Valencia Half Marathon champion, Kibiwott Kandie will be seeking to defend his title in the World Athletics Elite Label road race on Sunday.

However, Kandie is expected to receive a lot of opposition from the newly crowned World Half Marathon Road-running champion Sabastian Sawe.

Sawe, who won the half marathon at the World Road Running Championships in Riga earlier this month in 59:10, is part of the strong men’s line-up.

He is reportedly in the form of his life and is undefeated on the roads this year. His target for this weekend will be to maintain his winning streak while also improving on his personal best of 58:02.

His fiercest opposition will come from his fellow Kenyan Kandie, the defending champion.

After breaking the world record in Valencia in 2020, which was later beaten by Jacob Kiplimo, Kandie returned to Valencia in 2022 and won in 58:10.

Earlier this year, he finished ahead of Sawe at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst and has since enjoyed a solid season on both track and roads.

Other Kenyans to watch will be Matthew Kimeli, who clocked 58:43 in Valencia in 2021 and is fresh from winning a 10-mile win in Zaandam last month, and Stephen Kiprop, who set his personal best of 58:42 when he won the Ras Al-Khaimah Half Marathon.

Former world junior record holder in the 5,000m Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia will give the Kenyans a tough race alongside fellow countryman Yomif Kejelcha, who took silver behind Gebrhiwet in the 5km at the World Road Running Championships in Riga.

Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega of Ethiopia will also be in the starting lineup, hoping to seal a win in Valencia.

Spain's Carlos Mayo, who clocked 1:00:06 in Valencia in 2020, and Italy's Pietro Riva, who clocked 1:00:30 in Valencia last year, are also among the elites on the list.

The women’s race will be hotly contested with a duel between World Road Running Half Marathon silver medallist Margaret Chelimo and 2022 world marathonchampion Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia.

Chelimo boasts a personal best of 8:21.53 in the 3,000m and 14:23.67 in the 5,000m. After clinching the world 10,000m bronze in 2022, she added another medal to her collection at the World Road Running Championships in Riga three weeks ago, taking silver in the half marathon.

She will be joined by fellow Kenyan Irene Cheptai, who placed sixth in the 10,000m at the Tokyo Olympics and set a half marathon personal best of 1:05:53 to win in Copenhagen five weeks ago.

Silver medalist at the 2020 World Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia, Poland, Melat Kejeta of Germany will be seeking to upset the favourites.

Kejeta is the fastest woman in the field, with a personal best of 1:05:18 a time she clocked when she won silver at the 2020 World Half Marathon Championships.

Britain's Samantha Harrison, who set a half marathon personal best of 1:07:17 earlier this year is also among the elite, who will be battling it out.

More than 100 nationalities will be represented in the mass race expected to be contested by 22,000 competitors.