Photo Gallery: ITU Team World Championships

ITU Team World Championships

The Swiss team gets ready to defend.

ITU Team World Championships

A member of the Swiss team makes sure the transition area is all set to go.

ITU Team World Championships

More pre-race preparations.

ITU Team World Championships

Competitors raced on four-person teams, with two men and two women representing each country, racing in the order of female-male-female-male.

ITU Team World Championships

One last stretch before the competition begins.

ITU Team World Championships

American Cameron Dye shows off his signature blond hair.

ITU Team World Championships

While the event is highly competitive, most participants seem to see it as a fun event to take part in.

ITU Team World Championships

The event adds pressure to perform well for your teammates.

ITU Team World Championships

Nervous moments before the start of the race.

ITU Team World Championships

Swiss team member Daniela Ryf prepares to start. "I was so nervous before the race today,” Ryf said post-race. “I knew I had such a strong team behind me and I just wanted to give them a good start. I started the run so hard and I was really hurting after 400 meters, but I kept pushing because I wanted to give my team the best chance possible to win today.”

ITU Team World Championships

The relay format of the event means that many athletes must nervously wait for their turn to race.

ITU Team World Championships

The women kicked off the relay event.

ITU Team World Championships

Zsófia Kovács of team Hungary heads into T1 hoping to give her team the early advantage.

ITU Team World Championships

With only a 250 meter swim in each relay, athletes don't get a huge opportunity to spread out.

ITU Team World Championships

The first women exiting the water had to deal with a congested ramp.

ITU Team World Championship

With teammates on the sideline, it is truly and individual effort on the bike.

ITU Team World Championships

The six kilometer bike is over in the blink of an eye.

ITU Team World Championships

More thrilling bike action from Lausanne.

ITU Team World Championships

Athletes keep tabs on their competition.

ITU Team World Championships

The short event means that athletes must give an all-out effort throughout the entire race.

ITU Team World Championships

Athletes ride through the streets of Lausanne.

ITU Team World Championships

Team France led at moments of the race, but ultimately settled for second place.

ITU Team World Championships

A Swedish team member shows signs of exhaustion as he tags his teammate.

ITU Team World Championships

Several hand offs take place at the same time.

ITU Team World Championships

A member of Team USA anxiously awaits her turn.

ITU Team World Championship

The competition grew more spread out as the race went on.

ITU Team World Championship

The event boasted a highly competitive spirit.

ITU Team World Championships

In an event where eight transitions take place per team, transition time is key to success.

ITU Team World Championships

ITU Team World Championships

The final member of the Swedish relay team takes off.

ITU Team World Championships

The second Swiss team also had a strong showing, finishing in fifth.

ITU Team World Championships

A Canadian team member gives her teammate the go ahead.

ITU Team World Championships

The event means that each athlete has to deal with two transitions and tagging the next teammate.

ITU Team World Championships

The entire event is chaotic and fast paced.

ITU Team World Championships

The six kilometer bike is shorter than the run segment in a standard ITU Olympic-distance race.

ITU Team World Championships

As the last team member to race, Switzerland's Sven Riederer got the honor of crossing the finish line for the win.

ITU Team World Championships

The Swiss team celebrated with each other and the home crowd.

ITU Team World Championships

The Swiss team enjoys the top spot on the podium