Flora Duffy laid down a marker for the Olympic Games in Rio with a stunning display of solo racing in Stockholm on Saturday.

Duffy stormed to her first gold medal at the Vattenfall World Triathlon Stockholm, finishing in 2hr 3min 38sec, some 20 seconds ahead of Andrea Hewitt, of New Zealand. Helen Jenkins, of Britain, was third in 2:04:06.

Jenkins, and her British Olympic team-mates Non Stanford and Vicky Holland, had no answer to Duffy’s performance. Neither did Sarah True, the defending champion from the United States, who was bidding for a hat-trick of Stockholm titles, but wound up in sixth place in 2:05:06.

Gwen Jorgensen, the American, who is an overwhelming favourite for the gold medal in Rio, was not part of the 36-strong elite field.

Victory further cemented Duffy’s lead at the top of the world rankings, moving her on to 3,491 points. Hewitt moved to second on 2,599, while Jodie Stimpson, of Britain, who began the day second in the rankings but was unable to finish Saturday’s race drops to third on 2,513.

The gold medal completed Duffy’s collection of medals for the season, following on from the bronze she won in Abu Dhabi and the silver she took in Leeds. It also hinted at the continued progression of the Bermuda triathlete, who has learnt to race on her own while athletes from other countries can invariably work as teams.

Not that going it alone bothered Duffy on Saturday, she negotiated the tricky cobblestones of the Swedish capital for 40 kilometres at the front of the pack and at one stage had built up a lead of more than a minute on the rest of the field.

Duffy completed the 1,500 metres swim in 20:08, the 40km cycle in 1:07:37 and the 10km run in 34:28.

She ran alone too, and had time to high-five members of the crowd as she approached the finish line.

“I have been trying and trying to win one of these and today when I was out there on the front of the bike I had no idea how it was going to play out,” Duffy said. “But I got off and felt strong on the run and just ran as best as I could. But obviously it is a bit scary with Helen [Jenkins] and Andrea [Hewitt] chasing me.”

At times Duffy questioned her own decision to push ahead on the nine laps of Stockholm.

“I managed to ride a bit more controlled today, I have learnt from Leeds,” Duffy said. “It is so much more technical here and that is my strength, so I just tried to gain as much time as I could in the technical sections and then ride smooth for any straightaways.

“It was just how it worked out to ride solo. I came out of the swim with a few girls and I was hoping they would come up behind on my wheel but they didn’t, and then I was in no-mans land, so there were times where I was questioning what I was doing out there, but I just stuck to my plan and it worked out today.”

Hewitt earned her second podium finish of the season by outsprinting Jenkins over the closing uphill section of the run.

“The course is really tough, there are a lot of turns. That first lap on the bike was a bit sketchy just getting around some of the corners and the run with the cobbles, it was a difficult day,” Hewitt said.

“It was crazy, Duffy had over a minute at one stage, and on the run I don’t think we put much time on her so she was the strongest today.”

The women’s race was welcomed by choppy waters that rocked the starting pontoon, and Katie Zaferes, of the United States, excelled in the tough conditions, getting an early lead over the field. However, True, Juri Ide, of Japan, and Duffy were able to stay just a few seconds behind.

After the leading four entered through the first of two transition areas, Duffy wasted no time in taking advantage of her dominance on the bike, and pushed ahead to set her own pace. With True, Zaferes and Ide fading behind, Duffy was left to ride alone.

Although Duffy continued to increase her lead after each lap, reaching a gap of a minute at one point, the trio of True, Zaferes and Ide ended up being caught by a larger pack for a 15-strong chase.

A group that included Hewitt, Holland, Jenkins, Nicky Samuels, Stimpson, Mari Rabie, and Taylor Knibb worked to cut into Duffy’s lead. In the second half of the cycle, while the group lost a few riders, including Stimpson who suffered from stomach cramps and was forced to withdraw, a huge fifth lap saw them shave ten seconds off the gap.

That gap was down to just 15 seconds as the women headed into the second transition area, putting Duffy within reach.

However, the Bermuda Olympian showed no sign of weakness in her legs, and was able to surge on in the run to maintain her lead. While Hewitt and Jenkins nibbled away at the time distance on the final two laps, she never held them off long enough to get to the blue carpet first.

Slowing only slightly for a few high fives, Duffy grabbed the winner’s tape for the first time in her elite career. The win from Duffy meant that she became the seventeenth female in the history of the WTS to win a title, while Bermuda became the tenth country to also get the gold.

“I am really happy to get on the podium today,” Jenkins said. “I made life hard for myself, I had a terrible swim, but I felt good on the bike and on the run I just kind of hung in there, but I am really happy to come away with a podium

“Flora is so strong at the moment. I am actually really happy for her to get the win, I mean obviously I would like to, but she deserves it the way she raced today.”