Flora Duffy got her World Triathlon Championship Series title defence off to the perfect start after storming a first race victory in Abu Dhabi yesterday.

In her first return to competitive action since winning on her Super League debut in Malibu in September, the Bermudian Olympic champion showed no signs of a loss of any of her form with a typically astute display on the challenging Yas Marina Formula 1 circuit.

The 34-year-old completed the sprint distance of 750 metres swim, 20 kilometres bike and 5km run in 55min 42sec, holding off a strong challenge from Georgia Taylor-Brown to finish 12 seconds ahead of the British athlete, whose compatriot Sophie Coldwell completed the podium places.

“It was a really hard race,” said Duffy, who was pushed hard on the final lap of the run by a resurgent Taylor-Brown. “Coming into the race I didn’t really know what to expect because over the past few weeks my world has been turned upside down with everything that has been going on since the Olympics.

“I really had to fight for it and use all of my experience and tactics to eventually get the win.

“I knew Georgia [Taylor-Brown] would come through on the run because she is such a classy athlete. It was a case of trying to stretch her on the downhill sections to try and break down her confidence a little.

“In that last 800 I went as hard as I could and at the end I couldn’t even lift the finishing banner because I just think I’m physically and emotionally exhausted. I’m just so happy this year is done.”

Exiting the water in 9:38, Duffy found herself just eight seconds behind leader Learmonth, in a group of ten athletes heading into the first transition.

By the early stages of the bike, the lead group had been thinned out to five dictating the pace with Duffy, Learmonth, Coldewell, Taylor-Brown and Taylor Knibb working in tandem to increase the gap over Lucy Charles-Barclay, who had fallen off the back of the lead pack, as well as the remaining chase pack.

On the third lap, Knibb tried to seize the initiative, attempting a solo breakaway, just as she did previously to devastating effect in the series race in Edmonton, Canada, en route to dominant victory in August.

However, unlike previously, the attempted surge away proved to no avail, as Learmonth refused to let her go clear, with the remaining chasing trio, led by Duffy, quickly wiping out the slight advantage gained, as the quintet came back together.

In the closing stages of the final lap, the advantage over Charles-Barclay stood at 70 seconds with the five leaders coming into the second transition together with 39:01 on the clock.

Again it was Learmonth, who led out of the transition and on to the run. Setting off at a blistering pace, Knibb quickly found herself becoming detached from the group as Duffy and the trio of British athletes looked set to battle for the three podium places between them.

At the midway point of the first lap, it was Duffy’s turn to test not only the legs but desire of her rivals, as she increased the pace, striding away to open a gap and leave the Britons desperately pushing to keep on her heels.

As the bell rang for the final lap, the Bermudian’s lead stood at just seven seconds over Taylor-Brown, who, as very seldom seen in recent previous races, had managed to stay within touching distance of Duffy.

With 1,500 metres remaining it looked as though Taylor-Brown could, not only catch, but pass Duffy. However just as the pressure mounted, the world champion demonstrated why she is rightly regarded as one of short-course triathlon’s most dominant forces ever, kicking on again to test the Britons’ determination once more.

It was to prove a final chase too much for Taylor-Brown, who had no answer, as she could only watch on as Duffy surged away ahead of her, towards the blue carpet and across the line, to clinch a first win in Abu Dhabi and twelfth series victory of her career to cap an incredible year.

Coldwell claimed the bronze, the second WTCS podium of her career, ahead of compatriot Learmonth, while Knibb closed the top five.

The victory sees Duffy — who opted out of the season opener in Hamburg in September — sit third in the new Maurice Lacroix WTCS rankings on 1,000 points, just 43 adrift of Summer Rappaport, of the United States, who finished seventeenth to add to her third-place finish in Germany.

Results

World Triathlon Championship Series rankings