McCaw shows defiant attitude
Richie McCaw is displaying the same defiance he showed on a rugby field in even tougher terrain.
On Sunday, the former All Black captain and his racing partner Bob McLachlan finished a respectable sixth in the Red Bull Defiance 2018 adventure race in Wanaka.
McLachlan’s years of multisport experience, coupled with the determination of relatively new multisporter McCaw proved a strong combination.
The pair also led the Sport category at the end of day one. Wife and former Black Stick Gemma McCaw partnered Bondi Rescue TV star Andy Reid, and are believed to have finished 50th.
The two-day race was won by course founders Braden Currie and Dougal Allan, both of Wanaka, while the mixed elite team winners were Wanaka’s Marcel Hagener and Simone Maier.
McLachlan said his and his more illustrious team-mate’s efforts bode well for their attempt at the 10-day GODZone adventure race in Fiordland in March.
About 85 teams of two competed in blistering heat – vastly different conditions to the snowstorm of 2017 – and McCaw said it was ‘‘nice’’ to finish.
‘‘Bob is an absolute machine. He dragged me up the hill on the bike and had me on the tow line over the sky line. It was always going to be tough,’’ McCaw said.
McLachlan sang his team mate’s praises for ‘‘keeping up with the elite guys’’.
‘‘Huge credit. There’s a huge amount of work and training to get yourself through to that level,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s always tough out there, it doesn’t matter what the course is, it just is tough every time,’’ said McLachlan.
On Saturday, McCaw was exhausted and happy to finish the end of day one.
Despite finding the first bike leg pace fast, he enjoyed powering home in the kayak.
‘‘It was quite fun coming in with the waves behind us,’’ said McCaw.
McLachlan and McCaw had a strong start on day two and paddled with the leaders on the Clutha River section before tackling a mountain bike ride over the Criffel Range and a run over the Wanaka skyline of Mt Alpha and Mt Roy.
Currie said he had an awesome day in the hot conditions.
‘‘We just enjoyed it,’’ he said. ‘‘We didn’t have to really hurt ourselves. We got to go at a good pace the whole time.’’
But Allan said he was ‘‘battling away’’, after several years away from adventure racing to concentrate on long distance triathlon.
‘‘I think most people would have been, except Braden,’’ he said.
However, Allan was thrilled with his return to adventure racing.
‘‘Wanaka is easily the best setting for a race like this . . . It was pretty hard to fault. This would be one of the best races I’ve done in the world,’’ Allan said.
Currie and Allan’s next big hitout is in the Challenge Wanaka Half triathlon on February 17.