Flora Duffy slipped, slid and crashed her way to victory in Maui yesterday.

The Bermuda triathlete successfully defended her Xterra World Championship but said it had been one of those days when everything went wrong.

Questioning if she could repeat as a World champion, Duffy said it felt as if she had Lesley Patterson looking over her shoulder right until the closing stages.

“There were moments out there when I questioned it [whether I would win],” Duffy said. “I struggled on the bike this year, I’m not sure why, I just couldn’t stay on my bike, it wasn’t flowing.

“You have one of those days that everything goes wrong, that was my day. There were times when I questioned if I could hold on.”

Not that you would know it from the manner of her victory. Duffy finished almost five minutes ahead of Patterson, of Scotland, coming home in 2hrs 54min 18sec in a race she ultimately led from start to finish.

Duffy was out of the water fifth overall after the 1.5-kilometre swim, a distance she covered in 19:57, and had built a comfortable two-minute lead in the early stages of the bike ride.

However, she crashed allowing Patterson to close the gap, built up a 2½-minute lead again, crashed again, and was only 1:45 ahead of her rival as they transitioned into the run after covering the 30km route in 1:47:57.

Hurting and holding was how Dan Hugo, Duffy’s boyfriend, described the early stages of that 10-kilometre charge for the line.

In the end Duffy’s 46:23 run gave her a comfortable win over Patterson who finished in 2:59:17, with Emma Garrard third in 3:03:29. It was the third year running that Garrard has improved on her finish, after she came fifth in 2013, and fourth last year.

“It was a crazy day out there,” Duffy said. “I had a good swim and set myself up perfectly, but on the bike it was all about perseverance for me.

“I kept crashing and picking myself back up, and I had Lesley [Patterson] charging hard from behind. Every split I got it was closer and closer. It was a tough day, for everybody it’s tough. You have obstacles you have to get over.

“It was so great to come down the finish chute and repeat as world champion.”

Duffy has always said that she prefers being the underdog, and that entering a race as a favourite is not a position she likes to be in, even if it is one that she is gradually having to get used to.

The win marks the end of a perfect Xterra season, which included five wins, and was her twelfth victory in the discipline in 13 attempts since the start of 2014.

“I had the big target on my back, but I came here with a mission,” Duffy said. “I wanted to defend, and got away with that by the skin of my teeth today.

“I really struggled today. I hit a tree, slide out on a corner, fell in a big mud puddle, and all the while the time gap between me and Lesley was getting smaller and smaller.

“I was pretty glad to put my hands up for the win.”

The Xterra format has been kind to Duffy, and in many ways she credits it with giving her a new lease of life in the sport. The off-road element, different from the races she competed in to qualify for the Olympics is what has captured Duffy’s imagination and passion.

“I’m so glad I found it [Xterra],” Duffy said. “I love racing Xterra, sometimes it’s not even about winning, it’s about getting through the course. Intense, hard, fast racing which is what I love.”

Josiah Middaugh won the men’s race in 2:35:32, almost three minutes ahead of Braden Currie in second in 2:38:31, with Ruben Ruzafa third in 2:40:41.

After finishing second last year to Spaniard Ruben Ruzafa, Middaugh started the run 1:45 down on Ruzafa and steadily closed the gap to finish first.

It’s the first Xterra World Title for Middaugh after 15 attempts, and he becomes the first American to win Worlds since Michael Tobin in 2000.

Middaugh and Duffy each received $20,000 for their respective victories.