Alex Yee (coach: Kenneth Pike) is relishing pulling on a British vest once again for today’s Simplyhealth Great Edinburgh XCountry in Holyrood Park, with last year’s Junior race victor admittedly feeling more motivated than ever after a fantastic 2016 within both athletics and the triathlon.

After a hard block of training over the winter, 2016’s IAAF World Junior Championships 5000m finalist hopes to transfer the form seen to be brimming with potential from last year into 2017.

“I put back some solid training over the winter; I went to Portugal with British Triathlon just before Christmas for 9 days which was a great experience, and I got a lot of good bike and run stuff done.I had some steady running over the Christmas period too but then unfortunately was a bit under the weather for a bit. but I’m on the rise again now; I’m here, and I’m excited for the race.”

Yee rounded out 2016 with an 11th place finish – as well as a team bronze medal – at Chia’s European Cross Country championships last December after twice hitting the floor in a rough and tumble couple of opening laps in Sardinia, but admits that, in hindsight, the experience will help to produce a little added mettle into the way he races in future.

“Chia last December was definitely an experience; looking back at it in hindsight I was very disappointed with how the race went, but looking at it as a race experience alone, it was very good for me to have gone through that; it meant I went into a training camp the next week really motivated and ready to, in a kind of way, redeem myself”

On his targets for his assault at 6km in Holyrood Park once again, Yee added:

“I think as much as I’d like to win today, I think I’d like to get to that finish and know I’ve done myself proud. To retain my title from last year – which was extremely unexpected, and I’m extremely proud of – would be fantastic, but also, at the same time, I’m looking at the big picture for the year ahead.”

After testing himself against the world’s best juniors last summer, the 18-year-old is targeting July’s European Junior championships in Grosseto as a potential medal hope on the track following a more than steady couple of months on the mud.

“The European Junior championships [20 – 23 July] will definitely be a big goal; I think it’d be a great opportunity for me to race against some of the guys from Europeans [Cross Country] last year to say ‘look, my race didn’t go to plan in December, but I’m here and fit so let’s see what I can do’.”

Alex Yee races in the Great Edinburgh XCountry Junior Men’s race (6km) at 12:15 today. You can follow live updates via the British Athletics twitter account HERE

The Great Edinburgh International XCountry is free to spectate and will be shown live on BBC One and BBC One HD from 13:15 today.

The full British Athletics team for today’s event can be found HERE