Troubled triathlete Flora Duffy admits she would call the curtain on her turbulent season if she did not need to pick up points to qualify for the 2009 Beijing Olympics.

The teenager will be competing in the World Championships in Hamburg, Germany, this weekend as she approaches the final straight of her season, which has been marred by a drastic loss of form due to fatigue.

Duffy, who is just 19, has been unable to repeat her scintillating form of her debut campaign with over-training, travelling and study-stress cited as factors behind her recent disjointed displays.

She has pulled out of the Beijing World Cup BG next month due to the extent of travel required, but will compete in two more races after the World Championships.

"I'm looking forward to having a rest from competition and to be honest I would like to end my season now but I must keep going because I need to accumulate qualification points for the Beijing Olympics," Duffy said.

"I have pulled out of the Beijing World Cup race next month as there's a lot of travel involved and that's not what I need right now." She added that she has been training in Font Remou, France.

"My coaches believe my loss of form is due to a mixture of over-training, travel and stress from college - I could really do with a break."

Bermuda's Female Athlete of the Year heads to Hamburg "feeling fresher" but concedes her confidence is still low and is merely looking for a solid performance. "I'm just looking to be competitive in Hamburg and have a solid race," said Duffy. "I no longer set myself targets as I'm not sure what form I'll be in from one race to the next at the moment.

"I'm looking forward to the race and I feel fresher, but my confidence is low. I know I'm not in as good shape as the rest of the athletes because of my problems - but I'll be giving it my best.

"The World Championships are a really big event and the field will be very strong, although I believe some countries such as New Zealand are using the Beijing World Cup race as their selection race for the Olympics and are focusing on that instead."

Saturday's race will mark Duffy's first in the World Championships as a senior athlete - last year she came second in the Junior World Championships in Switzerland.

Warwick-born Duffy finished 49th in the Salford World Cup BG with a time of 2:19.19 last month. She had been expected to continue her meteoric rise after starting her second campaign with a career-best fifth place finish in the Lisbon World Cup BG in May.