New Zealand Ironman champion Cameron Brown has led a strong Kiwi charge at the Noumea International Triathlon in New Caledonia today, finishing second behind defending champion Aaron Farrow (AUS).
Brown enjoyed a return to not only a standard distance event but a familiar race, one he has fond memories of.
"It was great returning to this place, the race has had some fantastic fields over the years, I remember coming here when I was 19 and racing the great Brad Bevan. The likes of Mark Allen, Mike Pigg, Scott Molina, Rick Wells, Greg Welch, Simon Lessing, Hamish Carter and many more have come to Triathlon du soliel (Triathlon of the sun).
"I haven't raced since Ironman New Zealand so didn't know how my form would be and this would be a good show of how my form was. The wind had picked up so the water was quite lumpy; it was going to be a rough swim. I had an okay swim but was 50 secs down by the end.
"I wanted to try and have a solid bike so I put in a big effort early on trying to catch the leaders and then put some time in on them. Paul Ambrose was riding well and I finally caught him on the last lap, we had a 90 second lead on the following 4 riders, Aaron Farrow last years winner was in that group and was a very good runner.
"It wasn't too hot due to the strong winds but still around 28 degrees. I managed to pull away from Paul at the 5km mark but Aaron was gaining time every kilometre. On the final lap with 2km to go he caught me and there was not much I could do but let him go straight by me. I was pretty happy to finish 2nd 25 seconds back though."
Also in the top ten for New Zealand were Ryan Sissons in 5th, Tama Christensen in 6th and seasoned campaigner Stephen Sheldrake in 7th.
Noumea International Triathlon, New Caledonia
| 1 | Aaron Farrow | Australia | 1:51:41 |
| 2 | Cameron Brown | NZ | 1:52:06 |
| 3 | Paul Ambrose | GB | 1:52:56 |
| 4 | Patrick Vernay | New Caledonia | 1:53:32 |
| 5 | Ryan Sissons | NZ | 1:54:15 |
| 6 | Tama Christensen | NZ | 1:55:15 |
| 7 | Stephen Sheldrake | NZ | 1:55:42 |
BOZZONE 8th AT WILDFLOWER
Meanwhile Terenzo Bozzone has had a disappointing race at the Wildflower Half Ironman event in California, finishing in 8th place, over ten minutes behind winner Andy Potts (USA). Bozzone won the rich and popular event in 2006 and is building towards a first ever tilt at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii later this year.
Avia Wildflower Triathlon
Elite Men
| 1 | Andy Potts | Colorado Springs, CO | 3:59:41.950 |
| 2 | Eneko Llanos | Vitoria-Casteiz, NA, ES | 4:03:04.360 |
| 3 | Reinaldo Colucci | Descalvado-SP, NA, BR | 4:03:34.670 |
| 4 | Jordan Rap | Scarborough, NY | 4:04:15.300 |
| 5 | Joe Gambles | Boulder, CO | 4:05:09.660 |
| 6 | Luke Bell | Cardiff By The Sea, CA | 4:06:48.730 |
| 7 | Chris Lieto | Danville, CA | 4:07:46.340 |
| 8 | Terenzo Bozzone | Auckland, NZ | 4:09:54.030 |
