race. Really important for her to have a good

swim. It is really important in Leeds, and this is a small field.

Positives and negatives to having a small field. The negatives, there

are a lot more gaps in a swim like this. The positives, if you struggle

with the swim, there is more space. A 1500 metre swim, two clockwise

gaps in Roundhay Park. The athletes head to the first transition area,

known as T1, to collect their bikes to begin uphill, stage two. A ride

of 38.6 kilometres, slightly shorter than the official Olympic distance

of 40 kilometres. These are just taking us up to the total of 38.6

kilometres, and not representative of the mileage covered. The first

part of the bike leg takes them south-west, taking in the sights and

sounds of the suburbs of Moortown, Headingley and Burnley, and into the

historic city centre. Then through the centre of Leeds, through Park

Square, Millennium Square, and then up and down the hedgerow. Part three

begins in the second transition area, or T2. Situated in Millennium

Square, where the triathletes will leave their bikes and begin the

10,000 metre run, over four laps of 2.5 kilometres each. Expect total

times of around one hour 50 minutes for the men and two hours for the

women. 1.2 kilometres left in the water, so they are still in the

opening lap. Jessica Learmonth leading the way for Great Britain.

Following the injury suffered by Georgia Taylor-Brown, who we believe

turned an ankle in training, the British women's contingent is down

to three. Non Stanford, India Lee, and Jess Lee a month. Others to look

out for our Kirsten Kasper. Flora Duffy, the reigning world champion,

has number nine. 33 athletes in total making the turn here. You

mentioned Georgia Taylor-Brown there. She was really ready to race.

She was incredibly excited yesterday, and apparently she went

over on her ankle on a little jog out last night, and it was the ankle

she had surgery. Coming into this race on the back of a great win in

Spain, so we were all very disappointed not to see her today.

It's really disappointing that Georgia is not getting race today. A

real talent for the future. She lives in Leeds and she loves it, but

I have every faith that she will come back stronger than ever. This

swim is interesting because a few big names are missing today. Of

course, yourself, Helen, but also Vicky Holland, Gwen Jorgensen,

pregnant as well, and Andrea Hewitt has decided not to come. Was that a

tactical decision on her part? Probably. She will miss Edmonton and

Leeds this year, and those are known as the colder races in the cold

water, and Andrea struggles in them. You have to make tactical decisions

when there's nine races in the year. 33 acres, a former quarry here. It

was constructed by soldiers who had returned from the Napoleonic Wars,

hence the name Waterloo Lake. There is a dam at the south end that used

to be alive though. It is 18 metres deep in places, this late in the

centre of Roundhay Park, which is 700 acres, one of the biggest public

parks in Europe. The swim looks really strung out. Everyone is in a

long line. What is interesting is this is a small field, but we are

also missing some of the big swimmers, such as Carolyn rude today

from Spain, who is often at the front of the swim. We are looking at

a couple of strong swimmers, Flora Duffy and Jessica as well, and

Kirsten Kasper from the USA. Are there any other swimmers we should

be looking out for? One of the Japanese swimmers, Taca Sharkey,

Takahashi -- Takahashi from Spain. Jess Lee a month pushing the pace

here. This is a very local race for her. She comes from tad Caster,

around 30 minutes from Leeds. She had a crash in Yokohama, Jess Lee a

month. But she got back on hope bike and carried on. 890 metres to go.

Being shadowed all the way here by the boats and the kayaks. There has

been a bit of talk in recent weeks about swim behaviour. Not too much

of an issue with a small field, but we talked about it with British

triathlon last night. It has been an issue with people getting ducked and

having their goggles removed, shenanigans at the turn. Well but

happened today? Probably not with a smaller field. With a lot of that

kind of thing, it's not intentional. There's a lot of roughness and

physicality in the swim, and you just have to deal with it. But

sometimes there is intent, and it is quite noticeable, so it's good they

are going to start policing it more strongly. The idea is that they are

going to have more eyes at these stages in the swim, when they turn

around the boys. In the men's race, when the pace is fast and you might

have 30 or 40 guys arriving at the turn at the same time, you do need

eyes on the scene, making sure that nobody is playing dirty. So, the end

of lap one, halfway through the swim. We should get a check on the

runners and riders at this stage. Jess Learmonth from Great Britain is

the first to emerge. Non Stanford, 18 seconds off the

pace. We talked last night, we were sure Non needed a good swim to set

up for a chance today. 18 seconds halfway, is that good, bad,

indifferent? I noticed as they were coming out of the swim, there was

one loner swimmer and it was Non. There's a big gap between her and

the second pack but she is finding it hard to get back on now. It's

going to be tough for Non, but she has clear water to her advantage and

she's a strong swimmer. She has great endurance and has got to get

her head down and focus on her feet and if she is in contact towards the

end of the swim, she has good chance of staying in that front pack. 18

seconds off the pace, Non Stanford. Jess Learmouth forcing the pace. As

she takes out on the early stages of lap two, we can go to the pontoon.

Absolutely. Fascinating to see them come out of here. I know they are

trying to police the swimmer that more. They are trying to look at

things. Yes, 60 athletes on the start line, a similar standard,

every athlete wants to get to that first boy first and it's only 250

metres away. 60 athletes coming together, it gets very physical and

you don't want to impede someone's progress so they want to make sure

there's no unfair play in that area. How would they police it? A video

camera, look at the footage after it happened and make sure nobody has

impeded anybody else's progress, punched another athlete. It is for

everyone's safety and you want a fair race. It's difficult to do that

because half of it is underwater. It's very difficult and sometimes

athletes get held under and that's what you want to prevent. If they

see something go wrong, they can penalised later, can they? Yes, if

they see something happen, they could penalised the athlete in T1 or

T2. It's good about going to police the swim. Thank you very much for

the moment. We have got an arrowhead formed at the front, the front group

and then there is a loner swimmer, maybe two together, it's difficult

to tell from this angle. We think Non Stanford could be in that second

small-group. That could be Non off the back and we are not going to

know until they get out on the front and we can see exactly, but I'm

hoping she has made the front. Eight minutes and 50 seconds, 750 metres,

that's a pretty fast pace and it looks like Jess is pushing on the

pace. That is not going to help Non, is it? Probably not but she doesn't

have the information. She will just be swimming is faster she can. When

she gets out of the water, she can assess and sea watches to do them.

The last 440 metres in the swim. Just to remind you, stage two is the

bike. Normally the Olympic distance is 40 kilometres but we are short of

that in Leeds, 38.6, and we have a transition area, one in the Park,

the athlete will collect their bikes, and one down in Millennium

Square, where they will leave their bicycles before commencing the run.

It is a split transition here in Leeds. The other feature of this

course in Leeds that we are about to see is the stiff climb coming out of

transition. Assumes they get on their bikes, they have to go

straight uphill and that's unusual. It be very tough for the athletes.

If you are pushing as hard as you can to come out of transition and go

up a hill really tough. If you have been able to conserve energy, you

could hit it with pressure but everybody will be hurting on that

bike for the first two: it is. The athletes, I wonder if they've had a

chance to have a session where they've taken on the climb after a

swim because that could help prepare you ahead of this race? Mentally it

would definitely help prepare you because you know what to expect, how

hard it's going to be. If you prepare for it, it helps in the race

but any kind of session where you have done swim to bike work to

prepare for this event is going to help. A lot of athletes do the bike

to run session but don't often train the swim to bike and, in this case

in Leeds, it's quite important you have got your best game going out

onto the bike. Yes, they are logistically harder but the girls

were prepared for this the best they can and I sure they have been

practising. Champion Flora Duffy from Bermuda, there will be a race

in Bermuda in 2018, she is up with the leaders, Jess Learmouth. I'm not

sure if Duffy has taken a position at the front of this race but the

key thing is we have a decent working group of maybe a dozen

athletes on the bike and it will be interesting to see if Duffy, one of

the best bike is out there, tries to break away on that hill. Is that a

tactic she could employ? I can expect her to go forward on the bike

and it's going to be hard for these girls to hang with her on that first

pillar. Flora's strength in the climbing and bike skills, we haven't

seen anyone as strong as there for a long time so these girls have got to

be repaired if they want to make the front group, they have got to stay

with her on that part of the course. In the last 12 months, she has

really mastered the art of swim to bike. The same as the Brownlee

brothers, they work so hard into the first few calamitous and that is

where the real damage is done in the race, isn't it? Yes, she's not

scared of it and has ridden races and one races on her own so she's

not scared of going for it whereas there is uncertainty if you've never

done it before but Flora knows she can do it from a lot of different

positions. Just looking at the swim now, it is totally strung out, not

something we see very often in World Triathlon Series races. We often see

a big group, a gap and a big group but here we have 11 athletes, a gap

to Non, and then dribs and drabs, which will make it very hard for the

second pack to come together. We don't see this in the women's race

but more often in the men's, with the superfast swimmers. It's

exciting to see the women are pushing the swim as well. It will be

a tough day today starting off with such a fast swim. 120 metres to go.

