Alistair Brownlee admits any road to another Olympic title defence may look a little different as he resets his long-term sights on Tokyo.
Brownlee, 28, defended his men’s triathlon title in Rio this summer and is keeping options for his short term targets open.
He largely avoided this season’s World Triathlon Series to focus on the Olympics and next season’s schedule may follow a similar pattern.
“I’m still undecided about 2017. I’m going to have a bit of rest to get over this year and then choose my races - but I’ll definitely be racing in the UK race in Leeds,” he said.
“At the moment I definitely want to be in Tokyo but I need a bit of time to rest and reflect because everything is more intense in an Olympic year. You need a background goal but you also need little goals along the way.
“Perhaps I might do some different sort of racing, I’d love to have a crack at a half ironman for example, so we’ll have to see.”
In contrast, Olympic silver medallist Jonny Brownlee feels he has unfinished business with the World Championships, after finishing second in this year’s standings, following his dramatic collapse in the recent Grand Final in Mexico.
“After messing up this year, I want it even more,” he said.
“As long as the body holds up and I’ve got no injuries then it’s my big target for next season.”
Sportsbeat 2016