SYDNEY athlete Paul Ambrose dug deep in a lonely Toyota Ironman Australia Port Macquarie race to have his name forever go into history as the winner of its 30th instalment.
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Ambrose clocked a time of eight hours, 35 minutes and 52 seconds yesterday to beat Melburnian Luke Bell (08:38.33) and the Gold Coast's Brian Fuller in his second victory.
He also won the race in 2012.
Ambrose got left behind on the swim before turning his race around with a fast bike leg and continuing the momentum into the run.
He said it was about digging in and keeping to the race plan on a day Ambrose spent mostly on his own.
"I was by myself basically all day," he said.
A lead coming off the bike was a good surprise for Ambrose.
"I was surprised to have a bit of a margin off the bike," he said.
He wanted to put in a solid bike leg, but Ambrose said he had his doubts at the start of the race.
"I was actually losing time at the start, so I was a bit worried," he said. "I think those guys got a bit excited and luckily I came good on the second half of the bike, which is the one that mattered."
He has a love/hate relationship with the Port Macquarie bike course.
"It's one of the most difficult courses in Australia and you really have to work for it all day," Ambrose said.
"It pays dividends if you're strong and you've done the work."
Despite a lot of emphasis on his run leg in training, Ambrose didn't run as well as he would have liked.
"I think maybe the bike took it out of me," he said.
"I just had to grit my teeth and hold on."
He said he was obligated to race on such a special occasion.
"As soon as they announced it was the 30th anniversary, I said I had to do this race."
