That means the season has now been extended by just over a week beyond the Grand Final, which takes place in Beijing on September 11.

For Clarke, a former world under-23 champion who is currently ranked ninth in the world, it is not a feasible proposition.

"I definitely won't be going because it's one race too far for me," he said today.

"It's really a very unpopular move with the athletes because most people want to finish their year with the Grand Final.

"After the final I will be pretty cooked, and I don't really want to keep racing."

It remains to be seen what view some of Clarke's British team mates such as Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, Liz Blatchford, Tim Don and Helen Jenkins take on going the extra mile.

The latter pair were impressive winners at yesterday's GE Strathclyde Park Triathlon, with Don adding to his recent wins in Seoul and Port Elizabeth in recent months, and with Jenkins defeating a field which included last year's British Triathlon Super Series champion, Jodie Stimpson.

In the meantime Clarke, a 26-year-old originally from Cambridge, is feeling the benefit of a winter spent training on Australia's Gold Coast, but he knows there is plenty more work to come.

"At the moment [Alistair] Brownlee and [Spain's] Javier Gomez are 30 seconds faster than anyone else, so it is going to take another winter of hard work for others to try and make up that gap," he said.

Clarke added that he expected the London 2012 race, to be held within Hyde Park, to be a very tight affair which would probably not be decided until the closing stages.

"My feeling is that everyone will get out together from the swimming and will start the bike race together, so the medals are likely to be won with the run," he said.

"It's going to be a very fast race."

Clarke will race in the second round of the ITU World Championship Series in Madrid on June 4.

However, the major focus for British athletes is the London round of the Series in Hyde Park onb August 6-7 and the Grand Final, where podium finishes could ensure selection to Team GB for the London 2012 Olympics.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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