KEY POINTS:
Gordon Walker doesn't need to feel like a bridesmaid any more after he powered his way to his first Speight's Coast to Coast title yesterday.
The 34-year-old Aucklander had finished second behind Richard Ussher for the past two years and Ussher was developing such a reputation as a multisporter that he was being referred to as the new Steve Gurney.
But even nine-time winner Gurney had his bad days and Ussher staggered to the finish line at Sumner Beach in 10th, more than 43 minutes behind Walker. It was as dramatic as it was unexpected.
Ussher is used to racing over four or five days and knows what his body is capable of. It seemed inconceivable that he had simply hit the wall.
It was probably why initial reports suggested that Ussher had withdrawn on the kayak after a mishap. Subsequent reports said that he had holed his boat and had stopped on the riverbank to repair it. But it wasn't as complicated as that.
"I just had one of those days," a reflective Ussher said moments after claiming his customary beer from organiser Robin Judkins.
"I felt pretty good on the bike but as soon as I hit the run, I just knew it wasn't going to be my day.
"I pushed as hard as I could because it's never really over until someone gets by you. But after a while in the kayak I thought, 'this is getting me nowhere' and [pulled over]. The last thing I would want to do is pull out of a race so I'm pretty happy to be here."
Not as happy as Walker.
As he crossed the line, Walker pumped his fists, looked to the heavens in triumph and embraced his wife.
He's dreamed of winning this race and virtually lived on the course over summer. He did the same last year, only to finish six minutes behind Ussher, and observers wondered if he would ever win it if he couldn't triumph this year.
"It's a race I have always been pretty passionate about so it's really great to win this thing," a delighted Walker said.
"I said to myself at the start of this that I had to make it happen and I wasn't prepared to let the race be dictated to me by other people who tried to go a bit harder at the start.
"I knew he [Ussher] was gone when I came out of the bush on the mountain run and he was only three minutes ahead of me. I thought, 'he's history'. It's hard to come back from a blow-up in this race."
The race started as expected. Walker and Ussher were joined by Aaron Prince and Dwarne Farley on the first cycle leg from Kumara beach and had built a commanding nine-minute lead on the field at the first transition.
Soon after ditching their bikes, however, Ussher made his move and had opened up an incredible two-minute gap on the trio inside 3km as he headed into the mountains.
It was on the 33km run over Goat Pass that Ussher had been expected to slip away. By Dorian Creek, his lead was more than four minutes over Prince and nearly six minutes over Walker. But Walker started pegging it back and he allowed himself a little fist pump when he found out he was only four minutes down on Ussher heading over Goat Pass.
When Walker emerged from the mountains only three minutes behind the defending champion, it was clear there was a race to be had. Walker is a strong paddler and an even better cyclist and had fancied his chances of claiming an elusive victory if he was less than six minutes behind heading into the kayak.
George Christison, who won the event in 2004, threatened briefly after powering his way through the field and the Hawke's Bay curator joined Walker as they passed Ussher.
"It's a reunion," Christison joked as the trio paddled together.
It didn't last very long, however.
But finally it was Walker's day and he powered home to record a well-deserved win.
Matakana's Gordon Blythen made his way through the field to finish second, nearly 20 minutes behind Walker, Mt Maunganui's Farley was a further five minutes back in third while Christison was close on his heels in fourth.
Walker isn't exactly thinking about what he might wear to the wedding. He has other things on his mind.
After teaming up with Ussher in a lucrative race on Australia's south coast, his wife is due to give birth to the couple's first child in four months.
"That's a little bit bigger than this," he said. At least he has four months to reflect on a remarkable achievement.
