Alistair Brownlee, Emma Moffatt Lead the Way in Dextro Energy Triathlon — ITU World Championship Series

While crowds of people rang cowbells and cheered them on from either side of the finish line, Alistair Brownlee and Emma Moffatt ran down Pennsylvania Avenue to claim golds in the men's and women's elite groups in the Dextro Energy Triathlon -- ITU World Championship Series.

Brownlee posted back-to-back wins, after winning the Madrid leg of the eight-city series only three weeks earlier. Brownlee, of Britain, finished with a time of 1 hour 48 minutes 57 seconds, while Moffatt, of Australia, was the only woman to finish in less than two hours, at 1:59:55.

Rain threatened the beginning of the men's event, which began with a 1.5-kilometer swim in the Potomac River. A steady rain fell during the men's warmups, though it cleared in time for the triathlon's start. But the men had to deal with less-than-ideal conditions during their swim.

"It was a little choppy in the water," American Andy Potts said. "I definitely didn't enjoy swimming into logs."

Potts was in the lead as the competitors hopped on their bikes after the swim. The 40-kilometer bike race proved pivotal. Potts, fellow American Hunter Kemper, second-place finisher Javier Gomez of Spain, Brownlee and third-place finisher Maik Petzold of Germany formed the lead pack, and increased their distance from the chase group with each lap of the course. A 42-second gap midway through the bike race quickly grew to 1:35 by the final lap.

The sun finally came out as the triathletes began to run. Brownlee passed Kemper early in the first lap to take the lead. He never looked back. Though Gomez and Petzold ran with him for two laps, Brownlee began to distance himself on the third. And with his bright red face scrunched up and a little bit of spit on the side of his mouth, he walked across the line with the finish ribbon held high above his head.

"I had to really push myself after the swim," Brownlee said. "All I could do was push, push, push."

The 21-year-old is still a full-time student at Leeds University, and trains by himself. He credited his strong championship series thus far (he did not race in the first leg of the series, in Tongyeong, South Korea) to a strong training program during the winter, a triathlete's offseason.

"I didn't miss training all winter," Brownlee said. "I think that solid winter's training was important."

Moffatt was among the leaders from the start, finishing the swim just a second behind American Sarah Haskins. She led the bikers after the second lap, though five women were right on her tail. At the halfway point, 12 women were still vying for the lead in a logjam of bikes. And by the end of the seventh lap, Moffatt had fallen considerably behind American Mary Beth Ellis and Haskins, who had distanced themselves from the group.

But as the bikers moved to the run, Moffatt took off. Wearing a hot pink suit and bright green shoes, she was easy to spot as she zipped by Ellis and then Haskins, and was way ahead of the pack at the halfway point of the run. Fellow Australian and 2008 Olympic gold medalist Emma Snowsill took second place, and in a surprise, Daniela Ryf of Switzerland finished third after a strong run.

"For me to keep up with an Olympic champion [Snowsill] was incredible," Ryf said of her run. "Three weeks ago in Madrid, I was not happy with my run, so that was awesome."

But Moffatt was too good to beat. Her strong finish catapulted her to the top of the women's ITU World Championship Series rankings, where points determine Olympic berths. Brownlee also jumped to the top, rising all the way from eighth to first with his win.

Instead of basking in his win, Brownlee had his eyes on Kitzbühel, Austria. "The next one's going to be real tough," he said, already focused on the next leg of the series.