In an effort to push himself to perform at his best in his first race since the Paris Olympics, Tyler Smith has decided to add some spice to the Cambridge Beaches Bermuda Triathlon on Sunday.

As part of his preparations for the World Triathlon Cup Florianopolis, scheduled for November 15 and 16 in Brazil, the Olympian is taking on a team of national open water swimming champion Craig Munden, Sinclair Packwood Memorial Race title holder Matt Boys and Sean Trott, the Bermuda Half-Marathon Derby winner.

Last year, Smith only did the 20km ride as part of a relay team with his parents as he was carrying an injury. After months of training in Girona, Spain, he is doing a full triathlon.

“I put out a challenge to my training partner, Craig Munden, who I did a lot of swimming with when I was rehabilitating,” Smith told The Royal Gazette.

“I thought it could be a fun idea to see if he could put together a relay team for me to race, because that helps make the race competitive.

“It helps add to the level of the racing and kind of makes it a bigger event. It gives me a challenge and a little bit of pressure or motivation to make it a race that I can really use as a preparation for a World Cup event.

“I would say it’s the three best local amateurs in each of those disciplines racing me, so it's going to be pretty tough to take them down.

“But I think if I can manage that, it’ll be a sign that I'm in good shape and ready to get back to international racing.

“I know all these guys, we all know each other from the endurance sport community in Bermuda. It’s going to be fun to see what I can do against them.”

Hawley, fresh from finishing 28th at the World Triathlon Championship Finals Wollongong, in Australia, is excited to race at home. The 27-year-old will be the favourite to win the women’s competition, where Marie-lyne Dore and Lynsey Palmer are also in contention.

“It’s always nice to return home, even better when I can help support a local race,” Hawley said.

“Since Wollongong, I took some time and had a little break so I haven't been training super seriously yet. I’m looking to go out there and have some fun.

“I’m just happy to be here, support a Bermuda triathlon and race hard. It’s great that both Tyler and I can come home and take part, I hope lot’s of people are able to race on Sunday.

Hawley is on December 7 embarking on her maiden ironman race when she competes at the Ironman 70.3 La Quinta, in California.

“I am racing my first 70.3 in December, so my goal is to get some experience riding [I only bought the bike a week ago] and use this as a benchmark,” she said.

“I think this will be a nice event to get back into the swing of things and start the preparation for the 70.3 and put a foundation down ahead of this training block.”

With up-and-coming stars like Jackson Langley, Oliver Hayward, Sanchez Smith, Jasper Lau, Gianluca Bortoli and Dylan Eiselt looking to end the year on a high note, Smith hopes the youthful talent can give him good competition.

“Some of the juniors are fast and only getting faster,” the 27-year-old said.

“It will be fun to see how they do and would be great if they can hang on for a while. I don’t know what’s going to happen since I haven't run after cycling in nearly 15 months.

“My last race was the Olympics, now it will be at Cambridge beaches so it’s anyone’s guess what will happen.

“Last year was fun because I was injured. It was good to watch it last year and I saw what a successful event it was.

“I really said if the opportunity presented itself that I would love to take part in it. Cambridge Beaches reached out and invited us back to race.

“It’s cool to be healthy and back fit this time around and be able to say yes to that opportunity. And not only that, but it aligns really nicely with the World Cup racing to end the year.

“It’s not very often that we get an opportunity to race in Bermuda, let alone in an event that’s supported by a private sponsor. So, big thanks to Cambridge Beaches for inviting us back.”

Hayward put on an exceptional performance last year to cross the line ahead of Hawley. The 17-year-old has recovered from a foot injury, which ruled him out of summer races.

“I’ll give it my best, but I've got no expectations going into it,” Hayward said.

“Last year was a good result, I was coming off fitness from Worlds and I was happy with how I did.

“I think the swim will probably be where I do best. I’ve spent a lot of hours in the pool, that’s not weight-bearing.

“But I think the bike will also be interesting as it’s non-drafting, so it’s just going to be a power competition.

“As for the run, I’m just going to be happy to get around the course. I can’t have any expectations going into the run, considering that I’m nowhere near what I was.

“I put in a lot of work over the winter leading up to the Carifta Games, which was good. I had all my big races and camps coming up then boom, I got injured.

“So it’s been a bit disappointing to put the work in and then get no result, but I’m glad to be back to where I am now.”

According to Steven Petty, the Bermuda Triathlon Association president, 122 entries had been received as of Thursday, with 15 of those from overseas.

“The entries close at midnight on Saturday, but we don't want to turn anyone away,” Petty said.

“We would take late entries if somebody wanted to enter even on the morning of the race. Our overseas competitors are from the United States as part of the Cambridge Beaches marketing strategy.

“It’s nice to have our two Olympians competing. We also have Oliver Brunnock, he’s here as a temporary lifeguard from the UK and he’s one of Nick Pilgrim’s training partners at Bath University.

“He did the mixed team relay with Alex Pilgrim and they finished third. I’m expecting him to put on a good showing.

“One of the local favourites would be Jackson Langley. He’s had a great season and should do well.

“ Gianluca Bortoli is also in contention for the male individual race. He has really improved this season.

“We’ve got three youngsters who are on the Youth Olympic long list and it’s going to be their first sprint.

“They are doing a race in Barbados in February, these are Dylan Eiselt, Sanchez Smith and Jasper Lau.”