Flora Duffy’s hectic schedule on the ITU World Triathlon Series continues on Saturday when she competes in Cape Town, South Africa — the fourth stop and third continent in the series.

Duffy will have had little time to recover after her win at the Xterra Asia-Pacific Championship in New South Wales, Australia, last weekend. The 27-year-old, ranked fifth among the elite women, but No 3 in this weekend’s field, will be one of the favourites for the title after a strong start to her season.

The Cape Town course is known for its flat ride on the bike, but its very cold waters will enable the weaker swimmers to benefit in the wetsuit-required swim.

With Gwen Jorgensen, the top-ranked American, opting not to make the trip to South Africa, the top of the podium is up for grabs.

Apart from Jorgensen, Katie Zaferes has the most podium finishes of any other elite woman this season, finishing second in Abu Dhabi and Auckland and third in Gold Coast.

Zaferes is No 2 in the Columbia Threadneedle Rankings, but will be the No 1 in Cape Town for the first time, with Duffy, who is based in Stellenbosch, South Africa, moving up to No 3 for this event.

Although a fairly recent newcomer to the sport, only competing since 2013, Zaferes has shown she is a strong opponent in a short amount of time on the circuit.