A total of 129 athletes from 33 nations will line up on the starting grids for this Sunday's races on the scenic southwestern island in Japan.

Three members of the ITU Gold Group, Barbara Riveros Diaz from Chile, Helen Jenkins from Britain and Mariko Adachi Japan, are favourites in the women's field.

They all competed in the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Sydney last week, yet Riveros Diaz scored a far better result than the others, finishing second after Canadian Paula Findlay by two seconds.

The men's field will be very close with a group of emerging talents lining up along with 2002 ITU World Champion Ivan Rana from Spain. 

Last year's Asian Games champion Yuichi Hosoda and silver medallist Ryosuke Yamamoto are vying for the World Cup title on home soil. 

Other strong contenders to watch for include Russian Ivan Vasiliev and Aussie James Seear.

The Japanese squad is vying for podium spots on home soil. 

In the women's field, Japan's ace and the Asian Games champion Mariko Adachi finished 19th in Sydney, while 2010 Huatulco ITU Triathlon World Cup winner Ai Ueda came in 7th. 2010 Asian Games silver medallist Akane Tsuchihashi, three-time Olympian and defending champion Kiyomi Niwata, and Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic champion Yuka Sato are also strong contenders.

In the men's field, 2010 Asian Games champion Yuichi Hosoda and Ryosuke Yamamoto, 2010 national champion and the Asian Games silver medallist, headline the men's team.

The men's field will be very close with a group of emerging talents to line up along with 2002 ITU World Champion Ivan Rana from Spain.

Ivan Vasiliev (RUS), who led the Sydney race after the swim, is set to lead a top group. 

His teammate Vladimir Turbaevskiy, of Russia, is another to watch, finishing 20th at the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Grand Final Budapest last year.

Other strong contenders are three-time Olympian Hunter Kemper from the United States, James Seear from Australia, who was third in the 2010 Mooloolaba ITU Triathlon World Cup, and Andreas Giglmayr from Austria, who came in 30th in Sydney last week.

The Ishigaki ITU Triathlon World Cup is the longest running ITU World Cup event, having been held every year since 1996.

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