The professional triathlete grabbed fourth spot in Sunday’s 2010 Trishave Australian Long Course Triathlon Championships at Huskisson, behind elite competitors Craig Alexander, who snared his sixth crown, Pete Jacobs and Christian Kemp.

Fellow Port Macquarie entrants Tim Berkel and Mitch Robins also made their marks, locking in sixth and seventh positions respectively.

In the women’s section, Tara Prowse stepped onto the podium with a brilliant third.

While Alexander captured the title in a stunning time of 3:36.04, it was Holborow’s effort that impressed everyone.

The 22-year-old registered 3:39.31.

“It was a great feeling, especially finishing just three-and-a-half minutes behind the world champion,” Holborow said.

“It’s definitely my best result in a field of that magnitude.

“Everything went well – and I’ve been working hard on a couple of areas, like nutrition, in recent months.”

Holborow was seventh after the 2km swim, and pushed into second place following the 83km bike leg.

“I came out of the water with the lead group,” he explained.

“Then we worked together on the bikes.

“At one stage, Craig (Alexander) and I broke away from the others.

“It was terrific to have him there.

“He talked to me during the race and always pushed the pace.

“He then took the time to single me out afterwards – and we had a bit of a chat, which I really appreciated.”

Berkel clocked 3:43.06, Robins recorded 3:43.47 and Prowse secured 4:08.23 behind Queenslander Carrie Lester (4:01.55) and Lennox Head’s Pip Taylor (4:06.55).

Now, it’s all systems go for the Urban Hotel Group Ironman Australia Triathlon Port Macquarie on Sunday, March 28.

“I feel confident going into it,” Holborow said.

“I’m putting in the hard training and my boss has been good too, giving me time off to prepare.”

Meanwhile, Laura Harris finished second in the 20-24 age category (4:45.23), Joel Armitage snared 28th in the 25-29 years’ division (4:38.06) and Les Rokobauer picked up 24th in the men’s 50-54 (5:37.10).