A substantial squad of British elite triathletes will be vying for glory at the ITU Triathlon World Cup in Tiszaujvaros, Hungary this weekend (August 10th-11th), which marks the debut of a new multi-round, multi-day sprint format.
Among the British men in attendance, Mark Buckingham and Greg Turner face each other in semi-final 1, while Aaron Harris, Douglas Roberts and Beau Smith line up in semi-finals 2, 3 and 4 respectively.
The women's semi-finals are split into two races, with Britain's Katie Hewison and Lucy Hall in the first, and Natalie Milne racing alongside India Lee in the second.
In a first for the ITU World Cup series, this year's event will be decided over two days, with sprint distance semifinals held on Saturday and then a sprint distance final on the Sunday.
The races will comprise a 750m swim, a 20km bike and a 5km run over multi-lap flat and fast courses, with hot summer temperatures thought to be a near-certainty.
The Brits will have their work cut out for them however: Buckingham will be lining up against Under23 European champion Florin Salvisberg of Switzerland in the first semi-final, while in-form Aussie Peter Kerr leads the charge in the men's second heat.
The third men's semi-final heat is expected to be a more open one, while Frenchman Gregory Rouault will be hoping to get off to a good start in heat four and add to the two World Cup wins he already has this season.
“I’m looking forward to racing, but it will be a big challenge just to make the final," said Buckingham. "My challenge will be to get close to that front pack, and if I do I should make the final hopefully.”
In the elite women's race, Ireland's Aileen Reid will wear the number one race jersey in the opening semi-final, and will be the one to beat for the British women there, Katie Hewison and Lucy Hall.
In round two of the elite women's semi-final, British hopes are pinned on Natalie Milne and India Lee, who are hoping to overhaul the round leader Annamaria Mazzetti of Italy.
It is traditionally the antipodean athletes who dominate in Tiszaujvaros: in the 17 years that the ITU has hosted a World Cup event there, Australia has taken the most wins (nine), followed by New Zealand with five.
The 2013 Tiszaujvaros ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup will also be held the same weekend, following the same format of semi-finals on Saturday 10th and finals on Sunday 11th, but with a shorter 500m swim, a 12km bike and a 3.2km run.
Great Britain is again well represented with 16 taking part in the junior men's race and seven in the junior women's. Britain's leading contender in the junior women's race is the European Junior Champion, Georgia Taylor-Brown, while the men's team is led by Gordon Benson.