In the men's race, Luke Willian claimed top spot despite appearing in only his second Olympic distance World Cup.

After the swim and bike took place in humid and windy conditions, the Australian held off the field after a final lap surge during the run.

He clocked 1 hour 43min 48sec to beat his compatriot Drew Box into silver, with New Zealand's Sam Ward third.

Willian secured a spot on the start line at the Gold Coast World Triathlon Series event in April as a result of his victory.

This is an official selection race for the Australian Commonwealth Games team.

"That’s been the goal for me, getting to that race, and I’ve just done that," Willian said.

Emma Jackson won the women's race and returned to the top of a World Cup podium for the first time in four years.

She led coming out of the water and performed well in a lead group of six on the bike, before sitting behind team-mate Emma Jeffcoat on the run.

Jackson clicked through the gears and took the lead before the five kilometres mark before seeing out the race.

Ashleigh Gentle of Australia won silver with Mexico's Claudia Rivas claiming bronze.

"I actually fell over running into the surf for the swim but I was fortunate enough to pick myself up and came out in the top two, so that was a good swim for me," Jackson said, after her winning time of 1:56.36.

"We had a good group of girls who worked together on the bike and we had a gap back to Ashleigh which I was able to hold onto towards the end.

"It shows me that I’m in alright form. 

"I actually enjoy sprint distance racing as I don’t enjoy the heat too much.

"With an Olympic distance race I thought I was going to struggle a bit. 

"So it was actually really nice to go out there and prove myself wrong and have a good race."