A total of 61 elite men and 51 women will take the plunge in the penultimate ITU World Cup of the season tomorrow at Tongyeong in South Korea ©ITU

France's Felix Duchampt will seek to return to the World Cup podium tomorrow as Tongyeong in South Korea stages the 17th and penultimate race of the the International Triathlon Union's (ITU) second tier circuit.

A total of 61 elite men and 51 women will line-up for a sprint distance event at a venue boasting scenic harbour views and featuring an estimable hill on the final running section.

Duchampt is aiming to match or better his second place at the last ITU World Cup in South Korea, at Chengdu.

The Frenchman also finished fifth at the ITU Huatulco World Cup in Mexico. 

He will be challenged strongly by Spain's Vicente Hernandez, highest ranked of the men at 31 in this season's overall ITU World Rankings, who finished fifth in the ITU Weihai World Cup.

Also likely to be challenging will be Eli Hemming of the United States, yet to reach the World Cup podium this season, and Marcel Walkington of Australia, who claimed silver at the ITU Astana World Cup in May.

Athletes being interviewed ahead of tomorrow's ITU World Cup race on what looks like a challenging coastal course at Tongyeong in South Korea ©ITU
Athletes being interviewed ahead of tomorrow's ITU World Cup race on what looks like a challenging coastal course at Tongyeong in South Korea ©ITU

Walkington's compatriot Brandon Copeland also enjoys this course, having finished fifth here last year.

Russell White, of Ireland, also has a chance, having won silver at the ITU World Cup in Karlovy last month in front of Italy's Alessandro Fabian.

In the women's race, Japan's Ai Ueda will be one of the favourites, having won here on the last two occasions.

New Zealand's talented youngster Nicole Van Der Kaay, fourth in the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final under-23 race, also has strong podium prospects.

Pushing the elite women hard will be Italy's Annamarie Mazzetti who enters in striking race form and has proved herself well across this type of racing.

The Italian triathlete claimed two ITU World Cup medals last month, taking silver at Weihai and bronze at Karlovy.

Hungary's Zsofia Kovacs led the charge to dominate the Hong Kong ASTC Sprint Triathlon last weekend and is hopeful that the solid block of recent training there will set her up for success in Tongyeong.

Renee Tomlin of the United States, who won in Sarasota two weeks ago, has had a successful season so far with a gold medal team performance at the Sarasota Mixed Relay American Championships and fifth place in the ITU World Cup in Huelva.

Tongyeong has been a fixture of the elite triathlon map since 2009 when it staged its first ITU World Triathlon Series race.