They are approaching the end of lap to now. The way the bike works,

because they will be cycling down towards the city, beginning with

that stiff climb out of the park, at 12.3 kilometre ride to the city

centre, just over 12 K to get them from here in the north of the city

from Roundhay Park into the city centre and following that, 3.76 laps

in the centre of Leeds. It'll be quite intimate and loud when they

make the sevens circuit in the city, but they have this long, looping

right which sends them on the climb out of the park and then down to

Headingley, Headingley Stadium, into the city to go first, so this trial

form brings a lot of variety -- triathlon on and that's why the

athletes like it so much. It looks like we've got a couple of breakaway

swimmers. That is Jess Learmouth breaking away in the final moments

of the swim, and nine swimmers on their feet as they head for the exit

now. Just over 17.5 minutes so far. Jess Learmouth has held it together

and will be one of the first out of the water for Great Britain. All the

races involved will see their names and their times come up.

Creston has made a bit of time. Hit team-mate has helped along with Juri

Ide from Japan. We hope that Non Stanford might be one of the next

out of the water. In fact, that wasn't Non. She is a little further

back now. So, unfortunately for Non Stanford, she appears to have

dropped backwards during the second lap and hopefully she will be with

this group here. Gillian Backhouse. Still no sign of Non Stanford, the

former world champion. Jess Learmouth in transition, has to get

things right. Her wet suit has to go in the box. Helmet clipped up. Flora

Duffy goes through the motions. This is all a well rehearsed routine.

Duffy, the world champion. Non Stanford, just out of the water

nearly a minute down. It's a shame for Maya Kingma and Non, they've

lost time. She has to get herself back towards the front end of this

race. Now they climb. Jess Learmouth is taking it on for Great Britain.

Jess is a strong cyclist and if she can go for this, she could take the

Flora Duffy route and go it alone. I think we'll find Barack Obama won't

be to the Dutch athletes as well, we can

see her coming out of the water, Non Stanford. Her time is pretty quick.

They have had a really fast swim. It's not often we see Flora five

seconds down. Jess Learmouth out on her own. She is taking this on and

the crowds around in this part of the park are seeing the British

cyclist coming through and they are delighted. Let's go to hear from

Louise. It is so intense right here. We saw Non coming out. It is tough

up there. It is a tough hill. Some of them are falling off their bikes

because they are in the wrong gear so Non has got to chase hard to make

the front part of the park. Gillian Backhouse is behind her. People are

not being able to get their shoes on. What is going on here

physically? Some of them are in a compromise position, not in the

front part. They have got to work as hard as they can know to get

themselves in the best position they can. It is so intense. You get that

feeling they got to get this thing right and there's so much pressure.

This is the make and break part of the race now. They could spend the

whole race chasing Fulford if that front pack forms early, it could be

race over. OK, thank you. What a start to the cycle for Jess

Learmouth, powering up that hill. We were expecting Duffy to lead the

charge but Jess Learmouth has established quite elite. There's

another group of five who are nine or ten seconds behind. In fact, I

think there are six athletes in that second group. I saw Jess get a good

time check from one of our British coaches so it'll be interesting

because the outcome for the race was we wanted a British woman on top of

the podium and we know Non is the best chance of that so it'll be

interesting to see now whether Jess Learmouth will try to get Non into

the race or she will sit in the front group and not take any terms

and contribute. Looking at the front pack, it's an interesting one. Quite

a few new athletes in there, certainly be having seen a lot of

Maya Kingma who was out of the water, Junior athlete and

inexperienced at this level. Flora Duffy is a strong cyclist, on the

tall may be, so has she got anyone to work with her today? It will be

tough for Flora. No one is coming through with her. This is normal

practice with Flora, she is used to riding as hard as she can,

monitoring her wattage, her power, and she knows what she can run off

certain power and we have seen Jess go backwards so I'm pretty sure

she's going to be maybe holding on and trying to get Non to the front

of the race. That will be good to see. She need a bit of help. Along

with Ashleigh Gentle from Australia, they are the strongest in the pack.

She came out of the water ahead of Ashleigh Gentle and she wants to

stay there and stay away from Ashleigh Gentle because she was

faster in Yokohama. I think that's true, she's been running really well

and has been in great shape to Commonwealth Games, to get into the

Commonwealth Games. Non also had a crash in that race. Yes, that's

absolutely true. She managed to pick yourself back up. And then she ran

through to finish in sixth position. A strong race, even though she fell

off. Flora Duffy at the front, no surprise. Kirsten Kasper, a

newcomer, she wears number one today, she's only been around for

the last year so, great start of the season, finishing third in Yokohama

and she got seventh as well. It's given her that number one spot

today, so what she can do today? Kirsten is an improving athlete, and

this season, she's had her best start to the season. Abu Dhabi

wasn't as good, but she had some mechanical problems. I would say she

would be more of a strong runner. Her bike strength might not be quite

there yet, but it will be interesting to see what she can do.

Working as a pack, this group will aim to close down Learmonth quite

quickly. I think she has gone behind them now. I beg your pardon, she

has. We haven't got Kirsten Kasper in that group. I think that Taylor

Spivey and Betto. Those girls are strong athletes but not entirely

well known on the world level,. It might be as much as they can do just

to stay where they are. Going to be a frustrating day for Flora Duffy if

she is on the front the entire way. Those seven loops of 3.76

kilometres. By times it gets to the end of it, it will be tough for

those at the front. Once they get into the town it is very technical.

Seven laps of 3.76 kilometres with a lot of corners. You have to be very

technical, and Flora is one of the best. It's going to be hard for

these girls to stay with them. So a group of four, including the world

champion. They have widened the gap significantly over the chasing

group. We haven't seen anybody from the chasing group yet. This working

group of four will head down through the various suburbs that take them

to where the crowds are gathering in the city centre. People will be

seven or eight deep on certain stretches, around Millennium Square.

They will come through the transition area half a dozen times.

The grandstands are packed down here now. The atmosphere is terrific. The

sun has become the dominant weather factor, though we are expecting a

shower or two. Hopefully, the roads will stay dry, because when they are

on the tricky turns of the city centre, the last thing they will

want is a wet road surface. After the weather in Yokohama and all the

crashes, they will be very glad it is dry today. Fingers crossed. We

had a lot of British athletes go down. Conditions in Yokohama were

absolutely dreadful. The crowds here are great for the athletes. I was

here spectating last year, and the atmosphere was incredible when they

came through transition, especially for the home athletes. It really

does make a difference. It does lift queue. Back with the front four.

Flora Duffy on the front, looks like Alice Betto from Italy at the back

of the pack. We haven't seen an awful lot from Alice Betto over the

last few years. She had a not too bad season in 2015, but she has been

very quiet the last couple of years. She had a nasty Achilles injury, so

she had to miss Rio. She is on her way back up, and trying to make

inroads into her running. She has always been a strong swimmer and

relatively strong on the bikes, so probably more to come over the next

two years or so. A good day for the other two athletes there, that is

Maya Kingma from the Netherlands and Taylor Spivey from the US. They

would not normally find themselves broken away from a World Triathlon

Series race this early on the bike. It must be very exciting for these

girls. It's not often you get to be in a small group at the head of a

race. They will be buzzing and wanting to push on, and commit as

much as they can. They will really be pushing it. The weather

conditions are allowing the helicopter to fly to bring us these

overhead shots. We didn't have any of that in Yokohama because the

weather was so awful, the helicopter didn't get off the ground. 33

kilometres left to right. They are still on the suburban stretch of

this bike leg, which takes them 12 kilometres down to the city centre,

and then seven laps of 3.76. We will hear shortly from Vicky Holland, who

is down in the city centre at transition area. The Olympic runs

medallist from Rio 2016. We will get her perspective on the way this race

is unfolding, as the leading group of four have opened up an enormous

lead. There is no one else on that shot. They have opened up a massive

lead. It's interesting, because there were quite a few people near

them on the swim. These four are working together. It will be really

interesting to see who is forming into different groups behind when we

get into the city centre. Hopefully when they do come into town, we will

then get some time references and find out where that second pack is

and what is going on behind this front four. Let's go down to the

city centre to join or a Duboeuf. A really interesting race. Flora Duffy

leading just like she did in 2016. A year ago, despite that commanding

lead, she had to settle for silver. Can she put that right today? Flora,

you had a fantastic 2016, becoming world champion. Does this you feel

different? It does. Expectation attached to you, always getting

introduced as the world champion. But I've had to get used to that and

get used to be extra pressure. I'm really enjoying it. It's a special

moment. A year ago in Leeds, you had that the brake on the bike with Jess

and Lucy. How do you think the race might transpire this time? I have no

idea. Last year was a big surprise, because of the team tactics. The

British team thought the race would play out, but they didn't realise it

would do in such a way. At the end of the race everyone was like, that

was a bit awkward. But this year, a couple of the top British girls are

not racing. Helen is pregnant and Vicki and Jodie are injured. But for

me, my plan is the same. I am going to swim and by card. If I have

people on the break, that's good, but if not, I have the confidence to

just go for it. Why not? COMMENTATOR:, so the leading group,

Flora Duffy, Maya Kingma, Alice Betto. We thought that Jess

Learmonth might be in this pack. The first to come out of the swim and

then she vanished. What happened there? We saw one of our coaches.

