Shane Reed raced clear of Bevan Docherty in the final running leg to become the Oceania champion in Wellington yesterday and Emma Moffat and Annabel Luxford made it an Australian one-two in the women's race.
Reed best mastered the warm, blustery conditions to clock 1hr 55min 29sec and secure a third spot for New Zealand in the event at the Beijing Olympics, with Docherty finishing second, 13sec behind.
Australian James Seear was third in 1hr 56min 13sec and won the under-23 section.
His compatriot, Matt Hopper, was fourth and New Zealand's Chris Gemmell fifth.
Moffat won the women's race in 2hr 06min 36sec, beating Luxford (2hr 08min 11sec) and New Zealand's Nicky Samuels (2hr 10min 30sec) in the final running leg. New Zealanders Andrea Hewitt and Sam Warriner were fourth and fifth respectively.
