Flora Duffy Wins First Ever WTS Race

With Consistency to the Top

Flora Duffy has proved consistency above all this year. From the very start in Abu Dhabi she scored Top 5 result after Top 5 result in the highest class of Olympic Distance Triathlon racing, the World Triathlon Series. This consistency kept her at the top of the series classification which represents the World Championships of Olympic Distance Triathlon. 

How it Unfolded

Duffy exited the water as usual with the front pack of the women's race. Throughout the year, she has built on her strong swimming skills pushing on during the bike leg and then defending her lead on the run. This time, however, nobody was willing to join her getaway. "I really didn't want to go solo and was only half committed, so I am really surprised they didn't catch me," Duffy said after the race. During her escape she managed to build an advantage of up to 1 minute on the chase pack. "The Stockholm bike course is very technical which is my strength, so I tried to gain as much time as possible in these sections," Duffy commented on her tactics. In T2, however, her advantage was down to 23 seconds. "The bonus of not fully committing on the bike was I could still run really well," the Bermudian said after posting the second best run split of the day that brought her the win in front of Andrea Hewitt from New Zealand. 

An Important Win

In Stockholm Duffy won her first ever race of the World Triathlon Series. Her victory comes at a crucial point in the Olympic year: Stockholm was Duffy's last race before the big showdown in Rio. The win will boost her confidence going into the Rio race. After her win in Stockholm, she definitely joined the list of favorites for the Olympic race, especially due to the tough bike course awaiting the triathletes in Brazil.