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Ussher, Leary Win XTERRA New Zealand

Kiwi adventure racing legend Richard Ussher (pictured), 32, made quite a statement in his first-ever XTERRA, stealing the New Zealand Championship crown from defending champion Terenzo Bozzone while hometown XTERRA pro Nicola Leary won the women’s title.

Bozzone, 24, lead after the 1km swim but was followed closely by former XTERRA NZ Champ Tim Wilding, along with Scott Thorne and Ussher.

The trio of chasers soon passed Bozzone on the bike and came into the bike to run together more than four minutes ahead of Bozzone.  Once onto the 11km run – Thorne and Ussher dominated the field heading through half way together with a large gap over the rest of the field.

Ussher pushed hard on the second lap and crossed the line 20 seconds ahead of up and comer – Thorne.

“I got a little break on Scott around the back of the lake – I think it was enough to give me a little lift and maybe Scott a little downer. It was nice to be able to look back and see a bit of a gap for the final couple of kilometers.” Ussher explained.

While it was Ussher’s first ever XTERRA Triathlon – it will not be his last.

“I really loved the race, I have been really well looked after and I’ve had a great time – perhaps this is where my future is!” he said with a smile at the finish line.

The past five years have seen the women’s race dominated by two athletes; Sonia Foote and Gina Ferguson. With neither of them back in 2009, it was the battle of the mountain bikers with NZ Marathon MTB Champion, Anika Smail up against top NZ Mountain Biker – Nicola Leary.

After third place last year, Leary was first across the line this year, over a minute ahead of runner-up Susie Wood.  Smail was happy with her third place after having some work to do after the swim.

“I think I was second to the last pro woman out of the swim, and still about third to last off the bike, so I was really pleased to run my way into third overall,” said Smail.

Top 5 Men                   
1. Richard Ussher , 2:03:33
2. Scott Thorne, 2:04:04
3. Mark Leishman, 2:08:30
4. Tim Wilding, 2:09:30
5. Terenzo Bozzone, 2:09:45

 Top 5 Women        
1. Nicola Leary, 2:26:07  
2. Susie Wood, 2:28:25
3. Anika Smail , 2:28:49
4. Monique Avery, 2:30:27
5. Nina Pederson, 2:33:02

 For more information or images contact Nicola de Lautour at nicola@goodsportpr.co.nz or visit www.xterranz.com