His final breakaway attempt was successful and he went on to win by almost a minute, stopping the clock at 2h 37m 33s. He finished ahead of David Venter (Auckland) and Nicolas Monroy (Havelock North) to claim a rare win for a local competitor.
Last year the course went from Rotorua to Taupo but was reversed this year. McHale said the course really suited him at the weekend, finishing in Rotorua.
"The other direction is designed for a sprinter, it is flat and fast. But this one there is a couple of hills to work with which suits the climbers."
McHale said he had been doing a lot of cross training ahead of the event but had not spent a lot of time on his road bike.
"I have been training for triathlons quite a bit and raced Xterra a week ago. I had done a lot of mountain biking for that event which is obviously a good form of cross training."
McHale said he managed to stay on his bike the entire race on Saturday, but there were a couple of crashes behind him.
He said while it was quite slippery it was not windy, which made the conditions much better.
The race on Saturday lacked an elite field this year as the dates conflicted with the Club Road National Championships in Hawke's Bay.
McHale said his next big event was the Rarotonga International Triathlon in May. He also thanked his main sponsor Nzo Ride Central for their support.
In the women's race, Taupo Olympian Sam Warriner finished in third behind eventual winner Hayley Giddens (Wanganui) and Laura Newman-Watt (Auckland).
The women's race was much closer, coming down to a tight finish with only four seconds separating the podium winners.-Results:
Men: 1 Ben McHale (Rotorua) 2:37:33, 2 David Venter (Auckland) 2:38:26, 3 Nicolas Monroy (Havelock North) 2:38:27, 4 Frank Simons (Waitakere) 2:38:28, 5 Mark Parry (Henderson Valley) 2:38:28.
Women: 1 Hayley Giddens (Wanganui) 2:43:05, 2 Laura Newman-Watt (Auckland) 2:43:09, 3 Sam Warriner (Taupo) 2:43:09, 4 Jessica Dean (Te Puke) 2:43:11, 5 Taryn Ryan (Lower Hutt) 2:47:33.
