But Braden Currie is not the sort of athlete to win a race on anything less than merit.
Currie maintained his status as the king of adventure racing when he and fellow Wanaka multisporter Dougal Allan claimed the open elite honours and a $10,000 payday at the inaugural Red Bull Defiance race near Wanaka on Saturday.
After two brutal days, racing 153km over some of most gruelling terrain Wanaka has to offer, the pair finished in 12hr 58min 24sec, 34min ahead of Australia's Team Peak Adventure.
''It's always pretty cool to win in front of my home crowd,'' Currie said.
''Wanaka is an amazing place. We have all of this on our doorstep and to be able to get out and race Red Bull Defiance in this town is so good.''
The 80-strong field started the second day of the race in pristine conditions, with blue sky and light winds on the early morning sprint into Wanaka for the first transition into a kayak.
Three teams broke free of the field in the paddle down the Clutha River, but Currie and Allan took the lead into the clay bird shooting stage.
They continued to lead the pack on the 28km mountain bike up the Pisa Range and never looked back as they conquered the 25km run into home over Mount Alpha and Roys Peak.
''It was an awesome day for it - great weather and the views were incredible,' Allan said.
''I'll remember this race forever.''
The competitive open mixed category was won by Marcel Hagner and Simone Maier in 13hr 52min. Trailing by only 6min were adventure racing guru Richard Ussher and wife Elina.
''It feels good,'' Maier said.
''It was a tough course with good competition. I'll definitely sign up for next year.''
The new format and course design took competitors through eight high-country stations, combining the core elements of running, mountain biking and kayaking with special stages of target shooting and abseiling.