She would have seen the time check back down to Non Stanford, and she

probably decided to wait for Non and get her back into the race. This is

a home race, so the aim is to get a British woman to the top of the

podium. The girls decided between them that Non was the best transfer

that, so they will be working to get Non back into the race. Non

Stanford, the best run of the three. We were hoping for four, but with

Taylor-Brown's withdrawal, we were left with three British athletes.

Non Stanford now has company in the shape of Jess Learmonth, who will be

working together to plug this gap. It is a big ask, because these four

have steamed away from the chasing group. They also have India Lee back

there, who is a really strong cyclist. I'm not sure where she

finished coming out of the swim, but they have that positive of having

her with them as well. I think she was around 20 seconds behind Non

Stanford coming out of the water. It will be interesting to see what

happens when these four, the leaders, get into town, because it

gets a lot more technical there. I wonder if Flora will be better off

on her own. How much these younger and less experienced athletes will

be able to help when they get into town I don't know. The technical

aspect of our sport is getting more important. There are more city

centre races and small circuits, so it has to be part of the training

now. You cannot just get away with being strong. Headingley Stadium,

home of Yorkshire County Council Cricket club, Leeds Rhinos. A

magnificent stadium, seen plenty of action over the years. And we'll see

more this summer. The noise level is beginning to rise. Every Columbus

that they put into this race, more and more spectators appear, as they

get closer to the city centre. There is more noise building there. When

they ride into the centre of Leeds for the first time, we expect the

noise to be deafening. The crowds are being encouraged by the various

announcers on the site. When they get past a Civic Hall, the

grandstands are completely packed. Most are here to enjoy seeing the

Brownlee brothers in their one and only appearance together on the

World Triathlon Series, that they will be encouraging each of the

triathletes today in the World Triathlon Series, which is round

four of the series. Abu Dhabi in March, then the Gold Coast on

Australia in early April, and then may in the rain-soaked event in

Yokohama in Japan. Today marks the start of the European swing of the

World Triathlon Series. We talked about the fact there is quite a

small field in this race, particularly in the women's field.

It could be because the athletes have raced quite hard. Some might

have chosen just to have a bit of a break before the other European

races begin. There is not a natural break in the season, so before the

European races start, it is a chance for people to take that time and get

some extra training in. We have a few people doing a few different

races round the world. It's just a chance for a little pause in the

season, which can be so refreshing to try and push on for the rest of

the season. I wonder if some of the athletes were worried about the

weather here in Leeds. But it's nice today. Around 22 degrees, and the

sun is shining, so perfect conditions for racing. I think some

were worried about the cold swim. The cold swim will affect some

people, like Andrea Hewitt may have been worried about that. But the

temperature is fine. Andrea Hewitt, the New Zealander, who had a

fantastic start to the season, winning the first two races in Abu

Dhabi and on the Gold Coast. But she is very affected by the cold, so no

doubt she decided to sit this one out for that very reason. It's

interesting that Flora is not taking all the terms here. She is letting

the others take their turn and conserving that bit of energy, and

making sure she is not going to get to the run having led the whole 38

kilometres on the bike. It's a different style of biking. The first

section is quite fast, almost like a time trial course. Fast, straight,

wide roads. Then you hit the town, and the race completely changes. It

does, so you need that Max Power out of the corners there, you need to be

technically sound and sprinting out of the corners to put pressure in

the others in your group. You have to train for both parts of the

course. You need to train for the strong bit, the first 12 kilometres,

and then the Max Power bit, the sort of criterium circuit. Seven laps of

the city centre, three and three quarters kilometres for each lap.

You can see the crowd beginning to grow. The numbers beginning to swell

as they anticipate the arrival in the city centre. Looking down at

Leeds town Hall, top right, and then they will go past the Leeds Civic

Hall, just behind the main grandstand in Millennium Square.

Flora Duffy of Bermuda, Alice Betto of Italy, Taylor Spire V of the

United States of America, Maya Kingma of the Netherlands. -- Taylor

Spivey. Now they hit the town centre for the first time. Here they will

stay until the end of the race. They have seven laps to conclude on their

bikes, and then the loops of the run to bring the full Olympic distance.

It is the world champion, Flora Duffy of Bermuda, who leads the pack

through to a rapturous welcome. They have come through the park to the

city, and now the battle continues in downtown Leeds. Duffy, Spivey,

Betto and Kingma. It will be interesting to see if these girls

can stay with Flora through the technical section. The roads are

dry, so that will help. I wonder if, before the start of this race, Flora

Duffy played out a lot of different scenarios in her head of what could

happen. She knows she is up there on the swim. She had an incredible

bike. We can see her attacking. She said she wasn't sure what the

British athletes would be out too. I do think she expected to find

herself with three other relatively unknown athletes.

It's properly not one of the scenario she went through. We are

going to see the time check. That is Jessica at the front of a time group

trying to minimise the gap. That is Non on her wheels, so that's great

news. Pretty similar to what it was out of the swim. 65 seconds between

the leaders and the chasers and the chasers include the former world

champion Non Stanford and Jess Learmonth who was first out of the

water and decided to help her team-mate and they will now go to

work to try to reduce the lead that the Duffy group have. The athlete

that's missing in that second chase pack for me is the Australian

athlete Ashleigh Gentle to look to be just behind Non Stanford. She is

the biggest threat on the run to Non but no sighting of Ashleigh Gentle

who we saw coming out of the swim but is 30 seconds down on Non

Stanford and we have yet to see her come through. That's pretty good.

1.12 down. Definitely room to pull it down. I can't imagine they would

get help from anybody else but they will try to close the gap. We saw

Jess Learmonth one out of the water and spoke to her earlier in the

week. What's it like for you racing in

Leeds? Unbelievable. Last year was amazing. Best atmosphere you've ever

variance? Of course, Leeds, definitely. I thought, if I don't

ever race again, that's the biggest thing I'll ever do. So to be here

again this year, I'm pretty sure the crowds are going to be bigger,

hopefully and, yeah, it was just phenomenal. You change of Non

Stanford. Has there been a discussion with her about helping

her out on the bike? I train with Non. We're always to help each other

out any race that we do. All of the World Series at the same so we try

to communicate and make sure we do the best for one another so, yeah,

all the British athletes are in it together. If I am with her I will

definitely work with her. The key word there were "If I am with her"

but you wasn't anywhere near. She did the generous thing and waited to

help her along. We've had a lot of discussions within the richest team

about these races and not everyone is going to be a race where we work

together for the same goal because you don't want to stifle anybody's

individual progression. But these big races, the home races, the

championship races, it's worth communicating in working together as

much as possible to get as many Brits on the podium. Great teamwork

really from Jess to sit back and make sure Non was all right. She

knows she is the strongest British runner in the so really important

the whole team tried to get a British athlete on top of the

podium. Jess has gone back to Non and she now finds herself one-minute

down which, it's not looking too bad for her at the moment. It is not but

they have to work hard to keep that gap the same or close it down a

little bit but there are two there who know the city, they know each

other, and it helps when you train with someone. They have a good shot

at it, even if they minimise the gap it could help. You can see the

numbers of terms they need to negotiate a. They will be doubly

grateful it is dry because they have to do zigzag their way through the

inner workings of Leeds city centre. Versus the chase group, which

contains Non Stanford and Jess Learmonth including number one at

the start, Kirsten Kasper, but they are more than one minute behind the

leading quartet. It's as much fitness as it is technical skill now

that will help them because actually there's not too many places on this

course where they can get great speed, but it's how much time you

can make up in a technical parts of the course. I think it's really

conserving energy as well, because the better you are technically, you

will conserve a bit more and you have someone at the back, Kirsten

Kasper, technically not quite as good, but you time to work so much

harder around every corner which will take a toll when it gets to the

run. I'm quite surprised, we must be a lap into this city centre,

criteria, seven loops we have of three kilometres and Flora has not

dropped any of those three athletes. I'm slightly surprised by that,

Helen? We don't know how she's feeling on the day. She may not be

feeling brilliant. She could be thinking, my running is going well,

why don't I tried to have the best run possible? She did well in

Yokohama and had an injury over the winter, so I imagine she had a lot

of confidence in her running. At the end of lap one, within the city

itself, no change. We have the leading four. Taylor Spivey, Flora

Duffy, Maya Kingma and Alice Betto and there are the Bermudan

contingent who have made the journey to chair on the champion, half a

dozen who've come from Bermuda to watch Flora Duffy race today. I

think you are right about Flora's fun, going back to Stockholm last

year, where she had a breakthrough race where she virtually raised from

the front, took the lead, and led all the way. I remember you saying,

she was 20 seconds up on you, Helen, and that was a breakthrough run, in

Stockholm, last year, wasn't it? I think so, yes. It was a really

impressive race by Flora to ride on her own and run it as a time trial.

