Had Bingley Harrier Alistair Brownlee not been "a jumped-up so-and-so" then he might not be preparing to race against the best triathletes in the world on the streets of his home city of Leeds.

Britain's round of the World Triathlon Series, which has been held in Hyde Park since 2009, has headed north this year.

Sunday afternoon's Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds will see first the elite women and then the elite men complete a 1.5 kilometre swim in Roundhay Park before cycling and running round the city centre.

The event has been a long time in the planning, and Olympic champion Brownlee has been involved right from the start.

The former Bradford Grammar School pupil said: "At one point in 2010 or 2011 I got asked to talk to the city council about sport in Leeds and I just said we were fantastic in Leeds, we had a lot of sport going on, a massive heritage in it, but it just happened and I thought the council should embrace it a bit more and get behind it and invest in facilities and events to make the most of what we had going on already, as a bit of a jumped-up so-and-so telling them what to do.

"And since then, with the Tour de France and everything, Leeds has had a massive capacity to put on major events, which is fantastic.

"Starting triathlon a long time ago you never thought you'd race on the streets of Leeds with big crowds. I'm very, very proud."

Brownlee and younger brother Jonny, who won bronze in London in 2012, will be the star attractions.

The brothers' dominance has slipped over the past year with injuries taking their toll and this will be a first chance of 2016 to measure themselves against Olympic silver medallist and world champion Javier Gomez of Spain.

Jonny, also a former BGS pupil, has a mantra of trying to treat each race the same but admits that will be difficult this time.

He said: "I'm incredibly proud but it is a bit strange and a bit daunting as well. If we weren't training here it might not have happened.

"You get called a role model and the next thing is, there's an event here because of you. At some point, when I've retired I'll step back and think about it and go, 'Wow'.

"We'll go into it trying to make it like another race like we always do but I think it will feel a bit different. We'll stay in a hotel just so it's not too normal, waking up in your own bed. That will help a little bit but it will be an exception to the rule.

"Where we swim is where I have a run session every Saturday morning. I've run round Roundhay Park 100 times, so if I said that's not going to be a bit weird, I'd be lying.

"Then to ride in the city centre, where I always drive to go training, and to run round the city centre, it's never going to be like a normal world series. But that's exciting."

The other factor making this not just another race is that the Rio Olympics are only eight weeks away.

Ordinarily, the brothers would want to peak for their home race, but not this year.

"It is a bit frustrating but in a way maybe it means you can enjoy it a little bit more because you're not going, 'This is all I've got'," said Jonny.

"Because that adds a lot of pressure. Whereas I'll know I can be a better athlete in Rio."

The Brownlees are not the only locals racing. Their training partner Gordon Benson was picked this week as the third member of the British men's team for Rio, where he will look to help the brothers in their medal bid.

Former world champion Non Stanford and Vicky Holland make up two thirds of the British women's team in Brazil and they both live and train in Leeds.

The third member of the team, Welshwoman Helen Jenkins, is not racing in Leeds but Jodie Stimpson, who narrowly missed out on a place in Rio, will look to push her world title claims.

Up to 100,000 people are expected to line the city streets and Stanford, who won the world series race in Cape Town in April, expects Leeds to put on a show.

She said: "The atmosphere in Hyde Park was incredible and the support from the British crowd was fantastic but I do think Leeds is really going to turn it on.

"There's a passion not just for triathlon but generally for sport. If you look at the Tour de Yorkshire, the crowds were incredible, and hopefully we can draw on that and bring some of those crowds into the city centre."