BRITAIN’S sailors are set to take on the world’s best at the invitation-only Sailing World Cup Final in Santander, which gets underway today.

With medal success for young talents, new pairings and seasoned campaigners at the major events so far this year, some 39 British Sailing Team athletes will be in action across 10 Olympic Classes as the 2017 World Cup Series culminates.

British Finn sailors are poised for continued success after Ed Wright secured silver, Ben Cornish took bronze and Henry Wetherell clinched the under-23 title at Marseille’s European Championships last month. The trio, along with team-mate Peter McCoy, will be aiming for the podium when racing gets underway.

After training since January in the 49erFX, Portland-based Hannah Mills made her skiff debut at May’s Delta Lloyd regatta in her bid for Tokyo 2020.

With all Rio medallists having qualified for the 2017 World Cup Final, Mills will temporarily step back into the women’s 470 alongside Eilidh McIntyre, silver medallist at the 2014 edition.

Joining Mills and McIntyre are Amy Seabright and Anna Carpenter who will be looking to make amends after finishing fourth at the World Cup Hyeres and the 470 European Championships in Monaco last month, while Jess Lavery and Flora Stewart and Martin Wrigley-James Taylor also qualify for Santander’s final.

With a hat-trick of medals so far this year for the new partnership, Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell start the event as podium favourites. Meanwhile Princess Sofia Trophy victors James Peters and Fynn Sterritt will continue their charge on the 49er fleet and will be joined by Jack Hawkins-Chris Thomas.

A maiden medal for Weymouth-based FX duo Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey at April’s Hyeres Sailing World Cup will have been a confidence boost ahead of the upcoming European and World Championships later in the summer.

But with 2016 Olympic gold and silver medallists back in the action, competition will be tough at the front of the fleet. Kate Macgregor and Sophie Ainsworth will also join the British line-up.

The British contingent in the Nacra 17 multihull fleet includes Miami gold medallist Ben Saxton, racing with Katie Dabson, Miami silver medallists Tom Phipps and Nikki Boniface as well as John Gimson and Anna Burnet, who claimed bronze at December’s World Cup Final.

World champion Nick Thompson and Miami bronze medallist Lorenzo Chiavarini will spearhead the men’s Laser ahead, while Weymouth-based Delta Lloyd champion Elliot Hanson will miss the event to compete in the Youth America’s Cup in Bermuda.

Michael Beckett and Jack Wetherell will join them on the startline, meanwhile rising talent Georgina Povall is the solo British Radial entry.

Straight off the back of the RS:X European Championships, Tom Squires and Dan Wilson will fly the British flag in the men’s fleet, meanwhile, Weymouth’s Izzy Hamilton and Emma Wilson will both look to make their mark on the women’s fleet after top-10 finishes in Hyeres.