When Wollongong's Aaron Royle is striving for something extra in today's ITU World Triathlon Series opener in Auckland he won't have to dig too deep to find added inspiration.

Royle will return to Auckland some six months after being crowned ITU under-23 world champion following his stunning performance on the at times brutal course in the same city last October.

Royle will be joined in the men's field by his Wollongong-based training partner Ryan Bailie and a third Australian, Canberra-based Sydney triathlete Cameron Good.

Two more of the Wollongong group headed up by Triathlon Australia coach Jamie Turner, Natalie Van Coevorden and Charlotte McShane, will be joined by Felicity Abram and London Olympian Emma Jackson in the women's race.

Triathlon Australia named Royle the 2012 Chris Hewitt Emerging Athlete of the Year last month.

Previous winners of this prestigious award include Erin Densham (2006), Brendan Sexton (2007), Dan Wilson (2008), James Seear (2009), Emma Jackson (2010) and Ashleigh Gentle (2011).

"As an athlete you never really look for the rewards that come from a performance but I must admit when I received the Chris Hewitt Award at the Celebration of Champions Dinner this year, it was one of the proudest moments of my life," Royle said.

Royle has spent 21 days replicating his high altitude training program in the lead up to the opening round where he has been "riding hot and sleeping high."

Under Turner and New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) physiologist Kate Slattery, Royle has followed almost a carbon copy of the assimilated high altitude and hot temperature training set-up as he did in the lead up to the Auckland World Championships last year.

"I have spent over 300 hours sleeping in an altitude bubble at home in Wollongong, replicating a height of over 2500 metres and riding twice a week in the heat chamber at NSWIS in Sydney with the temperature set at around 35 degrees before a build run on the treadmill," Royle said.

In his previous hit out Royle finished a close second to fellow Australian Peter Kerr in the ITU Oceania Championships in Wellington early last month.

Alongside Royle will be his training partner and squad member of the past five years, Ryan Bailie.

Bailie said his own goals were to try and set up his race with as good a swim as he can.

"It's all about the swim for me; if I get out of the water well and get a good ride then I'll be happy," Bailie said.

"My swimming [with Olympian Brendan Sexton] has been going well so I'll be looking to put it together in the race."