Flora Duffy is expecting some exhilarating race action with particular interest in an intriguing battle between two athletes tipped to capitalise on her absence from MS Amlin World Triathlon Bermuda.

With the two-times world champion being forced to withdraw from Saturday’s race because of injury, attention turns to the rest of the star-studded field and who could be capable of emulating Duffy’s emphatic victory last year.

The most fascinating match-up in the women’s race is once again poised to be between American Katie Zaferes and Britain’s Vicky Holland, who enjoyed a memorable sprint to the finish line in the final few metres of the blue carpet on Front Street, with the latter pipping her rival to the silver medal.

With Holland going on to clinch a maiden overall world championship crown by just 52 points ahead of Zaferes, the present standings leader, having won the series opener in Abu Dhabi, will be desperate to reverse things this time around in Bermuda.

“It should be a great race and it’s always interesting to see how the series is shaping up,” said Duffy, who has also tipped Australia’s Ashleigh Gentle to be a major threat in the season’s first Olympic-distance race.

“I think both the men’s and women’s fields will be stronger than last year and so they should be really exciting races.

“In the women’s race you’ll have competitors like Vicky Holland, Katie Zaferes and Ashleigh Gentle to look out for.

“Vicky is always someone to look out for because she is so strong, but as we saw last year this course will also really suit Katie; she’ll have a great chance of winning.

“Ashleigh is more experienced at dealing with the Olympic distance, so she will also be confident of performing well.”

In the men’s race, all eyes will most likely be on young Norwegian trio Casper Stornes, Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden, who achieved a clean sweep of the medals last year and return to the island aiming to recreate their dominant display.

However, they will face fierce competition in their quest for glory with three times defending world champion Mario Mola, who be favoured to build on his lead at the top of the rankings, having won the season opener last month.

Other athletes to keep an eye out for in the battle for the podium are Spain’s Fernando Alarza, third in the standings, as well as the return to International Triathlon Union racing of Britain’s double Olympic medal-winner Jonathan Brownlee, who has all the attributes to take on the 40km bike course including ten laps going up the punishing Corkscrew Hill.

However, among the plethora of world-class talent, one name in particular stands out as the one Duffy is most keen to see.

“The men’s line-up is also really strong and personally I’m looking forward to see Javier Gómez Noya, said Duffy of the five-times world champion and Olympic silver medal-winner from Spain, who is making his much awaited comeback to WTS racing in his preparation for the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year.

“He’s seen as a real legend of the sport and to see him returning is really exciting for not just myself but everyone involved.”

Duffy conceded to being in an unfamiliar position of supporting from the sidelines but she remains hopeful that despite her absence from the race, the community will be out in force once again to help recreate the memorable atmosphere of last year.

“It’s so strange reflecting back on last year’s event. I watched the footage back very recently and just thought to myself wow!,” she added.

“The things I took away from it were how I produced such a performance in an unfit state and then seeing all of the crowd and the amazing atmosphere that was created. It was an incredible moment and while it will be challenging to watch from the side this year, I’m lucky that there will be more chances to compete at home again.

“I hope everyone comes out again like they did last year and create the same level of atmosphere that everyone saw.

“It makes such a big difference and I can’t wait to see it from the other side; I’m itching to get going and be part of that support.”

While Duffy has been denied the chance to defend her women’s race title, spectators will be able to watch their home-town hero as she competes in the age group event on Saturday morning joined in Team TriBermuda by Taylor White, the Carifta Championships swimmer, and Mustafa Ingham, Bermuda’s Red Bull Youth America’s Cup sailor.

“I’ve tried to look for positives from the injury and I guess one of the big ones is that I can still be involved on race day in the age group race,” she added. “That should be a really fun thing to be part of and getting to meet the public and race against and alongside them.

“Normally, I’m kept away because I’m focusing on the race, but I’ll be able to hang around and chat to people which will be quite a unique experience.”