New Zealand and Australia shared the spoils in the Oceania Continental Cup Triathlon raced as part of the Sovereign Tri Series in Kinloch today, with Ryan Fisher (Australia) taking out the men's title and Kiwi Rebecca Spence the women's on a searing hot day.
Raced over the sprint distance (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run), the elite athletes turned on a show for the big crowd.
Spence had no problems with the warm conditions.
"The heat was fine, I live in Auckland so I reckon the humidity up there is double, this was a breeze really," said Spence. "It is a strong course, that massive hill on the bike, but because it is such a small field you don't have to push too hard on the bike, the gaps just open quickly. This is a great start to the year and I am really pleased, I don't really have a grand goal or dream this year, I am just looking to stay in the sport and race because I love to."
In the men's race Fisher held his form though and was delighted to have won a Continental Cup title as he looks to a big season on the ITU stage.