Erica Hawley got her season under way with a 45th-place finish in the opening race of the World Triathlon Championship Series in Abu Dhabi today.

Exiting the water from the 750-metre swim in 10min 19sec, Hawley who is on the Asics World Triathlon development team, went on to clock 31:09 on the five-lap, 20-kilometre cycle and completed the two-lap, 5km run in 17:52 for a combined for a combined time of 1hr 1min 8sec, slightly more than three minutes adrift of winner Beth Potter.

It is an encouraging start to the new campaign for the 24-year-old who is determined to make a breakthrough at the top level with a consistent season competing predominantly in the WTCS in attempt to enhance her Olympic qualification prospects.

A six-strong contingent led out of the water with Potter, compatriot Sophie Coldwell, American duo Summer Rappaport and Taylor Spivey, as well as Lena Meissner and Luisa Baptista making an early breakaway.

It was a surprise to see No 1 Georgia Taylor-Brown not with them, the 2022 runner-up out of the water 30 seconds back, with the returning Katie Zaferes 40 seconds off the leaders.

That left the two former world champions battling to organise a huge chase pack that merged over the first two laps, driven on by Taylor-Brown, Kirsten Kasper and Verena Steinhauser.

With just too many bodies to try and corral into an effective chase, the gap to the more efficient front six just kept extending out with each passing lap.

That was how it stayed over the fifth and final loop around F1 track, and it was Coldwell marginally out of the second transition ahead but nothing still to call between the leaders.

Baptista was the first to fade as Rappaport pushed the early pace before Potter found her groove and took to the front, Spivey in fourth, Meissner fifth as the leaders began to string out up the first climb and only Coldwell could stay in touch with her team-mate.

Steinhauser led the huge charge onto the run behind, Emma Lombardi, Miriam Casillas Garcia and Nina Eim on her shoulder.

At the bell it was the two Brits with ten seconds over Spivey and Rappaport, the likes of Lombardi, Steinhauser and Cassandre Beaugrand closing in on Meissner and Taylor-Brown now a minute off the lead.

The bell also signalled Coldwell’s move to the front. Having not even planned to race in Abu Dhabi, she was suddenly dreaming of a first Series win, but Potter, too, was in the mood for a maiden gold.

The final hill was Potter’s time to attack, Coldwell unable to respond, as the Commonwealth Games bronze medal winner pulled clear in the final 500 metres.

Spivey completed the podium places ahead of Rappaport, who held off Meissner. Beaugrand took sixth, with Eim, Lombardi, Steinhauser and Lisa Tertsch rounding out the top ten.