Speights Coast to Coast
Husband and Wife Sweep Speight’s Coast to Coast
Michael Jacques (For C2C) / 12.02.2012
He had won the race four times. She once. But they had never won it together in the same year. In the 30 years of the world’s longest running multisport race, no one had. But at the 30th anniversary Speight’s Coast to Coast multisport race today, Richard and Elina Ussher became the first husband and wife to win this famous race in the same year.
Fine and mild conditions greeted the 150 entrants from 13 countries as they lined up on Kumara beach for the One Day World Championship event. But with a cold southerly wind blowing in their faces for the entire 243k race across New Zealand’s South Island, the day would turn into one of the toughest in the 30 year history of the Speight’s Coast to Coast.
Racing started torridly when race favourite Richard Ussher instigated a breakaway on the opening 55k road cycle. Six men – Ussher (Nelson), Dougal Allan (Wanaka), Jeremy McKenzie (Blenheim), JJ Wilson (Chch), Braden Currie (Methven) and Carl Bevins (Chch) – opened up a three minutes lead over a large chase bunch.
Bevins and Wilson had to let the pace go after 30k and were picked up by the bunch of almost 20 riders. But the remaining four started the following mountain run section together. This didn’t last long, with Braden Currie pushing the pace straight away to open a 2min lead over Ussher halfway through the rugged 33k run over Goat Pass.
Meanwhile Lower Hutt builder James Coubrough was storming through the field from the chase bunch to catch Ussher as they started the last haul to the top of Goat Pass.
Coubrough, the New Zealand mountain running champion billed as an outsider to upset Ussher after winning the Speight’s Coast to Coast Two day race last year, looked likely to catch Currie as well. But Currie found a second wind on the downhill off Goat Pass, finishing the run at Klondyke Corner near Arthur’s Pass with a two minute buffer over Coubrough, and a further minute back to Ussher.
Prior to this year’s event Ussher had talked about his attempt at a fifth world title being a race between his experience and the talent of young pretenders to his throne such as Coubrough and Currie. As the race turned to a 15k road cycle and 67k kayak, that experience started shining through.
Ussher caught Coubrough on the short cycle and started the Waimakariri River kayak section just two minutes behind Currie. Low water levels and a steady head wind turned this white water section into a race of attrition. Coubrough stayed close and they both passed Currie, and starting the final 70k road cycle to the finish line on Christchurch’s Sumner Beach, just six minutes separated all three.
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