Flora Duffy could not have asked for a better time to begin peaking with the Olympics not far off.The top women’s triathlete is fresh off two solid showings on the ITU World Triathlon scene, including a maiden World Cup win in Mexico just over a week ago.Duffy won the Elite Women’s crown at the Huatulco ITU event to book her ticket to the London Games. She then followed that superb performance up with a solid sixth place finish five days later at the ITU World Triathlon San Diego.Those two showings have boosted the University of Colorado student’s confidence to the point she now considers herself as a legitimate contender among the world’s elite.“I have definitely had a huge confidence booster and feel so much better about going to London now,” Duffy said. “Going forward now I feel that I am no longer just a competitor but a contender in these races and it feels good.“It feels kind of how I used to be when I first started racing in the World Cup so it’s definitely a good feeling to be back at that level.”Even though Duffy is pleased with her current form and rates herself as a contender, she acknowledges there is still room for growth and feels the best is yet to come.“I certainly don’t think I have reached my peak yet that’s for sure,” she said. “There’s still plenty of room left to grow and I think I am just sort of coming back from those couple of years where I pulled my body apart.“Each year I have been building myself back up and I certainly have not reached my limit so there’s still a lot more to come from me.”Duffy attributes her recent success to mental toughness and a strong belief in her ability.“The mental side is more than half the battle and what I have learned is that you have to have faith in your training and the effort and time you have put in,” she said. “You also have to believe in yourself and I think that’s what I have been lacking a bit.“But now that I have had this bit of success I believe more in myself and it‘s just really helping me because mentally I feel a lot better about everything. Triathlons are definitely tough because so much work and effort goes in and it’s very tiring and frustrating. So you really have to be in tune with your body.”Duffy and her coach Neal Henderson are currently mapping out a plan to keep her in tip top shape heading into July’s Olympics in the UK.“I haven’t mapped out things quite yet but my coach and I have discussed a few things which aren’t quite in stone yet,” she said. “But I think the plan for me would be mainly to stay in North America and do a few things and then head over to Europe a couple of weeks before the Olympics and then fly to London a couple of days before I race.”“There are a couple of races coming up in Boulder (Colorado) and also a World Cup event in Canada and so I just might do those.”