Olympic bronze medallist Emma Moffatt has once again capitalised on the absence of fellow Australian Emma Snowsill to take a stranglehold on the world triathlon championship with her third straight victory in the series.

Moffatt produced a stunning performance to record a dominant win in Hamburg early Sunday morning (AEST) to further extend her big lead in the eight-round championship.

Beijing Olympian Brad Kahlefeldt who is back to his best form following hip surgery late last year finished second behind American Jarrod Shoemaker in the men's race.

With Beijing Olympic gold medallist Snowsill recovering from keyhole hip surgery, Moffatt romped home to win the 51.5km swim-cycle-run in one hour, 56 minutes and 12 seconds - almost a minute ahead of Swedish runner-up Lisa Norden (1:56:12). Swiss Daniela Ryf (1:57:39) was third as Moffatt surged clear of her championship rivals.

Australian Annabel Luxford was 16th.

Even if Moffatt does not contest the next two races in London and Yokohama, the 25-year-old Beijing bronze medallist will take the series lead into the final round on the Gold Coast on September 12.

Moffatt has 3140 points from the first five rounds, with New Zealand's Andrea Hewitt (2229) her closest pursuer ahead of Ryf (2089), Norden (1982) and Canadian Kathy Tremblay (1940).

Snowsill (1818) is all but out of the running for a record fourth world championship crown after undergoing surgery to repair minor damage to the labrum cartilage of the hip - under the advice of coach and fiance Craig Walton.

The 28-year-old Gold Coaster returned to Australia last week from an AIS training camp in France to seek medical attention having experienced pain during her last few races and decided to go under the knife.

"The prognosis is good," Walton said. "The surgeon believes the repair will be completely successful so Emma is itching to return."

Snowsill will now rest and recover before starting full training again but is hopeful of being in peak condition for the final round in her home city.

Kahlefeldt celebrated his 30th birthday in Hamburg with his third second for the season.

“I was so sick of coming second in sprint finishes after Tongyeong and the Hy-Vee Elite Cup that I wanted to take it on today,” commented Brad Kahlefeldt.

“It was going well but Jarrod [Shoemaker] came over the top of me and pushed on very hard. On the final (run) lap I was concerned with the guys catching me up from behind but I pushed on. I knew with one kilometre to go that I couldn’t catch Jarrod, but I gave it everything, so I’ll reluctantly have to settle for another second place.”

Kahlefeldt now sits in fourth place on the world title rankings with 2276 points just 217 points from the lead. Courtney Atkinson who didn't race in Hamburg has dropped back to ninth. 

This year, for the first time, the world championship will be decided over the eight races rather than a single event.

AOC and AAP