Bermuda's Olympic-bound triathlete Flora Duffy will be looking to kick start her season as she takes on the world's best Under-23 triathletes at the World Championships in Vancouver, Canada today.

Since taking a silver medal two years' ago in Lausanne, Switzerland, in the Under-18 World Championships, Duffy has endured mixed fortunes.

She began well last year, finishing an impressive fifth in a World Cup series race in Portugal against the top pros but then suffered a dramatic slump in form.

Her only major race so far this season was at the Triathlon World Cup series race in Richards' Bay in South Africa where she was forced to drop out because of bike problems.

Duffy's decision to race in the Under-23 division this weekend rather than compete against the pros in the Open division, according to Bermuda Triathlon Association spokesman Dave Morrison, is an interesting one.

"It could be argued that she should have elected to race in the Open division against her competition in Beijing," he said in press release yesterday

"However, it might be a smart move as the Under-23 field will still be very strong and a top-10 finish in this race could be what she needs to get her form and confidence back.

"She has had little to smile about in her more recent performances so it is difficult to predict whether she can finish on the podium at these championships but there can be little doubt that she has the talent to take a medal if she can put it all together."

The event consists of a 1500 metre swim, 40 kilometres on the bike and a 10 kilometres run in Stanley Park near downtown Vancouver.

Accompanying Duffy to compete in the amateur age group are five other triathletes from Bermuda, all of whom will have their work cut out in what are historically competitive age groups.

Leading the way will be veteran triathlete Kent Richardson who will compete in the 45-49 age group.

Richardson has over the years produced some excellent performances and his confidence will be high after a strong showing at the competitive Memphis Triathlon last month where he finished in the top 10 in his age group in an impressive time of just over two hours and seven minutes.

Also in the team will be Vanessa Madeiros, Jeff Conyers, Travis Cooper and Heather Cooper.

Cooper, who was Bermuda's cyclist of the year in 2007 and also a good swimmer, is returning to the sport after a 10-year absence and will compete in the 40-44 age group.

She took part in these championships from 1996 to 1998 and produced a best time of two hours and 30 minutes over this distance in Perth, Australia in 1996.

Bermudian Vanessa Madeiros (30-34 age group) competed in the 2002 Triathlon World Championships and lives in the USA where she competes regularly in triathlon and finished in the top three in her age group in three races over this distance in 2007 with a personal best of two hours 30 minutes and and 52 seconds.

An injury has limited her running but she will rely on a strong swim.

Another veteran in Vancouver is Jeff Conyers (55-59 age group), who has been a regular participant in international events.

Travis Cooper (35-39 age group) finished seventh overall in the recent Tokio Millenium Triathlon in Bermuda will be looking for a strong swim, his best discipline, to get him off to a good start but will find the going tough in one of the strongest age groups at the championships.

Accompanying the team will be Patty Petty from the Bermuda Triathlon Association who will be acting as a technical official for the events, a role she will also play in the Olympic Games in August.

Racing gets underway at 10.45 a.m. Bermuda time for the age groups with Duffy going to the start line at 11 a.m.

Live coverage of the events can be found on www.triathlon.org including updates on all competitors' progress during the race and video coverage.