The only thing we have not seen her do is run a race. She comes off her

bike, but no one has been able to get close enough to her off the bike

to do that. Last time the chase group came through the transition

area, they wear 1.05 behind the leading group. They are now 1.15

behind but we expect those times to narrow as the city centre laps that

closer. There was a near collision there as they made that right-hand

turn. They've lost five or ten seconds which is a surprise.

Sometimes a smaller pack works better at narrow twisty roads like

these. Yes, they've also got Taylor there who was world champion last

year and has has had a solid start to the season. Really impressive for

her to be there. Her second World Series. They have 21.1 kilometres

still to write. They climb once again towards the Millennium Square

where the majority of the crowds convened to watch these races unfold

this afternoon. Often the World Triathlon Series women's race is

held on a but plenty of money for your buck with two races on the same

day. We have heard that Gillian Sanders has pulled out. From South

Africa. She's been forced to retire. We don't know why but we'll let you

know as soon as we find out. The third pack coming through, led by

India Lee. Trained in Basingstoke and looked after by Richard Stannard

in the water. Although she's putting in a lot of work at the front of

this third pack, they are two minutes and 30 seconds behind, and

also that pack contains Ashleigh Gentle so the threat to Non Stanford

gets less and less from the third pack. To put the task that faces

Jess Learmonth and Non Stanford into context, only when Jorgensen has

traded such a deficit to will travel on series race. At the moment it is

and 15 seconds. Jorgensen has done it half a dozen times. It'll be very

tough for Jess Learmonth and Non Stanford to replicate that. It will

be tough but they have huge motivation to do it in front of

their home crowd. They've got to minimise the gap as much as

possible. You don't want it to get much bigger than 1.15. One of the

front four has put down the hammer and this may be an effort to try and

reduce that group of four down to three although nobody is a

significant loss as we watch from the helicopter. They are maintaining

contact and I think the group will reformat a quartet shortly. Yes,

it's a little bit harder in some ways being technically strong, but

with the stop start points on the course, it helps the athletes to get

back on. We can see Jess Learmonth going back in the race, looking

behind, waiting for her team-mate, Non Stanford. She's playing the

tactical card. Brendan per cell, the performance director of British

triathlon, he spoke about it yesterday, saying our main objective

is to get a British triathlete on the podium. That is why Jess

Learmonth has taken that course of action to wait for Non Stanford

today. You can see Flora pushing it through the technical session. A

smart racer. She knows where it will be to hurt the girls who are with

her, so she will have analysed the course beforehand, gone through it

on the recce, and will know where the best places to put down the

power and put in the effort. You can't underestimate the work the

athletes are doing behind her. Flora is riding very hard at it with one

or two athletes, because there is 3Com they get dropped into a corner,

they can go back up to Flora Duffy because she is out riding the girls

but they are getting a draft a fact and managing to hang on to the wheel

of the current world champion. Just to recap, it is Flora Duffy, from

Bermuda, with her Fanclub in the bandstand, whether Alice Betto from

Italy, Taylor Spivey from the USA, and Maya Kingma from the Netherlands

for company as they complete the next lap. Five to go. Jodie Stimpson

cheering them on, unable to race today. And Georgia Taylor-Brown was

forced out with injury, as well, both of those reddish members forced

to watch it. Everybody is here to see it -- British members. It's a

tough thing to do was an athlete when you are injured. You don't want

to go out and show your face. You want to stay at home and hide and

almost ignore the triathlon for a bit but it's good they have come out

and support. It's a real reflection of how strong you guys are that the

supporter there is for each team member, the fact Jodie and Vicki are

here is brilliant. It's hard sometimes to be in an event like

this when you want to be racing and you can't. It's definitely one of

the toughest things I've done is to watch races when I am injured. You

have to put on a happy face that everything is fine, but inside you

want to curl up and not talk about it. It's part of what we do is

athletes. We are a professional athletes, and we have to be

professional and support your team-mates. Versus the group which

contains Jess Learmonth. Last time we checked, they were 1.15. That has

gone way out now, closer to 1.45 by the time they stop the clock at the

end of this most recent lap. 1.34. 1.35. No damage done to the Duffy

group lead. I'm absolutely shocked. They have now put in Flora on her

own, 30 seconds in two lapse of seven. That is pretty amazing

riding. Yes, that is a big gap to bring back. There's a few runners in

this group, who would probably be able to run through and rundown Maya

Kingma and probably Alice Betto, but the gap is getting bigger if they

want to reach Flora Duffy. The second pack appeared to be working,

don't they? Yes, they are pushing it. They are showing the strength of

this group who are working together, it's not Flora on her own. In the

second group, it looks like it is predominantly the British girls the

front. -- at the front. This is the group of India Lee, left of screen,

number 21. The third of the British triathlete racing today. Her group

is almost three seconds off the pace of the leading four which includes

the world champion, Flora Duffy. They have lost a bit of time. I'm

surprised to see that they have. They have got Ashleigh Gentle in

there, renowned as one of the strongest on the circuit at the

moment. It shows what this fastest swim, the hell out of transition has

taken out of them. It seems like they've not be able to get their

bike going. The men will be racing later. Will they have a chance to

check up on this and maybe learn something from what happened in the

women's race? It's interesting to raise second because the swimmer is

an interesting point, which side of the pontoon went faster, and they

will have been around the bike course, but you do end up watching

the race before you go down and actually start yours, it's hard not

to sometimes. Better to start second, in many

ways? I would always rather get it over with first. But there are

benefits to going second, definitely. Now they are in the city

centre once again. This is the chase group which contains Juri Ide of

Japan, and Melanie Santos of Portugal at the back. They are on a

climb at the moment. A couple of close calls here in this group. At

the front, Non Stanford and Jeff Learmonth. Learmonth is pushing the

pace right now, with Stanford on her rear wheel. It can be frustrating if

you are in a pack and there are people who just do not work. There

are people sat at the back because... Who may not have taken

their turn yet. It may be because they are unable, but I think if you

are in the pack, you've got to take your turn. A lovely afternoon here

in Leeds. Hope only the threat of the shower has gone. But there are

some clouds. Maybe they will threaten the men's race rather than

the women's. At the moment, bright sunshine. We still have these four

athletes out in front. What an amazing job they are doing, because

that chase pack finds themselves over one minute 30 seconds down.

Flora Duffy will be getting some time references out the cause from

the coaches and will know where she's at. She will know that with

that one and a half minutes gap, this race is playing into her hands.

Flora Duffy, an exceptional start to this season. Second

leaves behind Gwen Jorgensen. -- second here in leaves behind Gwen

Jorgensen. And sealing the title for 2016, as they approach the end of

lap three. Flora Duffy of Bermuda who brings about the roar from the

crowd, particularly from the supporters who have travelled from

the island to watch a race today. She, King Ma, Eto'o and Spivey have

a nap of one minute 34. It may have grown even more now. Looking back to

the race of last year. Gwen Jorgensen stormed to victory, but

she was behind on the bike, and rode down Flora Duffy at the end. This is

not a particularly fast course. With the hill out of transition and all

the corners, that stop start, it doesn't flow so it doesn't feel

super fast. But they will definitely feel it in their legs when they get

off the bike. They certainly will. Gwen Jorgensen is taking times out.

Her baby is due in the next couple of months.

Flora Duffy is working very hard to keep the pace up here in Leeds. What

is interesting is that, with the British and American systems, some

of the bigger countries, we have a lot of support in these races. Flora

Duffy at all on her own. There is no Bermuda team. It is a very different

way of racing, so it's impressive that she is able to have these

results without that back-up. The gap has grown even more. It was a

minute and 34 at the end of lap two. At the end of lap three, it will be

pushing one minute 50. One. 48. Non Stanford's mum is there to cheer her

daughter on. At the moment, Stanford is struggling to do any damage to

the Duffy group's lead. One of the great things about racing in your

home country is that you are able to get more friends and family up. Some

of the best experiences I've had is when you finish the race and, good

or bad, your friends and family are there. It really does help. Leeds

hosting the third leg of the World Triathlon Series. Before that, it

was set up in Hyde Park. Then they construct of the cycle superhighway

through the Royal Parks, and Leeds gladly took on hosting the race.

