KEY POINTS:
Kiwi triathlete Bevan Docherty narrowly missed out on a podium finish at the final round of the International Triathlon Union World Cup series in New Plymouth yesterday, leaving Northern Hemisphere competitors to dominate.
The men's race started at the same time as the rain and, coupled with cold wind, made it tough going in the 1.5km swim leg and 40km cycle.
But two of the larger men in the race, Andy Potts, of the United States, and Marko Albert, from Estonia, made the most of their physical attributes and powered to the front, never letting anyone else seriously challenge them.
The two stuck together for most of the race but, in the end, it was Potts who had the most left as they neared the end of the 10km run. Third place went to Tony Moulai from France.
Potts, a Colorado native, came into the final race of the World Cup series ranked sixth and was ecstatic when crossing the finish line as he had lifted himself up to third in the series.
"It was a really hard race, shocking out on the swim and I just tried to keep some rhythm together," he said.
Potts said he worked with Albert out in front of the pack and that tactic - along with some size and strength - was what gave him the winning edge. "Hard course, cooler conditions - suits a bigger guy - so I was able to weather that," he said.
Kiwi Shane Reed finished ninth after a strong race but Kris Gemmell, another Kiwi who, with Docherty, had hopes for a podium finish, had them all but dashed in the cycle leg when a clash of cycles left him lying on the road.
"I just went down in a screaming heap," he said but battled on to finish eleventh.
Docherty, who won the race last year, was disappointed not to get a podium placing with his fourth."I really couldn't make any breaks and everybody was kind of covering the moves I'd make. So it was frustrating but it's the end of a long season and I'm reasonably happy with it."
Javier Gomez, of Spain, finished the series in first place, despite not racing yesterday, while Volodymyr Polikarpenko sealed second overall with his sixth place finish yesterday.
- NZPA
