Taylor Knibb is a double world champion and Olympic silver medallist but in her own words is still striving for ‘the perfect race’.

The 26-year-old American competed in two different sports at this year’s Paris Olympics - the cycling time trial and triathlon - and finished 19th in both, but is determined to see out this season with a bang. 

An imperious win in the San Francisco leg of the T100 World Tour attests to her capability, and Knibb is hoping this weekend’s Ibiza edition can provide the perfect building block for the remainder of the year.

“I’m looking forward to the race,” she said. “I love racing and it’s always good to be excited about a race, I think we forget about that sometimes.”

Knibb currently sits in 11th position in the women’s world rankings, and will have to conquer a competitive field including Britain’s India Lee and Kat Matthews if she is to climb towards the top end of the table.

Germany’s Anne Haug - who did not finish her last race - the Nice Ironman - will also be a familiar face on the start line, but Knibb is doing her best not to dwell on challenges outside of her control. 

“I’m nervous to be racing with some of these guys,” she said. “This is Anne’s realm. We saw what happened to her [in Nice], it was unfortunate, but she’s also ready. 

“She’s in tip top shape whereas I raced in Paris and that was an A-goal for the season which did not go well,” she added. 

“I got really sick after that and I lost a lot of fitness, so I’m hopefully on an upswing. I’m more focused than I’ve ever been because the rest of the season is one distance, one bike, one everything.”

In gruelling conditions, Knibb crashed four times in her Olympic time trial debut and only just managed to finish inside the top 20 in the women’s triathlon after coming out of the water in the last third of the field.   

While a strong performance and leapfrog up the rankings in Ibiza would create an ideal antidote to a summer of disappointing tests, Knibb firmly believes focusing on the present will reap future rewards.

“A good performance here won’t change the results [from this summer],” she said. “I think it’s time for me to refocus now and the T100 provides a great opportunity to do that. 

“I planned my season the way I did because regardless of what happened I wanted to be excited for the second half of the year and so this is my dessert. You can eat dessert without eating the meal.”

Watch the Ibiza T100 Triathlon races live in Europe on Eurosport 2. Broadcast for the men is from 0745 UK, with the race starting at 0800 and then the women dive in at 1030. Both Ibiza T100 races and behind-the-scenes content can be watched live and for free on PTO+ from anywhere.