Alistair Brownlee added to his growing collection of major triathlon titles in Athlone, Ireland, by being crowned European champion.

It was the one title the 22-year-old Bingley Harriers athlete did not win last year when he was pipped by Spain’s Javier Gomez but there was no doubt about his victory this time.

Brownlee worked with his younger brother Jonny to close down a break from Gomez on the swimming leg and did not look back after exiting the bike phase in the lead.

He extended his advantage throughout the ten kilometre run and eventually finished 40 seconds ahead of Gomez, with France’s David Hauss in third more than a minute behind Brownlee.

Fellow Britons Olly Freeman and Will Clarke also performed well, finishing ninth and 11th respectively, but Jonny Brownlee paid for his work on the bike and faded to 38th.

The champion, who spent the first part of the season out of action through injury, said: “I’m absolutely delighted with that.

“We had a big Great Britain team and Jonny and I worked fantastically well together. I felt absolutely great and just went for it.

“I didn’t win last year and I can’t win the world title this year so this was really important to me. When I was injured earlier this year, this was what I was aiming for.”

Head coach Joel Filliol added: “It was a fantastic performance by Alistair – he delivered on the day.

“He did it the hard way and showed he can ride at the front to win. I think he hurt Gomez on the bike and maybe that’s what made the difference on the run.”