A head to head encounter in The North Face Peak to Peak on Saturday (July 24) saw the defending open champion team Outside Sports (Queenstown), ousted by a dynamic young side fielded by Queenstown's Fergburger, who crossed the finish line at Coronet Peak in a record time of just over two hours.

Race Director Geoff Hunt says it was one of the most exciting races the event has seen in its 17 years. “We had a real race on our hands from the outset and it was a tribute to both teams who exhibited fantastic skills in every section.”

The 44km multisport race attracted 90 teams and 69 individual athletes. It began with a 2km ski or snowboard on The Remarkables finishing at the access road, followed by a 17km mountain bike ride down the high altitude road to Lake Wakatipu. A 7km paddle to Queenstown Bay led to a 9km run from Queenstown via Arthurs Point to a changeover point near the foot of Coronet Peak, for the final 9km cycle ride to finish at the base building at the top of the ski area.

Results  The North Face Peak to Peak Mens                                                                         

Mens                                                                         

1st Adam Milne           2:16:14  

2nd Gavin Mason         2:18:49 

3rd Tim Pearson          2:23:34

 

Womens                                    

1st  Simone Maie            2:37:58

2nd  Ailsa Rollinson        2:55:20

3rd   Floortje Draisma     2:57:06

 

Junior Men Blake Luff 2:54:40

 

Vet Man 

1st Brett Leyden              2:29:15   

2nd Neil Gillespie             2:39:45  

3rd Mark Cockroft             2:46:38    

                                                    

Vet Women                    

1st Moira Finlin              3:20:11                  

2nd Nicola McAra            3:34:02

 

 

Open Teams                                                

1st Fergburger           2:02:51           

2nd Outside Sports        2:04:19  

3rd The Big Grin              2:23:11 

 

 School Teams

1st Mt Aspiring College     2:30:59                        

2nd Central Southland College   2:34:43

3rd   St Peters Gore        2:57:26

 

 

 

 

This was the first event photographed fully by 'TriathlonShots' editor back in 2006. It is the only endurance race I have left on the 'must do list'.

Click here is a link to those photos

And below here is one of the photos taken back in 2006