Flora Duffy claimed the silver medal at the Totalsports Xterra Buffelspoort Triathlon in South Africa at the weekend.

Competing in the off-road triathlon at Gordon’s Bay Beach Front, Cape Town, Duffy was the second female across the line and 21st overall.

She completed the 1.5km swim in 21min 27sec, the 27.6km mountain bike ride in 1hr 37min 30sec and the 12km run in 1:04:21, for an overall time, including transition phases, of 3:05:56.

Carla Van Huyssteen successfully defended her crown, finishing in 2:58:02.

The South African was fourteenth overall, while Nicolette Griffioen was the third-fastest female in 3:08:31.

Duffy, a two-times Olympian, said that she was encouraged by her performance and hopes to compete in the race again next year.

“I’m happy with the performance at the Buffelspoort,” Duffy said.

“It was tough out there, so congratulations to all who competed and finished.

“Also, I was happy to see [Dan] Hugo take the win and [Bradley] Weiss round out the podium. Overall, it was a great event and I can’t wait to come back.”

Van Huyssteen admitted to taking advantage of Duffy’s struggles on the bike.

Duffy was more than a minute ahead of her rival after the swim and transition on to the bike.

The Bermudian’s bike time of 1:37:30, however, was more than eight minutes slower than Van Huyssteen’s time of 1:29:13, putting her some distance behind and unable to reel in her rival.

“The altitude was definitely in my favour,” Van Huyssteen said.

“In Pietermaritsburg, I had been focusing on power building through hill training.

“I really wanted to be the first South African girl across the finish line today.

“I saw that Duffy was suffering on the bike, so I decided to push really hard, even if I ended up breaking myself.

“It really is special winning in South Africa. The support is extra special.”

Hugo was the overall winner, with the South African stopping the clock at 2:31:00. Nico Sterk was a distant second in 2:37:37 and Bradley Weiss third in 2:39:56.