Flora Duffy is set to compete in the season’s penultimate ITU World Triathlon Series race in Stockholm tomorrow, before the Grand Final in Rotterdam on September 16.

After her previous race in the series in Montreal, Duffy indicated she was uncertain on whether to compete in the Swedish capital before the Grand Final takes place in the Netherlands.

Duffy, who is the defending series champion, leads the 2017 edition with 3,940 points. Ashleigh Gentle, of Australia, is in second place on 3,286 points, while Katie Zaferes, of the United States, is in third on 3,192 points.

Gentle won the Montreal race, but Duffy extended her overall lead in the series after finishing second and the Bermudian will be looking for a podium finish to keep a cushion over her nearest rivals going into Rotterdam, where the points on offer are 1½ times those awarded at other World Series events.

This will be the eighth stop on the circuit, with 34 other high-class women diving into the water in hope of closing the gap on Duffy.

The Bermudian will be wearing the golden swim cap reserved for the series leader.

Duffy has been dominant this season and will be looking for her fifth victory of the campaign, which only American Gwen Jorgensen has done before.

Duffy has recorded the largest winning margins in both standard distance (11 seconds in Yokohama in May) and sprint distance (31 seconds in Hamburg last month).

The Stockholm course — 1,500-metre swim, 40-kilometre bike and 10km run — with its technical bike course through the narrow city streets, is one of Duffy’s favourites and she will again be hoping to establish a lead on her main rivals on the bike before the transition to the run.

n Seven triathletes will represent Bermuda on Sunday at the Long Course World Championships in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada.

The race consists of a 3km swim, 120km bike and 30km run, which is between the Ironman 70.3 distances of 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21.1km run and the full Ironman distances of 3.86km swim, 180.25km bike and 42.20km run.

Bermuda’s team consists of a group of experienced triathletes, with Matt Thompson and Chris Eaton, who will race in the men’s 40-44 age group, both having participated for a number of years in short and long distance races.

Eaton has raced five 70.3 Ironmans, while Thompson raced in Penticton in 2002 at the Canada Ironman World Championships.

Geoff Smith, who recorded an impressive time of 4hr 57min in the 2016 Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island, will compete in the 50-54 age group.

Joel Matthews, who raced in the Canadian Championships in Penticton in 2016 over a very similar course, goes out in the 35-39 age group.

Bermuda’s female team members are also experienced triathletes having raced consistently over a number of years both on the island and overseas.

Jen Wilson and Louise Wells, members of the Misfits Ladies Triathlon group in Bermuda, race in the 40-44 age group.

Sue Edney (50-44), who last represented Bermuda at the 2008 Sprint Triathlon World Championships in Australia, has completed two of the toughest Ironmans in Nice, where she finished third in her age group, and this May in Lanzarote, where she was fifth in her age group.

Edney also raced in Penticton last year over these distances, and this will be her third long-course race in Penticton.

All the local athletes had to meet qualifying standards set by the Bermuda Triathlon Association by racing in long-distance triathlons abroad over the past 18 months and posting the qualifying time in their age group.

As this weekend’s event is a world championships and has attracted a strong and large international field, it is expected to be tough to reach the podium in the various age groups.

However, Bermuda’s triathletes are expected to do well with some top-20 positions.

Bermuda’s age-group triathletes will start in waves commencing at 10.35am Bermuda time, shortly after the elite triathletes.