The 24-year-old Swiss athlete, who stormed to two golds at the 2010 BT Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, is set to face Fearnley in the T54 marathon on January 30 - the final day of the competition.

But he said the Australian will undoubtedly be far more prepared for the race.

"I think the fact it's in New Zealand will be an advantage for him in terms of jetlag, climate and preparations," said Hug.

"We'll see if he will be able to use those in his favour.

"For the rest of us it's just important to be as well prepared as possible."

In Christchurch, Fearnley will only be competing in the marathon while Hug, who claimed a number of world records in 2010, will be racing in all distances from the 400 metres through to the marathon.

As a result, he has a number of rivals to beat in order to retain the 10,000m world title he won four years ago and improve on the silver medals he picked up in the 400m, 800m and 5,000m.

He said: "I think there are many athletes who are pretty good and therefore I'm pretty excited by Christchurch.

"I guess Fearnley, David Weir and definitely Josh Cassidy are the main competitors but I'm also curious about the Chinese too.

"I haven't seen them perform since Beijing and I think I'm just curious about the Asian athletes in general."

As Christchurch is the last major gathering of international athletes ahead of London 2012, Hug is using the World Championships as a test event for the Paralympics and admits that if he can perform well across the six different disciplines he is taking on in New Zealand it is likely he will do the same in England.

"Doing six distances is especially a lot in one event but I'm a competitive person," said Hug.

"I like to have many races in a short space of time because its helps me to find my rhythm.

"Christchurch is a very important event as it is a big step towards London - it lets you know where you stand against your competitors and if you're on the right track for 2012.

"I always said it would be great for me to win a gold medal at a Paralympic Games and if it's going to be in London, then so be it."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]