Racing for the first time under the New Zealand flag, Bryce McMaster was the best of the Kiwis in the elite U23 men's triathlon World Championships in Auckland today coming home inside the top 20.
The under 23 men raced in cooler temperatures this afternoon at Queens Wharf, Auckland. But this did not put the crowd off, with the Mexican waves continuing from the earlier Elite women's race and the Aussies delighting in Aaron Royle's victory.
McMaster has been racing under the ITU banner for a year after initiating a transfer from Australia to New Zealand and after an unusually poor swim, rode and ran strongly to finish in 17th place.
Often strong in the water, McMaster struggled in the swim, getting swamped on the second lap.
"It was unfortunate I didn't make the front break on the bike, but I raced my heart out for New Zealand and did the best that I could. I'm a very, very proud Kiwi and I'll be back next year to race here as an elite and hopefully do a better job of it!"
McMaster was still the first kiwi out of the water, followed closely by Tom Davison who went straight to the front of the bike bunch. The front pack worked hard up Auckland's steep streets to put almost two minutes on the rest of the field.
"I had to go on the bike," said Davison who led out with Kris Gemmell in the World Cup last year. "I've had pretty limited build up, so I knew my run wasn't quite there, a few of us were working quite hard together and we tried to put as much time into the main runners as we could".
Davison took his fair share of turns at the front, and came out of the second transition on the toes of the leader. But after grappling with injury and illness this year, the Christchurch athlete was unable to hold onto the swift pace the front six runners set and finished in 19th place.
Fellow Cantabrian Mike Philips found the going tough in his first U23 World Champs finishing in 40th place. He was pleased to get the race under his belt and said "it was a good experience and I learned a lot"
Results: ITU World Tri Series Grand Final, Auckland
Elite Under 23 Men
1. Aaron Royle AUS 1:57:18
2. Fernando Alarza ESP 1:57:19
3. Thomas Bishop GBR 1:57: 22
4. Pierre Le Corre FRA 1:57:29
5. Ryan Fisher AUS 1:57:51
Plus Nzers
17. Bryce McMaster 2:01:14
19. Tom Davison 2:02:42
40. Mike Phillips 2:07:31
