Triathlete Duffy wins second world title

Bermudian Flora Duffy claimed her second women's world title when she won the Sardegna ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships.

Duffy, 27, who finished second in last year's race, held in Zittau, Germany, dominated the race and finished in a time of 2 hours 25 minutes and 56 seconds -- almost four minutes faster than Barbara Riveros of Chile, who finished second, here on Saturday, reports CMC.

Brigitta Poor of Hungary came third in 2:38:10, while the defending champion, Kathrin Muller of Germany, finished 13th in 2:48:46.

Duffy dominated the five-kilometre swim and had an advantage of almost 1.30 over Riveros before working alone to extend her lead in the 31-kilometre bike -- her strongest discipline.

Duffy, who won the bronze medal at the Pan Am Games in Toronto in July, made light work of the muddy off-road tracks with the fastest time in the 9.6-kilometre run -- 38.35 -- to secure the title.

Duffy's first world title came when she won the Xterra World Championships in Maui, Hawaii, last year.

Cross triathlons are distinguished from conventional triathlons by the terrain for the cycling and running stages, which are generally unpaved, rough, and hilly, with athletes employing mountain bikes rather than road bikes.