Australian Emma Snowill's main rival will be a notable absentee from the opening race of the inaugural triathlon world championship series.

Portuguese star Vanessa Fernandes will not compete in the weekend's race in Tongyeong, Korea. A pre-race media release said Fernandes had suffered a broken collarbone in training.

Snowsill beat Fernandes to win Australia's first Olympic triathlon gold medal last year in Beijing. Fernandes was second and another Australian, Emma Moffatt, completed the podium.

Snowsill and Moffatt are now training partners and they are the women's team for the 1.5km swim, 40km cycle and 10km event. This will also be the first major race of the year for Snowsill after she cracked a rib in January while surfing.

Australian-born Austrian Kate Allen, the Athens gold medallist, and reigning world champion Helen Jenkins from Great Britain will also be in the strong field. The women will race on Saturday and the men will compete on Sunday.

Beijing Olympians Brad Kahlefeldt and Courtney Atkinson, former world champion Peter Robertson, Dan Wilson and Gareth Halverson will form the Australian men's team for round one.

Canadian star Simon Whitfield and New Zealand's Bevan Docherty will race in Korea. They have won two Olympic medals apiece - Whitfield was the Sydney gold medallist and was second in Beijing behind upset German winner Jan Frodeno, while Docherty won the bronze medal.

The International Triathlon Union have formed the world championship series and it will feature live television coverage. The series will consist of seven races ahead of the September grand final on the Gold Coast.

"For us, the athletes, this is phenomenal. It is a pretty amazing thing," Snowsill said of the live coverage.

"The benefit of live TV is that it creates a season - people will know when to watch and when to tune into triathlon.

"It is moving in the direction that everyone wants to see it."

AAP