Flora Duffy wins Yokohama ITU triathlon

On a rainy day in Japan, SCOTT triathlete Flora Duffy opened her ITU series title defense with a victory in the Yokohama event. Despite missing the first two events of the season due to a nagging hip injury, she raced with confidence and stormed to victory with a commanding margin of 1:51 over second place.

“I felt like a WTS first-timer, but I had to keep reminding myself that I am the world champ and I need to ride with confidence,” Flora said to the media, after the race.

The rain-slickened course took a toll on the athletes. Several crashed out of contention, but Flora used the technical circuit to her advantage on her brand new, customized SCOTT Foil.

“The rain is intimidating for everybody, but . . .  I had low pressure on my tires and I felt super comfortable out there, so it worked,” she said.

After the bike leg, Flora entered the second transition with just one other competitor on her heels, whom she quickly dispatched in the opening kilometers of the run. Her margin of victory at the line, one minute and 51 seconds, is the largest ITU win gap in history.

Flora’s custom Foil features a floral print design inspired in part by the islands where she’s won so many prestigious Xterra triathlon races. It’s only fitting that she takes this design to the road where she’s clearly poised to extend her dominant performances.