The four-day event is due to begin tomorrow at the Thialf Arena and run until Sunday (March 5).

Team titles are due to be decided for men and women in the sprint and pursuit disciplines, while in individual events titles are up for grabs over distances ranging from 500 metres for both men and women, up to 5,000m for women and 10,000m for men.

A lot of attention is set to be focused on Dutch skater Jutta Leerdam, who is competing over distances ranging from 500m up to 1,000m.

If she triumphs in the 500m Leerdam would be the first Dutch athlete to take a title in this event over the shortest distance.

Multiple Olympic medallist Patrick Roest is also among the home hopes and will be aiming to win an individual gold at this event for the first time.

On the opening day Roest will compete over his favourite distance of 5,000 metres, however he has yet to decide whether he will compete in both the 1,500 and 10,000 metres on the final day.

Another home skater hoping for multiple medals is Irene Schouten, who won three gold medals at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Schouten is set to compete in four disciplines in Heerenveen - the 3,000 metres, 5,000 metres, team pursuit and mass start.

Among the international stars hoping to make an impact are Canada’s Laurent Dubreuil, Miho Takagi of Japan, who won four Olympic medals at Beijing 2022, and Jordan Stolz of the United States, who claimed seven medals at last month’s World Junior Speed Skating Championships in Inzell, a haul that included five golds.

Four titles are set to be decided on the opening day - the women’s 3,000m, men’s 5,000m, and the women’s and men’s team sprint events.