A calf injury that held Alistair Brownlee (GBR) back on the run certainly affected his chances of defending his Commonwealth Games title in Australia a few weeks ago, but the calf was more than able to hold on for the win in Liuzhou, China on the weekend. Brownlee led from start to finish, posting the day's fastest swim and bike splits to come off the bike with a healthy eight-minute lead, which was more than enough to hold off the incredible 44-year-old Craig Alexander (AUS). Alexander's countryman Sam Betten rounded out the podium.

The women's race turned out to be a battle to the line between Poland's two-time Olympian Agnieszka Jerzyk and Great Britain's Imogen Simmonds. Simmonds led the way out of the water, but Jerzyk quickly made up her 1:25 deficit after the swim, catching up to Simmonds by 20 km in the windy conditions. Simmonds stayed close to Jerzyk through the remaining 70 km of the ride before the two set out on the run together.

With speedy-running Sarah Piampiono coming from behind, Simmonds went to the front and pushed the pace to ensure the pair would stay clear. Try as she might, Simmonds, who lives in Thailand and trains with Jurgen Zack, couldn't shake the wily Pole, who tucked in behind for much of the final stretch of the run, only to surge away over the last 300 m for the win. Piampiano would run her way to third.