They are determined not to let it go. It is fitting it is in Leeds.

Home of the Brownlee brothers, Vicky Holland training here. We've had so

many Olympic medals and athletes. Non Stanford coming from this city

centre. It is fitting that the race is in Leeds. And it is a great race.

It has everything. It is technical, it has that brutal Hill straight out

of the swim. It's a really difficult course. Some of the athletes it will

really suit. This is the India Lee group coming through. Again, the

crowds rising to their feet. A standing ovation for each athlete

coming through. We don't see this anywhere else. They love their sport

in Leeds, whether it's football, cricket, Rugby Union or Rugby

League, and these days, triathlon as well, with the Brownlee brothers,

doing great things for their sport. The physical education of youngsters

as a whole as well. They really have become heroes of Leeds and the

County of Yorkshire. The Brownlee 's deserve everything they've got out

of the sport. We will see both of them race here later. It will be

Alistair's first trip into Olympic distance racing this season. Johnny

has been out. Alistair has been swimming and biking and running the

longer distance with some success. How difficult will it be for him to

make the transition back to Olympic? For some it may be difficult, but

Alastair Brownlee doesn't seem to have a problem doing anything in

triathlon. I imagine he will have done the same in training as before.

The only thing he may have changed is spending more time on his time

trial bike, maybe working more on those specifics. That I can't

imagine he's changed much. Sometimes, you can cross over from

Ironman to the shore to distance, but the middle distance can make

your biking stronger. The difficulty can be with the swim, because at

this distance, it is more dynamic and fast. He will have had a lot

steadier swims and not had to push himself quite so hard in the water.

But overall, you will see a pretty strong Alastair Brownlee here. And

he has not written off returning for a third Olympics, or what will be a

fourth Olympics, in 2020, and potentially going for his third gold

medal. Now that the Olympic mixed relay has been given the green

light, which happened last week, that provides further incentive for

you and for the Brownlee brothers to return and have another go at an

Olympic medal. Triathlon is such a good sport. I am biased, but I love

the sport. We had to medals at the game. The chance that we have,

another opportunity. The mixed racing is a really good format. We

also have a new relay introduced to the British triathlon programme on

the 2nd of September in Nottingham. It's called the British triathlon

mixed relay cup. We will have live coverage across the BBC. So the

leading group coming in. Alice Betto, Taylor Spivey, Maya Kingma,

Flora Duffy. Listen to the roar. Amazing. I'm pleased to see these

for working well together. I have to say sorry to the other girls,

because I said that they were not really working. But they have really

come together. I noticed a couple of moments ago they were taking on

water and gels, and they are probably thinking ahead to the run.

With three laps to go, just over ten kilometres, they will know they are

in a good position. Duffy certainly is. What an opportunity for those

three girls with her. I don't think they will have had an opportunity

like that before. Spivey has probably been the closest. So far,

their progress has been limited. The first three laps in the city centre

have gone by. Back with the leaders now. We are used to seeing Betto at

the back of the group. Today, she's been brought in to do some work. She

has had a few injury problems so has definitely struggled over the last

couple of years. In 2015, she had a couple of decent top five finishes

on the world triathlon circuit. They have also had a new guy involved

with the Italian team, which has been very positive for the Italian

team. He trains a lot of the top athletes, including Mario Mola. That

is rubbing off to Alice Betto. She is finding herself injury free this

year, and finding some of that form she had in 2015. It's really good

for Alice Betto to be up there competing. These are some athletes

who are about to be lapped, so they are being told by the referees to

move over and let this pack coming through now by. It is the leading

pack. Unfortunately, the three athletes who are about to be lapped

are going to be out of the race. It is tough when you are taken out of

the race like that. You are doing your best and trying to get through

it, and it is a really short lap. The opportunity to lack does come

through. But it happens to the best of them. We did lapped Gwen

Jorgensen once in Madrid. Being lapped does not mean you are a bad

triathlete, just that you are maybe having a bad day. Alice Betto's

fastest 10K time is 20 seconds quicker than Flora Duffy's. How will

that play into this race? Obviously, Betto has been out. That could have

been a time from five years ago, and we know Duffy is running well. But

Betto may have a chance today. Realistically, Betto does not find

herself in the best running form we have seen. Flora Duffy is a

different athlete, and a course like this, I think she will come out on

top. Taylor Spivey recently did well in Madrid, which is a really tough

biking course, and she ran strongly of it. Georgia Taylor-Brown from

Great Britain won that race. The lead group, with Betto out in front,

on this little climb taking them back around to complete lap four of

the seven that will unfold in the city centre. I think we can safely

say that Leeds has thrown out a great race. A really interesting

course. It's not a scenario that we had imagined this morning. Yes,

Flora Duffy in the front pack, but the other athletes we have, the

Dutch athlete, the American athlete and Alice Betto, we did not expect

to see them away with Flora Duffy. I think that is the nature of the

course. Jessica Learmonth took that swim out really fast. But thereon

out, the whole pack was destroyed and broken down into little groups.

The wind has got up significantly, and I think it is affecting the

quality of our pictures from the motorcycle camera. That is partly to

do with the breeze that is funneling around the roads of the city centre.

The wind may affect them a little bit on the run. If they are in a

group, it may be worth sitting in a little bit on those headwinds. It

always happens in a city. You get those swirly wins. Well, Flora

Duffy, what a year she has been having. She is such a complete

athlete. We know she has been the champion on a course where the road

bike is replaced by a mountain bike. She really is a multitalented

athlete. She does do a lot of training on high mountain bike. She

says she has to be a bit careful taking on anything really, really

technical. Just wanting to avoid a crash at this time of year. That is

one of the things that makes her stronger, especially this is an off

powder. The mountain biking is a really good crossover for that.

One hour, eight minutes and 44 seconds so far. Leeds Civic Hall

overlooking the transition area, designed by a competition in 1926,

won by Vincent Harris and the work began in 1931. King George V open

the building in August 1933. Flora Duffy, she Leeds the pace. Delight

from the fans and they are on their feet with generous support for the

maul who've been in front since they've been at the top of the hill

since leaving Roundhay Park and I have two lapse to go. With two lapse

to go, it's time to start thinking a little bit about the run so only a

few minutes, ten minutes or so left of racing and I think Flora Duffy

will certainly be thinking ahead to the run, taking the lead now pushing

up this last bit of help. Three athletes on her wheel, and will

shortly get a chance to see where the second pack is but the last

count was they were 1.45 seconds behind which will be difficult for

Non Stanford to get onto the podium today. It will be tough and they

want to keep that under two minutes if they can. Non is running well,

and can definitely run down at least one of these girls but you don't

want to start with over two minutes if you can avoid it. They need to

push well and hopefully we'll get help from the other athletes because

at the moment it looks like the British girls are working together.

Maya Kingma, only in her second World Triathlon Series race, so

she's doing so brilliantly for someone so it inexperienced at this

level. It is the buzz being at the front, it's amazing, I had a race

when I was younger, a World Cup back then, and I ended up in the front

group with a lot of well-known athlete and managed to hang on in

there and it was such a buzz, you want to keep staying in there and

not get dropped. Made lap, the time check we got from the lead group to

the Jess Learmonth group was 1.52, and now, with two lapse to go, it

has stretched out, yawned two minutes, next time they cut the

timing ribbon, as they cut the turn, they concede it's now a gap of 2.14.

I think it's fair to say, bar mishaps on that front group, we are

not likely to see a British triathlete on the podium today. I'm

slightly scratching my head as to what the second pack could do

because it looks like they have worked well. Jessica and Non have

been pushing the pace, great riders, and on their own that they should

perhaps be able to write better than they have. For Flora and the other

three, to find themselves 2.15 in front, it's a huge gap. I think the

front four have been working effectively together. The chasing

pack have not got that group working efficiently yet, and, yeah, it's

very hard. Sometimes if someone puts in a big surge, and sits in for a

bit, it disrupts the rhythm whereas if you have four girls taking equal

terms, it can work better. Flora Duffy, I wonder if she will make any

plans to break away over the last few: it is? It's nice to be on your

own going into transition, not that they have to worry about a lot of

athletes behind them. After Missy 20 or 30 athletes coming into

transition and a lot can go wrong but they won't have any problem in

transition. I wonder if Flora fancies pushing on a little bit with

just over five colleges to go? I think she will be trying to hurt the

girls with her. They are taking the technical session strong every time.

