AMP Multisport Race
Internationals Rush Home for NZ Series
Michael Jacques / 05.11.2004
Ussher and Anglem have been racing at the prestigious Mild Seven Outdoor Quest team race in Borneo where they finished fourth behind another New Zealand contingent. But as defending national series and AMP Multisport champions, they are shrugging off the four-day race to line up in the national series event.
The 2004/05 Sportzhub.com national series got under way in the Bay of Plenty’s Motu Challenge two weeks ago where Speight’s Coast to Coast champion George Christison and Southern Traverse champion Sally Fahey dominated proceedings to take the early series lead. Ussher and Anglem (nee Strode-Penny) are both the defending national series champion and the Christchurch race will give them valuable points for the new series.
Ussher, a former Olympic skier, will also be looking for three-peat in the AMP event. The Queenstown professional endurance athlete defeated multisport legend Steve Gurney in the last two years, but will have to contend this time with a mixture of experience and unknowns.
Steve Gurney will contest the event, but following major ankle surgery earlier the year he is limited to kayaking in a team. On paper Ussher’s biggest challenge is 22-year-old rising star Luke Vaughan, who impressed with a strong third place in this race last year. But the return to competition of Dick Brunton has raised eyebrows on the local scene and if he is anywhere near the form that saw him finish as high as third in the Speights Coast to Coast he could be a factor.
The biggest unknown, however, is an entry from former Commonwealth Games marathoner Phil Costley. The 24-time New Zealand distance running champion has entered the 2005 Coast to Coast and is using the AMP race as his first test in the multisport arena. He can be expected to lead the race by more than 5min after the opening 16km run over the Rapaki Track to Lyttleton and should maintain that lead on the 28km road cycle. The question will be whether Ussher can paddle the 7km up the Avon River more than 5min faster than the relative rookie.
The question in the women’s race will be how much Kristina Anglem has left on the mountains of Borneo. On paper she is streets ahead of the solid but unspectacular women’s field. But like the men’s race a mixture of unknown and experienced athletes should be able to stay close enough to do some damage should the international star come unstuck.
SleepMonsters
