Five newly-formed teams are to take part in the Championship Series, with the 40 athletes drafted by team managers during a live broadcast on Youtube today at 6pm BST.

The SLT Scorpions will be managed by Australian Chris McCormack, a four-time world champion in the sport.

That achievement is matched by Britain’s Tim Don, the manager of the SLT Eagles.

His compatriot Annie Emerson, a world champion in duathlon, will lead the SLT Cheetahs, while Switzerland’s 11-time Ironman winner Ronnie Schildknecht is in charge of the SLT Rhinos.

Britain’s Michelle Dillon, a duathlon world champion and two-time Olympian, is manager of the SLT Sharks.

The five teams will each be made up of four female and four male athletes.

The first leg of the Championship Series is due to be held in British capital London on September 5, followed by Munich in Germany on September 12, Jersey - the largest of the Channel Islands - on September 18 and Malibu in the US on September 25.

The new system, which SLT says has been inspired by sports such as cycling and Formula One, will bring a $320,000 (£233,190/€272,140) increase in prize money, taking the total pool to $1.25 million (£911,100/€1.06 million), with every athlete now guaranteed earnings from the league.

Each member of the winning team will earn $15,000 (£10,930/€12,770).

The chief executive of SLT, Michael D’hulst, believes the expansion will bring added excitement.

"By adding SLT teams to our 2021 Championship Series we are expanding the ecosystem of Super League Triathlon to deliver a vision to grow our sport," he said.

"By setting up teams we are adding additional stakeholders to help develop the concept and truly creating something special, driven by the passion and the desire to give this sport a brighter future.

"The racing will bring not only the individual battles we love but also a new tactical element promoting the swimmers, bikers and runners in triathlon and seeing them play a role in their team’s success.

"The team managers will input to not only mentor the athletes but also attempt to deliver winning tactics.

"There will be extensive coverage of SLT Teams, allowing fans to understand what is happening, hear from the managers and scrutinise their decisions.

"The athletes also get the chance to be a key part of this, and the chance to be rewarded for their efforts in a way they never have before with something of a redistribution of wealth to help those away from the top few to also grow and develop in the sport."

A new broadcasting deal has also been announced with free-to-air German channel Sport1, which will show the London, Jersey and Malibu events live, with the Munich leg to be shown live by Bavarian-based broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk and later by Sport1.

SLT chief marketing officer Joe Edwards said the agreement was "in line with our vision to create a sustainable and brighter future for the sport."

In Britain, a partnership with BT Sport will see all four events broadcast live.

SLT was launched in 2017, with events held under the Arena Games format in London and Rotterdam earlier this year.