The other three are having to work to stay with her. It's a lot nicer

to transition in a group of four than 40. Because otherwise you have

to be so aware what's happening, crashes and all sorts of things can

happen so it's much easier in a smaller group. Duffy comes into this

lead fresh off the back of a win in Yokohama, 1.56, 18 seconds, her

winning time, in the pouring rain of Japan and she is now out in front.

The others have not been left. This is not a decisive break away from

Flora Duffy but she has raised the pace with the last couple of laps

unfolding. It's always good to see her ride, she takes corners pretty

fast. She doesn't take risks as such, technically very strong, and

can ride in and out of corners fast. The three athletes struggling to go

with her, but when they head the straight bit of road, they are able

to write back onto her wheel again. I imagine they will stay together

coming into transition. What an opportunity for these three women

with Flora to make a World Series podium. It's difficult to say

because of course we are looking at the Dutch athlete Maya Kingma and it

only her second World Triathlon Series race, so how can she perform

over ten climate is? She's probably high as a kite at the moment because

she can't believe she finds herself, 2.2 seconds up on the others in the

sport -- 2.20. They will have tired legs. It will be tough to stay ahead

of the group behind because some of these athletes don't run that fast,

especially off a tough bike so you've just got to go for it. Try

not to go too fast. Try and see what happens. It's an amazing opportunity

and you got to go for it. I think Taylor Spivey could run the best out

of these three. With Flora. In they come, one lap to go. 3.75, it is,

the final loop of the city centre. Their advantage was two and a

quarter minutes and I expected to grow further with Duffy having

pushed the pace and raced a game on the penultimate lap and now thoughts

will turn to T2, split transition, they collected their bikes in

Roundhay Park and they will park bomb right in front of the Leeds

Civic Hall and the packed grandstands and everybody would get

the best of you of transition. What is easier, T1 or T2? Probably T2.

The wet suit is always a drama. Lucan panic and it doesn't seem to

go as smoothly as you planned -- you can panic. Taylor Spivey, Flora

Duffy, Maya Kingma and Alice Betto tends to be faster. The noise when

they come in for this transition will give them a left. There was the

great crowd here, very noisy crowd. This is the Kirsten Kasper Non

Stanford group who had a difficult time on the streets of Leeds this

afternoon it's fair to say. It started with Non Stanford getting

left behind in the water, and Jess Learmonth was first out of the water

but then waited for her at the top of the climb to pick up Non Stanford

and attempt to help her to climb up some places up through the race but

it didn't work out as planned. Duffy forced a ridiculous pace out in

front as they come passed in front of Leeds town Hall. Not to be

confused with the Civic Hall. The location for the start of the Tour

de France in 2014. A different type of cycling taking place this

afternoon. The chase group come through to take the bal. Taylor

Spivey, Flora Duffy, Maya Kingma and Alice Betto are on their way on

their last lap on the streets of Leeds. They've lost a few athletes

from this group, it looks like, so it'll be interesting to see what did

happen, if there was a crash or incident or they couldn't handle the

pace. I think they've lost one or two. On a positive note, we know Non

Stanford at the second fastest run in Yokohama which took place a few

weeks ago in Japan, running just over 34 minutes, a pretty decent

time, only Ashleigh Gentle from Australia ran faster, and she's way

back in the third pack. What do think the chances are these girls,

Maya Kingma and Alice Betto and Taylor Spivey running about 36

minutes, which would keep them ahead of Non Stanford? It is so hard to

predict. I think Taylor Spivey has a chance. I'm not sure about the other

two but it's hard to tell. We don't know as much about them. They could

be coming into really good form, so it's hard, but we have got Kirsten

Kasper with Non Stanford and she will have strong runners to run with

and if they want to work their way back into the race, they could. That

is the difference in distance. The lead group are down to their last

1600 metres and the chasing group have almost double that still to

ride. The yellow loop and the blue dot is the leader and the green.

Still to do that out at the back at the opposite end of the track, a

shorter lap to follow, four laps, 2.5 kilometres. They have a ten K

run to come. It's great to see Alice Betto from Italy leading this race.

Flora Duffy tucked in behind, a smart move, saving her legs just

before she heads T1, parts of her trainers and takes on at ten, to

run. Maya Kingma just came through. The Bell indicating one lap to go on

the bike course. It can sometimes be a relief when you hear the bell. You

think, thank God, one more lap to go. The run is dictated more at your

pace but the bike is dictated often by others and you are just trying to

hang on so it can be a relief sometimes if you're having a bad

day. Flora Duffy just happy to sit in and that the other three athletes

do the work and I've noticed they had taken on Walker. Flora took on a

gel and have important is that just before the bike? They will end the

bracing for two hours so it's important to take on some nutrition

and it's been a tough day, so I would normally take one gel over an

Olympic race but in a race there is tough, you could take two. It

depends on everyone's nutritional plans. 2.28 the lap difference

between them. Sometimes those times in the middle of the lap can be

inaccurate, but we now go back to the front of this World Triathlon

Series race and join Taylor Spivey, Flora Duffy, Maya Kingma and Alice

Betto, who have been out in front since they reached the front of the

climb, the tough climb, leaving Roundhay Park. There they have

stayed and now they consider the arrival in transition. Those of you

who follow triathlon regularly will be used to seeing this and those of

you who don't, we'll see them reach down, remove their shoes, which

remained attached to the pedals and hit the dismount liner on the blue

carpet, and they have to get the dismount right. If they exceeded,

there will be a penalty. That was tight for Alice Betto but the red

flag stayed down. And now they make the run around the corner and into

transition. The noise levels reaching a crescendo here. The four

of them with a decent lead, coming in steadily to transition and they

will hang up their bikes, look for their running shoes and sunglasses

and make their way out of transition. Not forgetting to leave

the helmet behind. The world champion Flora Duffy has nailed her

transition and is first, followed by Alice Betto and Taylor Spivey and

Maya Kingma the last to leave. These women will know how they are feeling

within the first few calamitous of the race and you start the run and

have hard legs and you will feel it in your quads or get into a rhythm

and be able to push through it but you can see Flora Duffy already has

taken time out of her competitors and looks to be getting into her

rib. Flora missed the first two races, Abu Dhabi and the Gold Coast

with injury and decided to set them out to make sure she was good for

the rest of the season and then took Yokohama convincingly. When I spoke

to her, she said I don't know where my form is. She has come back as

strong as ever and only the second race into their 2017 season. She's

come back really well from injury and I think that is one of the

things, as you get an older athlete, and you put in years and years of

training, having time off with injury doesn't take as much out of

you as much as it would've done when you are a young athlete. Not that

Flora is old, but more experienced. Yes, Flora Duffy, 30 is old, I

think, this year, so she is in her prime, she had a slight

disappointing course but she did not bring her race legs to the games and

finished in eight place and she has got Tokyo on her mind.

I would imagine that Tokyo is the aim for her, as with a lot of

athletes on the course. That cycle does tend to come around quite

quick. You she didn't have a great time in Rio. Flora Duffy, that is.

Meanwhile, the British pair of Jeff Learmonth -- Jeff Learmonth and Non

Stanford have arrived. Non Stanford will need to go to work now. She is

about to move into her strongest phase of the triathlon. Let's see

what damage she can do in stage three here.

Kirsten Kasper from America, the athlete wearing number one today.

Jeff Learmonth behind her. Non Stanford, not the fastest

transition. Looked a little bit flustered from the commentary box

there. I think Non will be trying to get into her running as quick as

possible. There is always a lot of pressure to do that in your home

race. This is a home race, so she will just want to get into it and

get that best day out. Former world champion, Non Stanford, won the

title in 2013. Helen Jenkins alongside me won her second. Your

concern and won it twice, 14 and 15. And Flora Duffy claimed her first

title in 2016. Here she is leading the Leeds World Triathlon Series

race. Look at the advantage she's gained during the first half lap.

What an effort from Flora Duffy. It certainly is. She's absolutely

dropped the other athletes. They are miles down the road. That is good

news for the British athletes behind. It just goes to show that

that bike has affected the other athletes' legs. I think it will have

affected their legs. They will have put everything into staying in that

front pack. Flora is used to this. She's used to running on her own,

setting her own pace, and pushing on. This is not unusual for her to

be doing a solo time trial run. That is key. We've seen her time and time

again over the last 12 months have a really tough bike and be able to

run. Going back 18 months, people questioned whether Florey Duffy

could run. She's improving and improving and getting stronger.

Tough to beat this year. Sometimes someone comes into a sport and

really changes it. Flora coming into it over the past year, putting down

her mark, as made everyone else realise that we have to be good at

the swim and be in the front pack, otherwise we are going to be out of

this race. This is a bit further down the road, to Kearton Kasper,

who was with the Non Stanford group. You can see Stanford and Learmonth

just behind. Two minutes and 41 seconds behind Flora Duffy. She has

Betto, Spivey and King Matt ahead of her. Kirsten Kasper there, broken

away. I think sometimes you need the first 500 or 800 metres just to find

your run legs. You normally know within a kilometre whether you are

into the race or not. I think Non Stanford took a while to warm up.

