Arriving in Augusta on Thursday night with Matty my good Perth based mate who handily had just purchased a 4wd the week of the race. It certainly beat the pants off squeezing ourselves into a Hyundai getz for 4hrs! The luxury trip did however go to our heads. Matty and I proceded to locate the keys and wander inside the wrong holiday home....Inside was not only an amazing interrior but a plentiful supply of spirits and liqueurs. We looked at the couch - the drink - the couch - then with cheeky grins common sense previaled and we left in search of our alcohol free accommodation for the night.
Friday was spent checking out the course and Saturday entailed a mix of gear preperation and media committments. I couldn't help but get a little hyped up and excited. The media crew were to put a documentary together following the Trans-Tasman rivalry and racing. By the end of the morning I wasn't sure if I was to be a racer or an actor!!
RACE DAY:
With a chopper hovering close overhead hundreds of athletes leant forward in nervous anticipation of the starting hooter. Weeks of preperation, months for many had gone into this and you could feel the pressure as we stood on the rocks just below the Cape Leuwin lighthouse.
And at 7:45am the rocks echoed with footsteps jostling for postition as we all raced to converge around a single flag. We would then turn towards Augusta and follow the coast on rocks, sand and vague tracks before heading on an inland circuit that would finish up at Flinders bay transition and the 1.9km swim section to Augusta. Frantic is the only way to describe the start. Brayden Currie and Sean O'Neal took off like cut cats leaving the rest of us in their wake. I was already running well into my maximum potential and made an early decision to button off and prevent a nasty fall on the rocks. Soon I had caught and passed one of our Australian opponents Grant Suckling. I then settled into the best and fastest rhythm I could muster. With legs screaming I followed close behind Rich for the first 20mins suffering quietly and failing to create satisfactory speed in the soft sand. He gradually pulled away but I was feeling better and upon hitting the inland circuit made quick ground to Flinders bay and my waiting wetsuit.
So 58mins after the starting hooter I was sliding into a well lubed wetsuit. Hairy legs come into their own here and I made short work of the transition. Into the water I was very focussed on where I was going. As my weakest discipline there was no slack for poor navigation in this section (if there ever is for a top placing!). The swim course followed the coast line towards Augusta town between a line of reefs and the beach and despite my best efforts to stay in the middle I tended to be on the reef side of the course most of the time. Fogged up goggles didn't make life easy in the navigation department but none the less I managed to keep on track. Kevin Cross (a very loyal supporter) was later to tell me I had dolphins very close to me in the swim but I was totally oblivious and in all honesty this was a good thing. With all the shark attacks in WA recently any movement in the water would have lead to a very messy wetsuit! Out of the swim at a cutting in the sand dunes I ran the final 600m to the waiting kayaks/ skis. It had taken 37mins....not bad for me but 5 minutes slower than the more proficient swimmers.
Onto the paddle I became quickly aware that my upper body had worked hard on the swim. The Fenn Elite I was paddling had a great feel to it but at approximately 18-19kg it was no lightweight. With another individual hot on my heels I spared no time and got into a quick rhythm en route to the river mouth. This 2km section was less than a metre deep and therefore not particularly quick moving. Out the cut and through the small breakers and into Flinders bay I went closely followed by two competitors but most importantly for me Grant Suckling one of the Australian team members. I was pleased to still be ahead of Grant after the swim but knew he is a great paddler and would be hunting me down. And that he did. Not long after the half way point (marked by a large gate of buoys) Grant powered past leaving me in his wake. At the turn around (leaving 3km to paddle), I was able to catch a glimpse of the field ahead. I was now in 5th place with Rich comfortably leading Sean, Brayden Currie a few minutes further back before Grant and myself. Nothing changed in the final 3km; in fact Sean, Brayden and I all had paddle times within a minute of each other. Rich and Grant were close to 5 minutes faster. Entering the paddle-bike transition I had one goal - transition fast and try to pull back the 1 minute Grant had on me.
And to cut a long story short, thats what I did. I was aggressive throughout the ride attacking even the small rises. The course was fast and flowing for the majority with only one steep sandy climb to test the skills. Just after this climb I had Grant firmly in my sights and shortly after was overtaking on a short rise. Grant matched my pace for a few minutes then wished me luck and I gradually drew further ahead. With only a few k's to go and the thrill of the chase over my legs ached and cramp was readly to grab. Somehow though I managed to avoid cramp and far ahead caught a glimpse of what I thought was a rider ahead. So with motivation back I smashed the final fast flowing single track into transition only to hear that Brayden Currie was just leaving on the final 2.5km beach/ rock run. Game on!
Unfortunately I fumbled the transition and lost another 10-15secs on Brayden leaving about a minute behind. By now the legs were really suffering despite my best efforts I couldn't pull any further time back and missed 3rd spot by 50 seconds. It had been a fast race for my slow twitch legs but I was happy. The run had gone well despite being out-classed by Brayden and Sean, the swim steady, the paddle solid in a boat far heavier than my sharp and I had finsihed with the second fastest bike split only losing 52secs to Rich's bike time which is a big turn around for me.
Final Results:
1. Richard Ussher (3:55:05)
2. Sean O'Neal (4:00:37)
3. Brayden Currie (4:07:12)
4. Trevor Voyce (4:08:02)
5. Grant Suckling (4:11)
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