Alex Yee and Georgia Taylor-Brown are looking to replicate last year’s victories in Cagliari as the World Triathlon Championships Series returns to the Sardinian capital this weekend, while Beth Potter seeks to continue her 2023 form.
Yee battled his way through cramps to top the podium in the 2022 race in a British one-two ahead of Jonny Brownlee, who will also be competing in stage three of the 2023 World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) circuit.
Yee started the season in style, winning the opening race of the season in Abu Dhabi, and is confident that he can use that victory as a platform for further success on Saturday.
He said: "I'm feeling good and just starting to freshen up ahead of the race after a really good, and very hard, block of training. I'm looking forward to doing the fun bit now - I'm hopefully in better form than I was in Abu Dhabi.
"Cagliari properly feels like the start of the season and I hope I can reap what I have sowed since the Grand Final in Abu Dhabi last year."
Brownlee will be in WTCS action for the first time this season, having started his year with a seventh-place finish at the European Triathlon Cup in Quarteira back in March.
Joining Yee and Brownlee in the men’s race is Barclay Izzard, who has raced in both Abu Dhabi and Yokohama this season.
Izzard finished 15th in the opener but did not complete the race in Japan earlier this month and will be looking to bounce back in emphatic fashion.
Taylor-Brown and Potter will compete in the women’s race, with both looking to build on recent results.
Potter will be looking to build on one of the biggest results of her career to date when she steps on the start line.
The Scot picked up her first WTCS victory in Abu Dhabi back in March and, like Yee, is in series action for the first time since then.
The 31-year-old warmed up by winning the 2023 Arena Games Triathlon Finals in London last month, demonstrating her strong form ahead of Cagliari, where she will be looking to better her tenth-place finish from 2022.
Taylor-Brown delivered a masterful display to claim victory in this race last October and finished seventh in Yokohama last time out.
Victory for either Potter or Taylor-Brown on Saturday would continue a British sweep of victories in women’s races this year, following Sophie Coldwell’s Yokohama triumph.
The women’s elite race kicks off Saturday’s action at 11am local time (10am BST), with live coverage available from 9.30am on the BBC Sport website, iPlayer and the red button.
The men’s elite race follows at 3.15pm local time (2.15pm BST), and will also be available to watch across BBC Sport online and via the iPlayer.
