Louise Wells is hoping to continue her good form when she competes in Ironman 70.3 St George in St George, Utah, on Saturday.

The Bermuda triathlete is making her debut at the event and is going in with plenty of momentum having claimed the women’s title competing in last weekend’s MS Amlin World Triathlon Bermuda sprint race at the first attempt.

“I’m excited about the race and feel ready after last weekend which was a good marker in the sand and given me some confidence,” she said. “It’s a massive boost because it shows that the training all through the winter has paid dividends I guess so it’s a good confidence boost.”

Wells romped to victory in last Saturday’s sprint race in a time of 1hr 17 min 59 sec, crossing the finish line more than a minute ahead of nearest rival Zöe Hasselkuss, to exceed her own expectations going into the event.

“To win age group and overall I’m thrilled,” she added.

“I purposely did the sprint because I think doing the Olympic distance would’ve been too much to recover from physically and mentally probably for this weekend so the sprint was just a nice warm up really.

“I got to practice my transitions and kind of remember what racing is like but without making myself too tired or having too much to recover from.”

Wells, who departed for Utah yesterday, is looking forward to the challenge of coming to grips with the racecourse which is comprised of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run.

“I’m excited to do the race and challenge myself on the course,” she said. “It’s a tough course with a lot of climbing so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

“I think my fitness is there. I think I’m as strong as I have been in other races so it will be interesting to do it and to see how I compare to the other ladies.

“I have no expectations. I’m just going to push hard on the bike and hang in there on the run and see what happens.

“I’ve never been to Utah before so it’s a new experience for me all around.”