International couple Ben Allen (Australia) and his partner, Jacqui Slack (Great Britain), have won this year's XTERRA Rotorua.
More than 2000 competitors, including some of New Zealand's best multisport athletes, took part in the event at Lake Tikitapu at the weekend.
It was Allen's fourth win in a row on the global XTERRA Series, having recently taken out wins in Guam, Philippines and Saipan this year.
But it was no easy victory, with New Zealand triathlon representative Graham O'Grady (Kinloch) leading out of the 1km swim leg by 30 seconds, with Allen, a former Australian surf life saving champion, hot on his heels.
O'Grady, a road specialist, found the going tough early on in the ride and the off-road experts hit the front, with Scott Thorne (Hamilton) and Allen tussling for position on the technical trails through the scenic Redwood Forest.