KEY POINTS:
Fleur Pawsey caused a lot of people at the Coast to Coast to grab their programmes to find out who competitor 166 was yesterday.
By the end, most knew, because she was the women's champion.
Pre-race talk had been about a two-horse race, with Elina Rautila, who was
second last year, and defending champion Emily Miazga expected to slug it out.
At a pinch, Amanda Peake was a contender, but no one considered a 27-year-old policy adviser from Wellington who thanked her team in her race programme entry.
She narrowly led the field into the run. "She won't last," one observer offered.
Then she narrowly led Rautila over Goat Pass. "She'll fall back," he blurted out again.
And she was neck-and-neck with Rautila at the start of the 67km kayak.
By the time she headed off on the final cycle leg with a 16-minute lead over Rautila, the observer was starting to change his mind.
One of Pawsey's main rivals was eliminated, as a tearful Miazga succumbed to a recurrent foot injury at Goat Pass but it took nothing away from a remarkable win.
Pawsey struggled to comprehend her win. She looked almost embarrassed as photographers snapped away at their new women's winner.
"I can't believe it myself, never in a million years," a shocked Pawsey said. "I knew I was feeling better than I did last year and I was 10th last year. I just wanted to get in the top 10 again, maybe get up a few places, but I never ever expected to come first.
"I had lots of unrealistic thoughts like, 'imagine if I could stay in front' but I honestly didn't expect to.
"I was too scared to look over my shoulder. I expected to see someone come up alongside me."
No one ever did.
Rautila led going into the paddle but struggled again on the kayak, the discipline that cost her victory last year, and she eventually finished fifth in what was a disappointing race for her and fiance Richard Ussher.
Sarah Fairmaid claimed second, 19 minutes behind Pawsey, while Rachel Cashin was third.
In the two-day individual race Steven McKinstry went one better than last year, leading home Bruce Clulow, while Penny Willocks won the women's two-day event.
