Coast-to-Coast: Currie claims longest day

Defending longest day champion Braden Currie completed a hat-trick of Coast to Coast title wins. Photo / Getty

Defending Longest Day champions Braden Currie and Jess Simson crossed the New Brighton finish line first to make it three and two Coast to Coast titles in a row respectively today.

Currie finished in a time of 11 hours 27 minutes and 46 seconds, seeing off a strong challenge from Whakatane's Sam Clarke who claimed second-place in 11:33:10.

The 28-year-old race favourite was unable to compare his three victories but admitted he had been pushed hard by the tenacious Clarke.

"They're all right up there," Currie said. "It was tough, man. Definitely as tough as I've had to race in a while so I can say that I went to some pretty dark places today and I'm pretty happy just to be finished."

Fourth seed Trevor Voyce came in third and 43-year-old veteran Nathan Fa'avae was fourth, 24 years after his first Speight's Coast to Coast and 14 years since his last one.

Simson clocked in at 13:05:00, ahead of triathlete and 2013 Australasian Multisport champion Simone Maier. In contrast to her male equivalent, Simson said her two wins could not have been more different.

"The day was extremely bizarre," Simson said. "[It was] the polar opposite to my race last year where my body misbehaved but my mind pushed myself. This year my body felt great all day but I struggled to push myself to the next level.

"But I executed all my race goals and conserved energy so I'm pretty stoked with the result."

Currie was in pole position from the start line at Kumara beach at 6am, leading the 3km foot race to the first Aicken's transition and consolidating his place at the front of a leading group of 11 cyclists battling a head-wind throughout the 55km bike stage.

Third seed Clarke's swift change-over saw him first to begin the 33km mountain run through the Mingha Deception trail, but Currie's renown running power saw him reclaim the lead as they made the gruelling climb up to Goat Pass.

The Wanaka local had carved out a five-minute lead when he emerged at Klondyke Corner for the third transition on to the bike, for the 15km ride ahead of the 67km kayak stage through the Waimakariri Gorge.

The river stretch saw Currie go from strength to strength, building out to a 10-minute lead despite the low water levels resulting from a hot and dry summer.

After disembarking at Iron Bridge, Currie was met with near-perfect conditions to set out on the fourth and final stage, making short work of the 70km ride to glory.

Early on in the women's race it was Maier out in front, among the second pack to arrive at the Aicken's transition, and four minutes ahead of Simson.

Simson warmed into her work however, and overtook her rival to establish a three-minute break before Goat Pass, with multiple winner Elina Ussher trailing the pair through Klondyke Corner.

The kayak section gave hope to Ussher's supporters, including husband - five-time champion,and 2015 race director - Richard, as she climbed out of the water in second spot, before fading on the ride.

-David Skipwith travelled to Christchurch with the assistance of ThermaTech.