After an incredibly hard-fought battle, Subaru Brand Ambassador Braden Currie finished a close second in the 243km Kathmandu Coast to Coast today in a time of 11hours 10 mins 20 secs.
The Wanaka-based athlete was leading for the majority of the longest day but was passed by last year’s winner Sam Clark, of Whakatane, in the later stages of the final 70km bike ride.
“I felt fine I just didn’t have what I needed to be honest. It is really gutting but Sam had a great day. He raced really well. He raced really sensibly. I did everything I could on the day and that’s just the way it goes sometimes,” Currie says.
An ultimate test for even the toughest athletes, the longest day doubles as the World Multi-sport Championships and saw competitors race from Kumara beach on the West Coast to New Brighton on the East Coast.
Along the way they ran 3km, cycled 55km, mountain ran 33km, cycled 15km, kayaked 67km and rounded out the day with a 70km cycle – into a head wind – through to New Brighton in Christchurch.
Subaru of New Zealand Managing Director Wallis Dumper congratulated Currie on an incredible effort.
“Braden has been in incredible form of late, it's disappointing for him that he didn’t win but we are still really proud of him. We are sure Braden will bounce back and have a great race at IRONMAN New Zealand on March 5,” Mr Dumper says.
“We are pleased to support an athlete of Braden’s calibre and believe he is a hard-working, humble ambassador for our brand. He is the ultimate adventure man and we believe our cars are fantastic enablers of adventures,” he adds.
Subaru was also the official vehicle supplier for the event and the quintessentially-Kiwi adventure car brand had three branded Kathmandu Coast to Coast SUVs – XV Crossover, Outback and Forester – out on course for the past two days.
Event director Richard Ussher says: “It has been awesome to have Subaru’s involvement.”
“Subaru has been synonymous with multisport and getting out into the outdoors in New Zealand forever. Right back to the Leones when I was skiing to the Legacys. Now it’s the Outbacks and all the other models. We are stoked to have Subaru on board and hopefully it will be a long term relationship,” Ussher says.
The Kathmandu Coast to Coast Subarus attracted plenty of positive attention as they went about their duties today and yesterday. Their lead and tail car duties for the two-day and longest day races meant they saw lots of off-road action, which they are perfectly equipped for with their Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive (AWD) capabilities that are standard across the Subaru range.
The Subarus crossed alpine passes, parked up in muddy paddocks and negotiated gravel roads to the Waimakariri river without missing a beat. The AWD engineering feature delivers power to all four wheels, providing traction off-road or when the conditions get slippery.
Their graphics depicted Subaru’s new brand positioning ‘do’, which is the simple, flexible manifestation of the Kiwi spirit of giving things a go. It was a fitting description of the last two days with more than 700 people - from the front-runners to the weekend warriors - giving it everything to do the Kathmandu Coast to Coast.
Currie’s wife Sally drove his recognisable, branded blue Outback for the Kathmandu Coast to Coast as part of his support crew and says it was the perfect vehicle for the important job.
“The Outback has been such an awesome support vehicle. Often on race day its just the simple things, like I’ve been able to talk to all our friends and family following the race through Bluetooth, while I drive between the transition areas and the roof height is easy to get a kayak on, as I can actually reach the roof racks. It drives like a dream even with a trailer on behind as we had to cart all our gear from Wanaka over to the West Coast, back to the East Coast and home tomorrow.”
“The other handy feature is that the Outback has so much storage space. We can put Braden’s bike and kayak on the roof and pack the interior with all our gear. The film crew can fit in all their equipment and we even had our family dog in the boot,” Sally says.
CAPTIONS:
Subaru was the official vehicle supplier for the Kathmandu Coast to Coast and three ‘do’ branded SUVs were on duty on the West Coast to East Coast of the South Island course today and yesterday. PHOTOS: KATHMANDU COAST TO COAST
Subaru Brand Ambassador Braden Currie finished second in the 243km Kathmandu Coast to Coast today in a time of 11hours 10mins 20 secs. PHOTO: ROY SCHOTT PHOTOGRAPHY
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Web: www.bradencurrie.com