Brownlee settles for silver at European Championships

GREAT Britain's Alastair Brownlee was forced to settle for silver at the European Triathlon Championships in the Netherlands.

RUNS IN THE FAMILY: Alastair Brownlee couldn't make it a family double after brother Jonathan won the European junior title. He finished second in the men's elite race (Getty Images)

Brownlee - so dominant in the recent Dextro Energy World Championships Series - couldn't win a third successive race as 2008 world champion Javier Gomez Noya claimed gold for Spain while Russia's Alexander Brukhankov completed the podium.

Brownlee and Gomez Noya were neck and neck during the swim and bike ride but the Spaniard found the extra he needed during the decisive run.

"It was a great race. I was 100 per cent all the way round. I was pleased with second but it was just a shame I couldn't be in the race for first until the end," said Brownlee, whose younger brother Jonathan won the junior men's title earlier in the day.

Hollie Avil was the highest place British athlete in the women's race, finishing sixth in one hour 57 minutes and 23 seconds while Switzerland's Nicola Spirig took gold, ahead of Luxembourg's Elizabeth May and Portugal's Vanessa Fernandes.

Meanwhile, British team-mate Vanessa Raw will be pleased with the continuation of her return to form, placing 21st in two hours, one minute and two seconds.