Cross triathlon is so-called because it takes place off-road, with competitors today faced with a swim of one kilometres, a mountain bike ride of 20 kilometres and a trail run of six kilometres.

In the women’s race, France’s Margot Garabedian, who won the World Aquathlon title yesterday, produced an impressive swim to lead by more than a minute after the first discipline.

Duvoisin came to the fore in the mountain bike ride and as the race headed from the bike to the running discipline, she took the overall lead from Italy’s Sandra Mairhofer.

Duvoisin extended her advantage during the run and was a clear winner in the end in 1hr 37min 42sec.

Reigning Winter Triathlon world champion Mairhofer claimed second place in 1:39.35, with Aneta Grabmullerova of the Czech Republic third in 1:41.27.

Duvoisin also won the women’s under-23 title, while in a separate race Giulia Saiu of Italy won the junior women’s crown in 55 mins 19 secs.

In the men’s race, yesterday’s World Aquathlon silver medallist Richard Varga of Slovakia, led at the end of the swim.

Serrieres was one of several mountain bike specialists ready to claw themselves back into contention during the second discipline, although it was his compatriot Theo Dupras who posted the fastest bike split.

Serrieres took the lead on the concluding trail run and crossed the line in 1:23.43, triumphing by just over a minute from compatriot Arthur Forissier, who took silver in 1:24.50.

Forissier outpaced Ruben Ruzafa, with the Spaniard earning the bronze after finishing six seconds behind in 1:24.56.

The men’s under-23 title went to Italy’s Federico Spinazzé, who placed ninth in the men’s race, in 1:27.17, while the junior men’s title, raced separately, was won by Portugal’s François Vie in 43:46.