Many are predicting a Spanish quinella for the Port Taranaki ITU New Plymouth World Cup triathlon on Sunday even though five of the world's top 10 will be racing.
Current No 1 Javier Gomez will line up against the hottest triathlete at the moment in countryman and world No 2 Mario Mola. Mola won the opening ITU World Cup in Mooloolaba last weekend, running a stunning 13:55 for the 5km run.
Despite that great form on the back of an impressive 2013, Mola is quick to suggest Gomez is the man to beat as most athletes use it as buildup for the opening World Series event in Auckland in a fortnight. The race will be run over the sprint distance and won't be as demanding as Auckland's course, which features some hills.
Switzerland's Sven Riederer (ranked fifth), France's Laurent Vidal (seven) and Portugal's Joao Silva (nine) are also in the field.
"I am happy to be here and had a good performance in Mooloolaba,'' Mola said. ``I will try to do a similar race but, with Javi in the race, he is the man to beat. I consider this with his career, how he is going and how he has gone the last few years, when he is racing he is going to be on the top but it is good that he is here.''