After a few semi-quiet weekends of racing, July 12 and 13 explode with some of summer’s most scorching contests.

Kicking off the action on Saturday is Minneapolis’ Life Time Fitness Triathlon, the first race of the five-part big-money Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series, which includes events in New York, Chicago, L.A. and Dallas. The start lists are stacked for this high-profile Olympic-distance affair, as the world’s best triathletes attempt the feat Aussie Greg Bennett astoundingly achieved last year: winning all five series races and scoring one of the biggest paychecks in triathlon history.

Bennett will try for the repeat in ’08, but will have to outrace fellow Aussie and 2007 Ironman Hawaii runner-up Craig Alexander, U.S. Olympians Matt Reed and Hunter Kemper, Escape From Alcatraz champ Andy Potts, Beijing-bound Kiwi Bevan Docherty, 2000 Olympic gold medalist Simon Whitfield of Canada and hometown hero David Thompson, just to name a few.

Australian Emma Snowsill, who rocked the Life Time circuit in 2007, highlights the women’s field. But expect U.S. Olympians Sarah Haskins and Laura Bennett, Ironman 70.3 world champ Mirinda Carfrae, Kiwi long courser Joanna Lawn, XTERRA world champion Julie Dibens, Minnesota-born Becky Lavelle and multi-distance star Joanna Zeiger to put up hearty fights.

While the pros gun for big bucks in Minneapolis, a few other top short coursers will race amongst the lakes, hills and trees of New York’s gorgeous Finger Lakes region at the Musselman ITU Pan American Cup. American Olympians Julie Ertel and Jarrod Shoemaker are slated to show, along with 2007 age-group world champ Ben Collins, U.S. collegiate champ Amanda Felder and Team USA’s Brian Fleischmann.

Also on the Olympic-distance calendar is the Tiszaujvaros BG Triathlon World Cup. While most of the top American athletes are racing stateside, the Hungary event boasts a strong international field. On the docket to race are ITU world champ Javier Gomez of Spain, Australia’s Brad Kahlefeldt, Brazilian phenom Reinaldo Colucci, German Olympian Anja Dittmer, Aussie Felicity Abram, Great Britain’s Andrea Whitcombe and American Sarah Groff.

So that’s the short-course scene. Let’s move on to the one of the biggest, baddest, most revered iron-distance races of the season: Quelle Challenge Roth in Roth, Germany. For this year’s installment, Ironman world champ Chris McCormack is signed up to go - but can he turn in a solid performance just one week after racing Ironman European championship in Frankfurt, Germany? Other major players include Denmark’s Torbjorn Sindballe; Germans Thomas Hellriegel and Olaf Sebatschus; Aussies Chris McDonald, Justin Granger and Pete Jacobs; Luke Dragstra of Canada; Raynard Tissink of South Africa; and New Caledonia’s Patrick Vernay.

For the women, Yvonne Van Vlerken of the Netherlands is back to defend her Roth title. Other major players include Escape From Alcatraz winner Leanda Cave, Ironman Arizona and California 70.3 champ Erika Csomor, and Aussies Belinda Granger, Rebekah Keat and Charlotte Paul.

Also shaking down in Europe this weekend are Ironman Switzerland (See Jay Prasuhn’s full race preview) and Ironman Austria, which features recent Ironman UK 70.3 winner Bella Comerford, Italian Edith Niederfriniger, Belgium’s Marino Vanhoenacker and Ironman South Africa winner Stephen Bayliss. Belgian Marc Herremans will attempt to break the Ironman handcycle world record at Ironman Austria.

Check back to InsideTri.com for complete race recaps and results!