A relaxed build-up and a single-minded approach were the key components to Richard Ussher (Nelson) clinching his fourth Longest Day title in the Coast to Coast on Saturday.
Ussher (34) shook off any pre-race hype that he was odds-on to win this year's event and dealt with the task at hand.
"I was a bit rusty on the mountain run, to be honest," he said afterwards.
Despite having to call upon his ironman swimming skills at a couple of water crossings in the alpine section, he opened up a handy 5min lead to distance himself from the determined challenges coming from Carl Bevins (Christchurch), Sam Clark (Whakatane), Glen Currie (Methven) and Dougal Allan (Wanaka).
Ussher quickly opened up a lead, from an initial lead bunch of 12, on the first 55km cycle stage, then made his assault on the alpine run.
He held a 65sec lead at Big Boulders and extended it to 3min 34sec at Goat Pass.
He then burned up the remainder of the running course to Klondyke to hold a 5min 20sec lead for the closing bike and kayak stages.
With the business end of the race in sight, Allan began to move away from Bevins, Clark and Currie, leaving them to battle the minor places.
Any doubts as to his kayaking ability were quickly dispelled as he mastered the high river and gusty tail wind on the river with ease, in his pursuit of Ussher.
The pair transferred to the 70km cycle stage appearing to have secured the first two places.
"It was super windy on the water," Ussher said.
"It would have been quite a bit faster, but you just had to wait for the gusts to die off, because they were so strong."
On the long bike into Christchurch, Ussher mastered the wind from both behind and to the side with expertise, entering the city with a comfortable lead over Allan.
Ussher crossed the finish line at Sumner Beach in 10hr 41min 12sec, the second-fastest time recorded for the event.
Allan followed soon after, recording an impressive 10hr 55min 59sec and proving he has more than arrived on the multisport scene.
The battle for third continued well behind him, as Currie, a Methven school teacher, clinched third in 11hr 7min 10sec.
Ussher was quick to praise the young men coming through, saying most of the top 10 was made up of people he had never raced when he won his third title three years ago.
"I think it's really healthy for the sport. You never know with racing. It's a funny game.
"It doesn't take you to be off just one or two per cent and it really opens the door for the others. It's such a long day and there's so many things that can go wrong.
"You try and put that aside and attempt to concentrate on the job at hand, and just hope you have that little bit of luck."
There was nearly a fairytale husband-and-wife story, as Elina Ussher finished second in the women's event.
Nelson doctor Sophie Hart, third last year, returned with a vengeance to upset defending champion Ussher and three-time champion Emily Miazga (Canada).
Hart recorded an impressive time of 12hr 10min 31sec, just missing Andrea Murray's 1997 record time of 12hr 9min 26sec.
Hart, who always featured in the alpine sections, took control of the race on the kayaking section, opening up a 6min lead at the transfer to the hokum bike to Sumner.
Neither Ussher or Miazga could make any impression on her over this stage, settling for second and third.
