Held within the city at Civic Center Park, and as part of a wider winter festival, the competition is expected to attract up to 15,000 spectators from tomorrow through to Sunday (February 24).

After World Cup events in South Korea, China, Switzerland, Italy and France, the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup series returns to the United States for the first time since December 2016.

More than 100 athletes from 16 countries are due to compete in Denver.

Twenty athletes from the US, 10 men and 10 women, have registered, while Canada will also be well represented with nine athletes.

With four gold medals from five World Cups, Maria Tolokonina has an almost unassailable lead at the top of the women’s lead rankings.

The Russian athlete leads South Korea’s Woonseon Shin by 76 points with 440 to her name. 

Shin has also enjoyed a successful season, claiming one gold and three silver medals.

Her team-mate Song Hannarai, currently in third place, is not expected to compete, providing the likes of Ireland’s Eimir McSwiggan, Finland’s Enni Bertling and Sina Goetz of Switzerland an opportunity to move up the rankings.

Five different gold medal winners from as many World Cups have made the women’s speed competition the most wide open.

World Tour leader Ekaterina Koshcheeva of Russia is not expected to participate in Denver so her advantage could be overturned by world champion Tolokonina.

Koshcheeva has 380 points, while Tolokonina, bidding to win both the lead and speed events, sits on 326.

Gold medallist last time out in Champagny-en-Vanoise in France, Russia's Natalia Savitskaia, is also on 326 points but is not competing in Denver either.

It means Russia's Ekaterina Feoktistova, who has 284 points, is likely to contest the title with Tolokonina.

Leading by 153 points, Russia's Nikolai Kuzovlev has sealed the men’s lead title prior to the event in the American city.

Like Tolokonina, he has taken four gold medals from five events.

Lying second on 327 points is world champion Park Heeyong of South Korea.

The top three men’s speed athletes, including Russia's runaway leader Anton Nemov who has four gold medals from five events, will not compete in Denver.

The highest-ranked athlete registered is fourth-placed Kuzovlev, seeking to take a first speed gold medal of the season and, in turn, potentially finish the rankings in second. 

He is likely to battle it out for victory with compatriot Dmitriy Grebennikov, seventh overall.

Livestreaming will be available on the UIAA social media channels - YouTube, Facebook and Twitter - as well as on partner channels Extreme, EpicTV and the Olympic Channel.