The pair claimed the gold medals on the Italian island, with the event featuring a swim, a mountain bike leg and a cross country run.

Spaniard Ruzafa became a back-to-back champion in the men's race as he came ahead of Mexican Francisco Serano who took silver and New Zealand's Sam Osborne who claimed the bronze.

Germany's Jens Roth dominated the swim and exited the water with a 22-second advantage, with Ruzafa two minutes down.

However, the eventual champion put in a fine performance during the off-road cycle and jumped into the lead after a blistering first lap of the course.

Entering the run, Rufaza managed to secure a comfortable lead but Serano kept the pressure on heading into the final kilometres.

The defending champion was ultimately too strong, however, and edged out his rival by a margin of 26 seconds.

After earning only the silver in Zittau last year, Bermuda's Duffy earned her first gold in the women's race ahead of Chile's Barbara Riveros who was second and Hungarian Brigitta Poor who completed the podium.

Duffy took an early lead during the swim and went into the cycle more than a minute ahead, and that advantage quickly increased as she undertook her favourite of the three disciplines. 

There was no let up from Duffy during the run, as she collected the world title she had been craving since narrowly missing out last year.



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