What To Expect From Brownlee Racing This Season
A legendary name on the badge, the reigning men’s World and Olympic champion, a hero of the sport leading the team, and the future of elite triathlon in Britain. Tim Don, opens up about his athletes, the team dynamic, and what he’s expecting as the 2025 season gets underway this weekend in Toronto.
“What excites me most about becoming Team Manager of Brownlee Racing? I think it's definitely the development aspect,” explains Don. “But also, don't get me wrong, I love winning, and I love fighting for the win. I'm not saying we're going to win, but I love trying to put a team together that has the skill set needed for Supertri.”
In his dual role as Team Manager for Brownlee Racing in Supertri and General Manager of the franchise, Don is responsible for both the performance on the course and also how the team will develop, but it’s one that will see his boss race for him in the shape of Jonny Brownlee.
“I think having Jonny on the team as one of the owners is just fantastic. The little tips of advice he gives the athletes once he's ridden the course and run the course, with a new race this year in Toronto, and going back to Jersey, it's really important that he steps up to the plate almost as a player-manager.
“The Brownlee name in the modern era of triathlon is just synonymous with British triathlon, and I really want that to stand out for who we are. It really is just the name of triathlon.”
As Don highlights, this year’s Supertri League will see athletes race in Toronto for the first time in the opening race on Saturday, as well as return to Jersey for a long-awaited comeback in September. Blowing into the windy city in August, Chicago will again welcome Supertri to its streets before a French rendezvous in Toulouse in October for Don and his team.
While their badge may bear the name of one its own, Don is clear that there’s more than one athlete to get you off your seat this season in the Brownlee blue.
“Alex is a competitor, a fierce competitor,” Don says of Alex Yee. “Yes, he did the London Marathon earlier this year, but he has still been swimming and biking. In Toronto I'm expecting nothing less than 100% from Alex, and I know he'll give that.
“This is a very calculated athlete who knows his ability and where he's at, and I think with the team that we've assembled to support him, we're really going to bounce off each other in Toronto and for the rest of the series.
“The potential with the young athletes is just awesome. The likes of Tilly [Anema], Ollie [Conway], Jess [Fullagar], Brandon [Pie] just to name a few, and Marcus Dey, it's great to give them that extra experience of racing multiple Olympic medalists.”
The athletes in Don’s roster will balance their Supertri commitments with those of representing Great Britain, with the relaxed atmosphere around his camp something Don hopes will grow these athletes and give them a fighting chance of stealing the crown from Crown Racing.
“Do we have what it takes to overtake Crown? I think we're going to give it a good go,” Don starts off. “Crown is all-singing all-dancing, no pennies left spared to buy the best athletes in the world, so they will be hard to beat.
“But I tell you what, we're going to give them a real good run for their money, and let's not count out Stars and Stripes and Podium Racing. I built Podium Racing from the ground up, from the very first team concept, and they still are most of the athletes which I put together, so I know how well they can race together.”
Don jumped ship from Podium Racing to join Brownlee Racing in the season break having led Podium to second in the team standings in 2024. This season sees his current and former teams, as well as Stars and Stripes, all battle to overhaul the defending champions.
“Crown Racing are the defending champions. They are going to be tough to beat,” he says. “But we're definitely going to be bringing our ‘A game’, especially in Jersey, because that's going to be a big, big home race for us,” he adds.
And in his final words ahead of the racing getting underway, Don is clear in his excitement for this new chapter: “I think it's going to be a great series this year, and I'm really looking forward to leading Brownlee racing to put their best foot forward for Supertri 2025.”
The Supertri League gets underway this Saturday in Toronto, with international viewing available through Warner Bros. Discovery including on TNT+ in the UK and Ireland, HBO Max in the USA and Eurosport across Europe. The racing will also be available to stream on discovery+.
