Flora Duffy started the season in style by winning her third straight Xterra South African Championship in Grabouw, Western Cape, today.

The two-times Xterra World Champion, who has all but qualified for this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio, finished the 1.5km swim, 28km mountain bike and 12.5km trail run in a time of 2hr 39min 8sec.

“It was really fun our there today and I love this race,” said Duffy, who finished seventh overall. “It was brutal, though, and this course is so demanding.

“I’m just super happy with it. It was a great way to start the season.

“Getting my third victory in Grabouw is really cool. I won my very first Xterra here. As I spend five months out of the year in South Africa, Xterra Grabouw is an unofficial home race for me.

“The Xterra Grabouw course is phenomenal. It’s a true Xterra course. You have to know how to ride a mountain bike. The crowd and community involvement really makes this race special.

“I’m happy with my overall seventh place and my third Xterra Grabouw title.”

Duffy had a superb start to her race, exiting the water in an second overall, just behind South Africa’s James Cunnama.

Carina Wasle, of Austria, was the second women’s finsiher while South Africa’s Susan Sloan came third.

In the men’s race, Bradley Weiss, of South Africa, claimed victory in 2:30.42 ahead of Cunnama in second, while Aiden Dunster, of New Zealand, finished third.

Duffy is ranked twelfth in the ITU Olympic qualification list for Rio after a series of superb performances over the past two years.

The two-times Olympian’s season will mostly involve World Triathlon Series races, starting in Abu Dhabi on March 3. Her schedule then takes her to Australia, Japan, Sweden and Canada, before the Olympics in August.

Duffy’s year ends with her defending her Xterra World Championship title in October, and her ITU Cross World Championships a month later.