DHAKA, Sept. 18 (NsNewsWire) — The world’s best triathletes proved their skill, grit and class in the final race of the 2017 ITU World Triathlon Series in Rotterdam, Netherlands, over the weekend.

The cold, wet and windy conditions provided the perfect storm for athletes, across a technical course made up of a 1,500 metre swim, 40 kilometre bike and 10km run.

Two elite Commonwealth women finished atop the podium and with GC2018 on the horizon, the triathletes’ performances indicate a competitive field for April’s event.

In the women’s event, Bermuda’s Flora Duffy set the pace as soon as she dived into the Maas river, battling with Great Britain’s Jessica Learmonth throughout the choppy 1,500m leg.

Learmonth, renowned for her swimming strength, has been first out of the water in five of the nine races of the series.

The bike leg saw athletes navigate the challenging course along Rotterdam’s roads, with Duffy, Learmonth and USA’s Katie Zafares first to enter transition, setting up a fast 10km run decider.

Within 5kms, Duffy had broken away from the pack to secure her grand final win and world championship title.