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| Venue: Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi Date: Friday March 3rd |
| Cover: 07:45-11:00 GMT iPlayer, Red Button & BBC Sport website |
Olympic gold medalists Alex Yee and Georgia Taylor-Brown will begin their triathlon world title bids on Friday when the series kicks off in Abu Dhabi.
Britain’s Yee, 25, and Taylor-Brown, 28, had to settle for silver in last year’s World Triathlon Championship Series finals, held at the same venue.
Commonwealth champion Yee lost to France’s Leo Bergere while Bermuda’s Flora Duffy edged out Taylor-Brown.
The series is shown on Red Button and the BBC Sport website.
Yee and Taylor-Brown have teamed up with Jessica Learmonth and Jonny Brownlee Win gold in the first mixed relay of the Olympic triathlon in Tokyo after both won silver in the individual competitions.
Yee followed New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde ahead of the 2022 World Finals as he attempted to become the first British male champion in 10 years, but in a late turn both athletes were overtaken by world number one Bergere.
The competition will be even tougher this time around as Olympic gold medalist Kristian Blummenfelt returns after triumphing at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship last year.
Yee will be joined in the men’s sprint by compatriot Barclay Izzard, but two-time winner Alistair Brownlee is absent as he aims for the Ironman World Championship later this year.
In the women’s, Taylor-Brown will have an opportunity to make a mark in the opening race in the absence of Tokyo 2020 singles gold medalist Duffy.
The Brit hasn’t finished outside the top 2 of a World Series race since 2019, but that consistency still wasn’t enough to deny Duffy her fourth world title.
“It was nice for her to be at the finish line and give me the hug I sorely needed,” Taylor-Brown told Duffy Olympics.com.
“Great respect to her for being there for me at that point. She knew how difficult this would be for me.”
Britain’s Beth Potter, winner of last year’s Commonwealth bronze, Kate Waugh and Sophie Coldwell will also compete in the elite women’s opener.
The seven-event 2023 series concludes with the finale in Pontevedra, Spain, with the penultimate race being held in Sunderland for the first time. Points from the Paris Olympics Test Event also count.
The overall winner is determined by an athlete’s best four results plus the championship final.
