Alistair Brownlee rules himself out of IRONMAN Austria and France

Alistair Brownlee will not be racing at IRONMAN Austria this weekend, or at IRONMAN France the following weekend.

The two-time British Olympic triathlon champion had been targeting this weekend’s showdown in Austria in an attempt to qualify for the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice in September, after failing to make the start line for a planned showdown with Jan Frodeno at the ill-fated IRONMAN Hamburg event on June 4.

Brownlee also withdrew from IRONMAN South Africa at the start of the season, with his only race of 2023 so far a sixth place finish at the PTO Tour European Open in Ibiza last month.

On Friday morning, it was confirmed that Brownlee will not be racing in Klagenfurt, or taking up the alternative option of a World Championship dress rehearsal in Nice on Sunday week. With less than a month until the qualifying window for the world championship closes, Brownlee’s options are becoming increasingly limited.