Italy’s Sandra Mairhofer and Hans Christian Tungesvik of Norway will take to the World Triathlon Winter Championships Pragelato-Sestriere start lines, 100km west of Turin, on Saturday with their eyes firmly set on one prize – retaining their 2023 Winter Triathlon World titles.

A stunning course awaits, beginning in the 2006 Winter Olympic Nordic skiing stadium from where the athletes head out along the Chisone River for two 2km run laps, each starting with a gentle climb. Transitioning to 2 x 3km undulating bike laps criss-crossing the river and the same distance on the skis, all three segments are to be repeated before the final push to the tape.

Mairhofer goes for third gold in four

Sure to fire up the home support will be the versatile multisport maestro Sandra Mairhofer. Champion on the snow in 2021 and again in 2023, Cross Triathlon World Champion in 2022 and 2023, the 31-year-old will surely relish the Pragelato challenge.

Her nearest rival 12 months ago was Norway’s fourth-place finisher Ine Skjellum, and the duathlon silver medallist in 2022 will be fired up and ready to make another bid for the podium this weekend.

Elsewhere on the start list, Slovakia’s former European Cross Triathlon Champion Kristina Lapinova returns for her first winter worlds since 6th place in 2019, Italy’s national championships runner-up Bianca Morvillo and former Junior World Champion Aneta Grabmuller Soldati (CZE) will be pushing the pace in Pragelato.

Will Tungesvik prove too hot to handle?

After gold on his winter tri worlds debut in 2021, Norway’s cross country skiing star Hans Christian Tungesvik quickly became the man to beat over run-bike-ski. Undone by a flat tyre in 2022, he was back on top after a brilliant Skeikampen showdown on home turf and will again be favourite in Italy.

Alessandro Saravalle (ITA) will need to deploy his full array of mountain bike skills and speed if he is to keep Tungesvik from skiing clear once again, and arrives off the back of Winter Cup gold in Harbin, China, two weeks ago. Teammates Franco Pesavento and Giuseppe Lamastra finished third and fourth in Harbin and it was the former who was able to take control in Andorra in 2022 to take the world title.

A second Winter Cup silver in Harbin sees Germany’s Sebastian Neef arrive in good form, Marek Rauchfuss (CZE) is the fastest man on two wheels in the snow and won silver last year, and Viorel Palici (ROU) makes his sixth consecutive World Championship appearance in search for an as-yet elusive first triathlon medal.

A nine-team 2x2 Mixed Relay on 25 February will complete the Winter Triathlon World Championship action that also includes Junior and U23, Para and Age-Group racing across the weekend. For the full start lists, click here.

Winter Duathlon World Championships get weekend underway

Three days of racing in Pragelato will begin with the women’s run-ski-run-ski duathlon action on Friday morning. Kicking off a big first day of elite, U23 and Junior competition, Para and Age-Group, the course packs two 1.5km run laps and two 2.5km ski laps, both to be done twice, meaning three transitions to be negotiated and the making the switch to and from the skis hugely important over the short, sharp format.

With neither of last year’s elite champions in Italy, the door is open for one of Skjellum, Lorena Erl (GER), Lapinova, Edit Keresztes-Vakaria (ROU) and Natalie Brlicova (CZE) to take Julie Meinicke‘s women’s title.

In the men’s race, the likes of Tungesvik, Pesavento and Palici will get a first taste of the course and their rivals’ form and fitness before Saturday’s triathlon, Spain’s national champion Pello Osoro Gutierrez and Norwegian newcomer Endre Wigaard looking to make an impact and pressure the big names.

For more information on the Winter Duathlon World Championships and full start lists, click here.