Jonny Brownlee took second place in the opening round of the World Triathlon Series in Auckland after doing battle with reigning champion Javier Gomez.

After closely matching each other on the swim and bike, Brownlee and Gomez were together until the closing stages of the 10K run when the Spaniard broke away and had the luxury of being able to jog up to the finishing line to take the win.

Brownlee, from Bramhope, said: “It’s always going to be a similar race (with Gomez). It’s the first race of the season and it actually really killed me. He had more than me and he’s obviously in great shape.”

Brownlee’s older brother Alistair, gold medallist at the 2012 Olympics in London, is set to take part in the next round of the series after recovering from an ankle problem.