Young stars heap pressure in Kaimai Classic

He remains the Kaimai King but even Dwarne Farley can sense an end to his imperious reign.
The Mount Maunganui multisport guru took out his eighth Kaimai Classic title yesterday, easing home more than 4mins clear of his nearest rival over the revamped 70km distance.
But the 37-year-old was pushed hard by young rivals Andrew Turnbull and Sam Clark, who challenged for the lead over the first three legs but faded near the end. It was hardly surprising - both completed a six-hour endurance race in Whakatane on Saturday and their exertions clearly showed yesterday.
"They just need to show a bit more respect and not race the day before!" Farley quipped. "The competition's getting closer, that's for sure. If they hadn't raced six hours yesterday, it would've been pretty interesting. When I saw Sam had entered, I knew it was going to be a good race - he's gone to another level and once he gets a bit more endurance, he'll be amongst the best."
Farley completed the revamped race - a 5km bush run, 17km mountain bike, 11km kayak, 26km road bike and 11km run - in 3hrs 17mins 58secs. It's a new course record, with 3km added onto the road cycle and changes to the first run around McLarens Falls, but compares favourably to Farley's best time of 3:12:47.
Clark, who was fifth at the Coast to Coast this year, pushed hard on the kayak especially, racing his K1 boat down the Wairoa River and putting a minute into the following Farley.
But the 20-year-old apprentice at Allied Industrial Engineering in Kawerau couldn't sustain it after his rigorous weekend.
"I thought I'd do both of them but two events in a row might be near the edge of my limit," Clark said.
The Eastern Bay athlete hasn't done the Kaimai Classic since 2008 when he finished third as a schoolboy and he may not be back next year either, with ambitions plans to revisit his triathlon roots and tackle an ironman-distance event.
"I did a sprint triathlon earlier this year and was really surprised how well my swimming has stuck with me. I'm keen to get back into triathlons and I'll be giving the Coast to Coast a miss next year at this stage."
Pyes Pa school teacher Sonya Thompson is also giving the Coast to Coast a miss next year but that didn't stop her winning a second Kaimai Classic title, adding to the one she took out in 2008.
Injured last year and second to Elina Ussher in 2009, Thompson took the lead from Mount Maunganui's Sandra Boubee on the road bike and held it, winning by more than a minute in 4:05:34, with Hannah Lowe third.
"I didn't know who else had entered so I didn't know what to expect," Thompson said. "I knew the runs probably wouldn't be my strength today but I really enjoyed the biking and the paddle. Hannah's an amazing paddler so I knew I needed to keep her at bay and Sandy's a really good athlete so I thought she'd be up there too."
As expected, the Jamis Dragons took out the teams race, with Andrew Roy opening up a lead on the kayak and triathlete Graham O'Grady extending it on the road bike.
But the Tauranga Boys' College team fought superbly - Daniel Finucane matched Jamis captain Jon Hume on the mountain bike and Patrick Burrows was within shouting distance of marathoner Craig Kirkwood by the finish of the last run.
Farley, meanwhile, won't be giving his title away easily - someone is going to have to rip it from his grasp.
"I'll just keep going, taking inspiration from guys like Cameron Brown, Steve Gurney and Gordon Blythen. As long as I can find the time, the family loves it and I'm still enjoying it."