KEY POINTS:
World number two Bevan Docherty heads a strong pool of New Zealanders entered for the eighth round of the International Triathlon Union World Cup series in Edmonton, Canada, this weekend.
Docherty, who finished second last week at the Des Moines, Iowa, round in the United States and the other athletes will not have the lure of a US$200,000 ($265,533) first prize but will still be racing for valuable ranking points and a total prize purse of US$100,000.
They will also be defending the title on behalf of Hamish Carter who won here last year in his final World Cup victory before retirement.
Docherty is joined by world number four, Kris Gemmell, Shane Reed (10th), Terrenzo Bozzone (96th) and Martin Van Barneveld (148th).
Docherty, Athens Olympic Games silver medallist and 2004 world champion has enjoyed a fruitful World Cup season having picked up a fourth and two second placings in his three races in 2007.
Debbie Tanner and Evelyn Williamson are both backing up after Des Moines on Monday.
Williamson will be looking for a drastic improvement in form after being well off the pace last week while Tanner will be all the sharper for her efforts in Iowa after spending a month training at altitude.
Tanner is just keen to get back racing after Des Moines, where conditions led to half the field withdrawing before the finish.
"I am looking forward to racing again this weekend in what should be more suitable conditions.
"Des Moines was a hard race -- I don't think anyone expected conditions to be quite as brutal as they were.
"This week has been all about recovery and staying healthy in order to put another good performance out there this weekend."
- NZPA
