Flora Duffy completes XTERRA and ITU World Championship double

Mauricio Mendez (MEX) shocks big names to earn his first XTERRA World Championship

On a "wild, windy and muddy" day in Kapalua, Maui, Bermuda's Flora Duffy won her third consecutive XTERRA Off-Road Triathlon World Championship title on Sunday, to earn $20,000 from the total $100,000 prize purse. Scotland's Lesley Paterson, World Champion in 2011 and 2012, took the Silver with Suzie Snyder (USA) in third. Jacqui Slack secured another top-10 finish in Maui, with seventh.

Duffy lead from the front, with the fastest splits across all three disciplines, but conditions ensured that it was not an easy victory.

“It was really tough out there,” said Duffy.  “I crashed on the bike, went over the handlebars and flying into the bushes. My gears weren’t working, and all the while Lesley was back there charging hard behind me. The 3-peat is really cool. It’s actually probably even cooler with the fact that I also won the ITU World Championship and then to back it up with this, wow, it’s really a year I could not have asked for. And to tie Julie’s record of 3 in a row, it’s not easy to do, so many things can go wrong out there. You really need a bit of luck, to prepare meticulously.”

It was a tough day for Paterson too:

“I was trying to keep calm and collected. I was giving out that advice, so I thought I better start listening to myself, but there were a few moments like “Are you f%#* kidding me?,” said Paterson, the two-time XTERRA World Champion who finished as the runner-up for the third time in four years.  “I was not calm before or during the swim. Nothing would have helped with that. I had a pretty big panic attack through that, it was awful.  You’re standing at the edge seeing these big waves and you think “Oh my God,” you know. And it was brutal, really brutal.”

The 21-year old Mendez set the fastest run split of the day, which allowed him to overtake Ruben Ruzafa (ESP), the three-time champion in the final stages of the run to take the Gold.

Jacqui Slack's partner, Ben Allen (AUS), took the Bronze medal - the third time he has achieved that result in recent years.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Mendez, the first pro from Mexico to win an XTERRA World title.  “I’ve looked up to these guys for so long and now to be up here with them is very special. I’m just happy, really happy.”

Great Britain's Kark Shaw finished 14th.

XTERRA World Championship, Maui - Sunday 23rd October 2015
1-mile / 20-miles / 6.5miles

MEN

1st - Mauricio Mendez (MEX) - 2:49:38
2nd - Ruben Ruzafa (ESP) - 2:51:02
3rd - Ben Allen (AUS) - 2:53:48
14th - Karl Shaw (GBR) - 3:06:57

WOMEN

1st - Flora Duffy (BER) - 3:14:59
2nd - Lesley Paterson (GBR) - 3:25:01
3rd - Suzie Snyder (USA) - 3:29:03
7th - Jacqui Slack (GBR) - 3:41:45