Kirsten Kasper doesn't look like the most effective runner to me, but

she's dimming well. She's had some good results lately, Kirsten Kasper.

She finished runner-up in Sardinia on June the 4th. Some good recent

results under her belt. A really good start to the season. She may

have an edge over Non Stanford due to the fact that she has been racing

since Abu Dhabi in March. That is sometimes a positive. There is

something to be said for running yourself fit. You can do all the

training you like, but if you don't have the races, it can be tough. No

matter how much training you've done over the winter, it can be a shock

and take longer to come into it. Sometimes it can become really

naturally. In the far right-hand side of our picture there, it looks

like Jessica Learmonth with Non Stanford. This little hill is

hurting their legs I think. It is a tough course. It is a break your

legs bike course, because you are in and out of those corners, and it is

very hard psychologically going out on the run with your legs like that.

I think Kirsten Kasper stands in fifth position overall in this race.

Jess Learmonth moving up into six. This is her race to lose now, the

overall leader, Flora Duffy, the defending world champion. Swam well,

rode beautifully and is running storm here. Expect the women's

winning time to be around the two hour mark. Around 30 minutes left in

this Leeds world triathlon race. Being led by Flora Duffy. Taylor

Spivey holding second, but the gap is enormous. That is a large gap,

that Taylor Spivey has had a great start to the season. A solid race

for her, and that is really good for Alice Betto as well. Taylor Spivey,

26 years of age. Runner-up in the Madrid World Cup race in the Spanish

capital on May the 28th. 13th in the Gold Coast race. That was Sprint

distance, at the beginning of April. Alice Betto now.

Here we go. Just in front of the grandstand, we have Taylor Spivey

coming through. Hopefully we will have some time checks on where she

is. Alice Betto looking a little bit tired. That is Maya Kingma, the

Dutch athlete. She has lost a lot of time to do Flora Duffy in this first

lap. If Betto can get a place on the podium today, she will become the

first Italian to stand on a World Triathlon Series podium. Plenty to

win and lose for Alice Betto this afternoon. The Dutch have had some

success in the past. Today, flying the flag for the Netherlands, is

Maya Kingma. I think she looks like she is suffering a little bit. Three

kilometres to go. She has lost a lot of time on Flora Duffy, and I think

it will be a hard seven point five kilometres for Kingma.

King Malcolm onto the blue carpet, a little soft underfoot. But she is

clearly feeling this. It is only her second World Triathlon Series

outing, holding forth position at the moment. Having come into

transition level pegging with Flora Duffy, she now finds herself one

minute and 34 seconds behind. Doing some maths there, with Spivey 45

seconds down on Duffy, that is three minutes overall that she could lose.

You would expect Non Stanford to run the same time roughly. But it is

Jessica Learmonth who is ahead of Non Stanford. Non Stanford looks

like she is struggling to me today. She hasn't really got into her

running yet. This is great by Jess. She is looking strong and pushing

on. It's not over yet for Non, but she's really got to try and find her

legs and get into her rhythm. Learmonth is a local girl from

nearby Tadcaster, remember. There are several hundred here from that

small Yorkshire town cheering her on. Plus all of the Leeds faithful

are getting behind her. Everyone is getting so much support. No

allegiances, every athlete coming through is having the roof raised

for them. Kirsten Kasper tries to stretch her lead over Jessica

Learmonth. Learmonth is in sixth. Then a little gap to Gillian

Backhouse, and on the right you can see Non Stanford alongside Natalie

Van Coevorden. Juri Ide looks uncomfortable at the back of this

group coming through transition. You can see what this swim and bike has

done to them. Juri Ide was third before. You can see what the hills

and the technical section on the bike takes out of these women.

Looking at Juri Ide struggling through transition, and then looking

at Flora Duffy at the front, easing her way to the top of this hill in

the city of Leeds. Jess Learmonth in sixth position, currently the best

of the British contingent so far. I have to say, it is difficult for

Jess, because she did sit back and wait for Non. She must be

questioning what would have happened if she had gone with Duffy. She

waited for Non because she thought it was the right thing to do. Non is

the strongest runner. But she hasn't been so well the last few months.

Looking at her now, it is not the Non we know. It's not. I think Jess

will be thinking that, but this was a team decision by the British

women. The coaches are leading these conversations, but it's down to what

they decide. It will have been a group decision to race for Non in

this race, and you have to accept that. That's the thing about

triathlon. No guarantees. That was Betto's bike. The front wheel just

going over the line before she stepped off. Is she due a penalty? I

think so. A penalty of 15 seconds. That is unfortunate because that is

such an easy thing to do right. That is just a little bit of common sense

when you are racing and just trying to be sensible. Now we have some

shots of the brothers, Alastair Brownlee and Jonny Brownlee, the

younger of the two. They have arrived at the park. Two superstars

of this sport in their home city, preparing to race in the Leeds world

Triathlon Series race. What a welcome they have received. Johnny

can barely conceal his grin. At the start of the race in Roundhay Park.

We will have full, uninterrupted coverage of the Brownlee brothers in

action in Leeds later. Flora Duffy in complete control of this one now.

She hasn't faltered since the moment she burst away from transition and

immediately opened up a decent lead. Taylor Spivey currently holding

second position. She looks reasonably comfortable. Betto

bidding to become the first Italian to take a place in the world

Triathlon Series podium. Taylor Spivey looks really good there. I

don't think she will have expected to get on the podium. She has been

close to a couple of podiums. She must be feeling amazing. She must be

trying not to think about the results, just the process. She will

be trying to get through this and not thinking too much about the

podium. She looks so relaxed. Her running is so fantastic. The

American team are so strong. In years gone by, they have had some

fantastic athletes. Gwen Jorgensen as well. The team has grown in

strength. We don't have Katie Zaferes here today. What is it about

the Americans? They are incredibly strong. It is the strength and depth

as well. It is the American women. They don't have the same strength

and depth across the men. They have triathlon in the collegiate system

in the US now, and that is why we are getting more and more strong

athletes coming through. Flora Duffy is almost halfway through the run,

five point two kilometres left. Two full laps left on the completion of

this second lap. What a great position she finds herself in. She

can take her foot off the gas and almost a joke. You cannot do that on

the bike, but she could relax and enjoy this last five kilometres.

It's not very often an athlete finds himself in that position in the

World Triathlon Series. Five kilometres down. 5000 kilometres to

go. The Leeds city Museum in the background. Flora Duffy has put on a

real show here. Up near the leaders out of the water, and what a bike

she had there. Dominating, dictating. The 40 kilometre bike was

done very much on her terms. Then she left the other three behind and

decided to run the first half of the ten kilometre run on her own. The

next best is Taylor Spivey from the USA.

She will be costing in second position. Closely followed by Alice

Betto, little further down the road. And then Maya Kingma, she was in

fourth position, but was weakening gradually. She did look like she was

struggling on that flat coming through. She has got to hang on for

as long as possible. It's a horrible feeling when you run down, but she's

got to be happy with her performance. She swam really well,

has ridden the race of her life, and has got to keep going and try to get

the best out of this result and take a lot of confidence moving forward

that she can swim and bike with the best in the world. There we have it.

Taylor Spivey is one minute down. She lost 45 seconds in the first

lap, just over 15 seconds. I think Alice Betto is running herself into

this race because she is looking a bit more relaxed than she was after

the first lap. The only thing of note, though she had to sit out a 15

second penalty for going over the red line? I think she will have to

take 15 seconds so it depends when she takes it. Yeah, obviously,

hopefully before the end. We were focusing on the replay, focusing on

her wheel going over the line, but I think another one may have come

close as well. I don't think it was Duffy but I think it could have been

Maya Kingma so she could be in trouble if she does have a penalty

to take. She's really struggling now because she's only just turning up

the long stretch before she turns onto the big part and finds herself

a good few minutes down on Flora Duffy but what a race for the junior

athlete from Holland. She rode and swam with a world champion and now

we can see Kirsten Kasper of having the run of her life, throwing

everything at it and it's just about to run herself into fourth position.

It's a big year of course for Dutch triathlon because Rotterdam will be

hosting the world finals. It was in Kosovo last, you will remember the

Brownlee brothers. Rotterdam will host the finals between September

the 14th - 17th. Live coverage, of course, across the BBC.

