Non Stanford felt like she was riding a clown bike at one point, but the Welsh triathlete showed she means business with victory in Hamburg.

The 30-year-old’s triumph to end a win drought of over two years came at the perfect time as the countdown to next year’s Olympics hits a crucial phase.

Next month sees a test event in Tokyo when Stanford hopes she can prove she will be able to cope with the testing conditions in the Japanese capital in 2020.

“My saddle went down at one point, so I felt as if I was riding a clown bike and my wheels kept sliding everywhere,” said Stanford of the testing conditions which saw a huge crash in the men’s event.

“We were trying to be cautious and I think most of the girls were being sensible, but my aim was just to get off the bike in one piece.”

Stanford duly did as she finished in a time of 59 minutes and 24 seconds to win by seven seconds from France’s Cassandre Beaugrand with American Summer Rappaport in third, 11 seconds further adrift.

The victory moved Stanford, whose last major win was at the Chengdu ITU Triathlon World Cup in 2017,  to fifth in the World Triathlon Series.

But she will skip the next event in Edmonton, Canada, to focus on the test event in Tokyo.

“I really didn’t expect to do that,” added the Leeds-based triathlete. “Everything has gone really well recently, my training has been really consistent, but I’ve been off the podium quite a bit in recent years.

“I was trying to edge my way back up there so to get the win is absolutely fantastic.

“I’m going to skip Edmonton and fully focus on preparing for Tokyo. It’s quite a key event to demonstrate how well we can compete on that course and deal with the heat and humidity that’s going to be the major factor for the Games.

“I want to go there and show the selectors I’m a genuine contender for that team.”

Stanford’s likely GB rivals for the Olympics were also in Hamburg with Georgia Taylor-Brown fifth,  Vicky Holland eighth and Sophie Coldwell 13th.