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The all-male cheerleaders decked out in pink dresses at Deception Bridge might like to think they provided the motivation for Richard Ussher to get to the finish line first yesterday but that was set 12 months ago.
The 31-year-old Nelsonian was not only beaten by Gordon Walker last
year but also beaten by a course he set out to tame.
It was a massive surprise to everyone, especially him, when he trudged over the line in 10th place.
Yesterday, though, Ussher raced what he described as his perfect race. He powered away at the start of the 33km mountain run and continued to extend his lead through to the finish line at Sumner Beach to finish more than 20 minutes ahead of Walker - who was his only realistic threat - and 45 minutes ahead of third-placed Dick Brunton.
"It was horrible last year," Ussher said, looking like he had merely gone for a short jog around the block rather than racing across 243km from one coast of the South Island to the other for more than 11 hours. "It was an experience you don't really wish on anyone.
"Last year, I just got too serious about it. I came to the race last year with the wrong attitude and goals instead of focusing on the enjoyment and having a good race. I went out there to smash it but just smashed myself.
"I wasn't very smart about it after the huge year of adventure racing but as soon as I crossed the finish line I thought there was unfinished business."
The former Winter Olympics mogul skier got down to work when Robin Judkins blew the horn as dawn was breaking on Kumara Beach. He and Walker were joined by four other riders early into the first cycle leg but Ussher made his move on the mountain run. He was nearly 4 minutes ahead of Walker at Goat Pass but shifted up another gear on the downhill section into Klondyke Corner at the end of the run to lead by almost 9 minutes. His time of 2hr 57min over the Main Divide was extremely quick.
The 67km kayak leg loomed as a difficult assignment, particularly on a Waimakariri River that was running extremely low after a dry summer but Ussher still managed the fastest paddle of the day and arrived more than 12 minutes ahead of Walker.
The last 70km cycle to Sumner was supposed to be where the defending champion might be able to cut into Ussher's lead, given he is a former time-trial cyclist, but the Aucklander lost another 7 minutes.
Walker would have needed to borrow one of the police motorcycles that escorted the leader into Christchurch to have made up the deficit on a guy who said later he had done a lot of work on his riding of late.
"I did the best I could, no doubt about that," Walker said. "I just got beaten by a better man. Richard's a class act. He's the best adventure racer in the world by a long shot and is a hard man to beat.
"I never gave up but you have to have it all day and somehow I felt like I was pushing uphill all day. That's the way when you're in second. When you're in front, you have the lead car in front which is like another set of legs. But Richard was faultless."
Ussher will now test himself in a different sport in March's Taupo Ironman. He clearly has the stamina to do well and the background in both cycling and running but it will be interesting to see how he copes with the long swim.
Yesterday, though, was his day. He timed his finish in front of 2000 spectators to coincide with an acrobatic display by the Red Chequers but Ussher hardly noticed. He was too busy exorcising some demons to care.
"You have doubts about how you are going to go and this was the first time I felt like I really raced strong the whole day," he said. "I didn't fade. It's magic. It was just one of those days."
Just like last year was one of those other days.
