Simon Lessing, favourite to become the first winner of a men's Olympic triathlon title when the sport makes its Games debut next month, suffered his first defeat of the season in a World Cup race in Lausanne on Saturday.

Yet Great Britain still had cause for celebration as Andrew Johns defeated a high-quality field in the last competition before the Olympics.

Lessing, four times world champion over the Olympic distance, pulled up during the 10km run but insisted that nothing had changed in the pecking order.

"I think everybody still expects me to be up there at the Olympics," he said, adding that a hard race on a hot day, after a tough training period, was not part of his Olympic build-up.

It was Johns' first victory over Lessing at the Olympic distance and, coming five weeks after he regained the European title, there will not be a triathlete in Sydney higher on confidence.