She appears to be in trouble, Maya Kingma, and Kirsten Kasper can send

that and will shortly move up into third position, surely? It's a big

gap she will have to pull back but she running really strong and to get

on the podium will still be a big ask, I think. She has got two laps

to do it now. Jess Learmonth announced to the crowd here, local

girl, they are screaming at her to try to find another gear. Gillian

Backhouse in severance of the moment. Non Stanford turning onto

the carpet, we were hoping for fireworks from there but so far she

has not been able to produce but listen to the well, the 2013 world

champion receives. CROWD CHEERS

There's a view Welsh flags flying in that crowd and I'm sure friends and

family will be supporting Non and she will do the best she can add

their to get the highest position possible. We have Ai Uedai coming

through, she's running really well. One of the most consistent

triathletes on the tour. Well into her 30s now and loving the sport.

She has come past her com patriot who never really settled, Juri Ide.

And unmissable running style, you know it's her always. It's

interesting, and it works for her because she runs very well, but no

other person runs like that on the circuit. No, I have never seen

anyone run like air but it seems effective and GZ World Series

podiums, been too many Olympic Games, so if it works fair, that's

great. Often people can be critical and say you don't look great running

but as long as it is effective for you, everybody moves in different

ways. Absolutely. Flora Duffy now, just over 3.5, tours until the

finish line and it is perhaps fitting it won't be a British

athlete but she worked so hard last year and had the two British

athletes, who had instructions not to work too hard and wait for the

other athletes and she found herself in a difficult spot and was run down

by Gwen Jorgensen last year but that won't be the case today. She's way

in front. Non Stanford is over 3.30 down and I think the closest athlete

from that second pack, Kirsten Kasper, is 3.37 down. She's not only

had the fastest bike and swim, she is also running the fastest as well.

Poultry the fastest moving on the course is Ai Uedai but won't beat

Flora Duffy now. -- probably the fastest moving. She will push to the

finish line. You won't know until it's over. She can afford to keep

her rib and does not have do push on too much. Just make sure she's got

enough energy to get to the finish line as fast as possible. She looks

very smooth. Overrunning style does not change. Other athletes, after a

tough course, being affected on the run but Flora Duffy, it's all there,

nothing is changed. She just looks consistently strong and, yes,

comfortable. That's how you would describe her race today. Just a very

well executed across all three disciplines.

Taylor Spivey are still running really well. Covering the ground

quickly. Holding onto second position. Our leader maintains her

dominant form. Next time she crosses the line she will take the bell,

signalling 2.5 kilometres, one lap to go before she will go on to win

her second successive World Triathlon Series contest having

triumphed in Yokohama. She attempts to win the world title for the

second time. Following Leeds, the tour moves on the hamburger. Sprint

races and a mixed relay in Hamburg and then Edmonton, the first two

Canadian stops. After that, Montreal, Stockholm, Sweden at the

end of August and then Rotterdam at the grand final in the middle of

September. Kirsten Kasper could run herself into the World Series lead,

and she's coming to this race ranked third overall. I'm not sure even if

Flora wins, she can go above her, I'm not sure about the numbers, but

that must be exciting for Kirsten Kasper. It must be lovely to be able

to lead the series. We expect less than ten minutes to go from Flora

Duffy, who still looks calm and composed and controlled. Has not

allowed herself to be distracted by all the noise and excitement around

her. The generosity of the fans, they love their sport and they know

all about Flora Duffy. The reigning world champion, and a bit of light

rain starting to fall which could make life interesting for the mens

rea is, especially if it turns into a heavy downpour. -- the men's race.

Duffy takes the Bell. I'm so excited. She has got the crowd

behind her, a commanding lead. When you have got this crowd support,

it's exciting for the athletes and it does not happen in every race. We

are lucky to have such good crowd support in the UK. You are

absolutely right. We commentate on many races around the world and

there's no crowds like this, it is exceptional and wonderful. It always

makes me smile, when I think about our little island stuck out in the

sea with terrible weather and we produced so many fantastic athletes

and races. Can we race here every week? I think a short commute to

racing is always nice, nice to get into your car than get on a 24-hour

flight to Australia! Second place, Taylor Spivey, USA, enjoying a good

run of form. Flora Duffield ready well on her way on her final lap and

Taylor Spivey makes the term. Second triathlete through, the American.

1.12 off the pace. Quite a long way until we see the third, she's

managed a smile as she heard her name gets announced. There is the

Italian, Alice Betto. Third position right now. Taylor Spivey has run

consistently. She lost a lot of time on the first lap but has since then,

maintained it and it's carried her through. Alice Betto takes a

penalty. We thought it was coming after her dismount line, 15 seconds,

which will seem like a minute to her. They never pass quickly. Alice

Betto is stopped and restarted and released back onto the course with a

burst of acceleration. I have to do is say, she was very composed

because you see athletes get incredibly frustrated. I won't

mention any names but Alice Betto, very composed and almost gives

herself a little break. She knows she's got her place. Is no one

insight, and off she goes again and what a great race for the Italian

because we haven't had an Italian athlete on the podium in the World

Triathlon Series. She'll be a big-name overnight in Italy because

triathlon has a big following over there. Of late, we haven't seen a

lot of Italian athlete but over the years it's been incredibly popular

in Apsley. -- Italy. To get on top of the podium, it is a big

breakthrough for them. Traditionally, they've had stronger

Italian men but the women are doing really well. They have a strong

junior programme and the English juniors have done a lot with the

Italian juniors, so it's nice there is a crossover. Still are best

placed of the British triathletes, Jess Learmonth. Running with Gillian

Backhouse, keeping yourself in front of the Australian. I think she's an

outstanding race because she's had a little injury worry with her knee, a

difficult time over the last three weeks but to come here and it looks

to me like she's going to get her best place finish on a World

Triathlon Series. It looks to me, she was eighth, and she has got Ai

Uedai behind Herbert will make a top ten finish it today and Ai Uedai,

always smiling and relaxed and the crowd love her and it was a shame

she could not get her swim together. Yes, she doesn't have the best

swimmer, and we saw that in Yokohama. She's had some amazing

result and is always a happy person to be around and have on the circuit

and I watch her do well and I love it. It looks to me like she's going

to run down, flying around, smiling, very relaxed and these two athletes,

in front, the look over their shoulders and they will be surprised

to see Ai Uedai absolutely flying. She looked up to the big screen, saw

her image and the timings below, smiled, enjoyed this, and it's a

massive crowd and they don't get anything like this in Yokohama on

the regular tour. We were there on the world triathlon series, and

there's been a few hundred spectators there. So Duffy is well

on her final lap, and it's between Duffy and Non Stanford, 4.5 minutes

now. Maya Kingma has been overtaken by Natalie Van Coevorden. And

running alongside is Juri Ide. She will feel at home here, from the

West Coast of Scotland, Charlotte McShane, and is making a decent move

through the course, up into 13th position, five-minute behind, Flora

Duffy, who is well on her way to her second successive World Triathlon

Series victory. These gaps are huge. You don't often see this. Massive

gaps between first and tenth. We are coming up to over five minutes and

normally, you can see how hard the course has been with these large

gaps. Believes cause is not like any other. The swim is cold, the Hill is

where it all begins, and the place where it all picks up. I think we

don't see races like this. It is a smaller field but these huge gaps,

you don't see it and I guess it's the nature of the course which

separates the athletes? I think so, but it's great we have this variety

in the series, because we don't want every race being similar, a flat

bike armour we need to have variety, so it's exciting to see these kinds

of athletes take on different styles of courses.

Flora Duffy is demonstrating she is good on any course. We talked about

her winning in Stockholm last year and Yokohama a few weeks ago, which

was completely flat, and she is an all-round complete athlete now and

in phenomenon form. This is a well-deserved win because everything

has been executed perfectly and she couldn't ask for anything else

during this race. So the last 500 metres or so for

Flora Duffy, who has been the sharpest of them all here this

afternoon. She has not put a foot wrong, she has dominated the

storyline of this World Triathlon Series race in Leeds with a

fantastic performance. The runner-up to Gwen Jorgensen a year ago will

take victory, and it looks like Spivey will be on the World

Triathlon Series podium for the first time to continue the American

success story at this level. We can follow Duffy from the helicopter

shot which will take on the last 300 metres or so, following the

motorcycle towards victory in Leeds. And the sunshine has returned,

fittingly, to illuminate her success. With only 300 metres to go,

she can really try to soak up the crowd now. She will have time to

high-5 the crowd and taking the support from the people who have

travelled from Bermuda to watch her. 200 metres to go for Flora Duffy and

a really worthy champion, I don't think anyone can dispute that. She

has led pretty much from start to finish, she really stamped her mark

on the bike course with the three other athletes there to support her

but today it is all about Flora Duffy. Back-to-back wins, Yokohama

she took a few weeks ago, and she's a few hundred metres away from

taking her title in Leeds. She did miss the first two races of the year

but she's got time to catch it up, and if she stays in this form it