Duffy survives crash to finish with the pack

Multi-talented Flora Duffy is having quite a week.

On the weekend she finished 20th in the Hy-Vee Triathlon in Des Moines, packed her bags and flew to Minnesota to compete in the Nature Valley Grand Prix.

She is riding with the Fiber One Collegiate All-star team in the Nature Valley races.

In the St. Paul Criterium on Wednesday, Duffy crossed the line with the main pack so even though she was officially 34th, her time was the same as the winner.

Earlier in the day she competed in the St. Paul Time Trial and was 64th, 1:43 behind winner Alison Starnes of Team TIBCO.

Overall, she ended the day in 57th place.

Duffy said: “The atmosphere is great! Minneapolis is crazy about cycling so there is a lot of people out watching the races and a lot of very good teams here racing, which makes for some fast racing.

“I have never raced in such a competitive field so it is all very new to me.

“Wednesday night was a very technical crit and with 100 girls racing it, which can make for a very scary race.

“I was happy with how I rode, especially since I got caught up in a crash early on but was fine and jumped back in.

“To be a good crit rider you have to be willing to take a lot of risks and be very aggressive to get to the front. I am strong enough to be at the front but getting there is tricky. I am still learning the in's and out's of bike racing. It is early days yet for me but I am happy with how it is going so far.”

Duffy was also pleased with her performance in the Des Moines triathlon.

“I was really happy with how I raced in Des Moines. Going in to the race I had no idea what to expect because I had not raced in this level of an event since Beijing 2008.

“I had a great swim exiting the water in the front pack, fast transition and on to bike placed nicely at the front of the pack.

The bike went well and on the run I went out a bit too fast. I forgot that I don't quite have the running miles in my legs yet.

“I ran well though and was very pleased to finish 20th. It was a very strong field and to finish top 20 in my first even back in 22 months felt good.”

The last time she raced in Des Moines, the outcome wasn’t as good, mainly because of the weather.

“It was an overcast day so racing conditions were great. The last time I raced in Des Moines it was super hot and I suffered in the heat along with many of my competitors. This year that was not a problem.”

Yesterday Duffy rode in the 76-mile Canon Falls Road Race, but race results were not available at press time.

Today she is expected to ride Uptown Minneapolis Criterium.

She said: “Saturday’s road race has a lot of climbing — roughly 60 miles — and then Sunday is a crit with a crazy steep hill. Apparently a lot of people drop out of this race because of the hill.”