Multisport champion Richard Ussher has a useful lead after today's first day of the Lake to Lighthouse race from Lake Waikaremoana to Wairoa.
Ussher, of Nelson, had his 20-minute advantage reduced to nine minutes by 2004 Coast to Coast champion George Christison on the gruelling 45km run around Lake Waikaremoana.
Third-placed James Hunter from Taupo is an hour behind the leaders.
In the women's race, Ussher's wife Elina leads by eight minutes from Sophie Hart.
The Lake to Lighthouse is a 196km race with the first day comprising a 15km mountainbike, 14km kayak and tough 45km run, split into two legs, that includes the spectacular climb over the Panekiri Range.
Ussher powered away from the field from the start, putting two minutes on Marcel Hagner and Christison over the first 15km mountain bike stage.
Christison had a strong paddle, holding Ussher to his two-minute margin with Hagner a further four minutes back after the 16km kayak leg.
However, once back off the water, Usher extended his lead to over 20 minutes until Christison fought back on the big climbs to reduce the margin to nine minutes at the end of the day.
Ussher said he found the going quite tough at the end of the final run stage.
"It just got tougher and tougher really, and those climbs just never stopped, it's fair to say I was pretty toasted by the time I finished the run," he said.
The women's race was a tight contest between Elina Ussher and Sophie Hart, who raced shoulder-to-shoulder for most of the day. However, Ussher pulled away in the final stages, quickly opening up nearly eight minutes over her younger rival.
Day two tomorrow includes a 60km mountain bike to the Waiau River at Ardkeen, a further 25km mountain bike across private land to the Wairoa River, 26km kayak from Frasertown to the mouth of the Wairoa River and 5km run to the finish line at the historic Wairoa Lighthouse.
Results after day one:
Men: Richard Ussher (Nelson) 7hr 04min 21sec 1, George Christison (Napier) 7:13.27 2, James Hunter (Taupo) 8:06.00 3, Marcel Hagener (Ohakune) 8:18.23 4, Rick Martin (Napier) 8:22.42 5, Malte Hagener (Wanganui) 8:29.54 6, Philip Morreau (Auckland) 8:37.48 7, Jeremy Webber (Gisborne) 8:41.10 8.
Women: Elina Ussher (Nelson) 8:30.03 1, Sophie Hart (Ohope) 8:37.53 2.
