Erica Hawley is gearing up to race at the World Triathlon Cup Tongyeong in South Korea today.

Hawley is among 49 athletes on the women's elite start list, with the Bermudian aiming to improve on her 17th-place finish at the World Triathlon Cup Beijing last weekend.

“I am feeling excited for another opportunity to race this weekend in Tongyeong,” Hawley told The Royal Gazette.

“It was a big investment coming over to Asia to race. I want to make the most of my fitness and ability that I was not able to showcase to my full potential last weekend.

“A lot of the field is the same as Beijing, so I know who is racing well on swim-bike-run and it gave me lots of information on my competition. Particularly, who I can use as an ally on the bike.

“This course is quite challenging and hilly so whoever can produce a lot of power on race day could be a game changer.

“The run also has a significant hill and in the past years the winner has made a move on the uphill or downhill. The race is a sprint vs Olympic, which I prefer and I’m ready to give it my all on race day.”

Hawley singled out the terrible weather conditions for affecting her performance in China, with the Olympian bracing for rain in Korea.

“In Beijing the weather was a huge factor that affected many people’s races and it looks like it will rain on race day again in Tongyeong,” she said.

“Some of the lessons I learnt in Beijing were positioning on the bike, keeping warm and being aggressive.

“My goal in this race is to be more confident in the rain and also trust in my ability that I can lead through corners on the bike and be more dominant in the bike pack.

“I think that knowing that everyone is dealing with the conditions and embracing them rather than fearing them will be my goal.

“Honestly, I don’t think anything will be as bad as the torrential downpour last weekend, so that’s what I’m telling myself.”

With an individual Olympic qualification ranking of 49th from five races since the window for LA28 opened in May, Hawley is using the end-of-year races to boost her standing.

From Korea, Hawley is competing in Japan, before she concludes her racing year in New Zealand.

“The goal is to get more Olympic points and finish this year in the Olympic simulation,” the 28-year-old said.

“Right now I am 49th with five scores, so I’m looking to get a sixth score on the board and then improve on my 20th place [lowest ranking score]. After that I will enjoy the off-season before building up again.”