Olympic triathlon champion Alistair Brownlee believes he is coming into form at the right time as he goes in search of his third European Championships title in Austria this weekend.
Brownlee has endured an injury hit start to the season, missing the opening ITU World Series races in Auckland in Cape Town as he continued his recovery from a troublesome Achilles problem.
Consecutive fourth place finishes then followed in Yokohoma and London as the 26-year-old stepped up his return to top form ahead of the European Championships.
Brownlee, who took gold in London 2012, has won the event twice before in 2010 and 2011 and will form part of a team of seven British elite senior athletes and six juniors in Kitzbuhel, with racing starting on Friday.
Last week Brownlee was also named among the six athletes chosen to represent England at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next month, and the triathlete expects to use the weekend to step up his preparations.
“Each race I’ve done this year has been better than the last so if I can continue that in Kitzbuhel I’m going in the right direction for the Commonwealth Games,” he said.
“Of course, there's a major title on the line here and it’s a venue I love going back to so I’m looking forward to it.”
© Sportsbeat 2014