Nearly a year after her gusty win in Melbourne, Melissa Hauschildt hopes her next Victorian triathlon signals a change of fortune.
The two-time Ironman 70.3 world champion is one of the big names in a strong field for Geelong's national long course championships.
Her duel with in-form Annabel Luxford will be one of the highlights of Sunday's race.
Three-time Hawaiian Ironman champion Craig Alexander also hopes to maintain his perfect Geelong record of four wins from four starts.
Hauschildt overcame blisters on her feet and cramps to win the Ironman Asia-Pacific championships last March in Melbourne.
Her performance in the now-defunct race heightened speculation in triathlon about what Hauschildt might do on debut at Hawaii.
But persistent injury problems eventually meant Hauschildt had to pull out of last October's Ironman world championships.
"It's now almost a year since I've raced, so I'm really looking forward to getting back out there," she said.
Luxford ended last year by winning the 70.3, or half Ironman, races at Western Sydney and Ballarat.
The women's field will also feature top internationals Radka Vodickova (Czech Republic) and Yvonne Van Vlerken (Netherlands).
While Alexander has given up Ironman-distance racing, the 42-year-old remains one of the world's best in half Ironman events.
He won the last two Geelong 70.3 races, as well as 2009 and '10.
It has been a happy hunting ground for me and its always nice to come back to a place where you have had success, it brings confidence," he said.
His rivals will include compatriot Pete Jacobs, who is trying to regain form after winning the 2012 Hawaiian Ironman.
The half Ironman is a 1.9km swim, 90km cycle and 21.1km half marathon run.
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