New Zealand's Stephen Sheldrake saw off a strong challenge from compatriot John Newsom to take the Hong Kong International Triathlon in glorious conditions at Plover Cove Reservoir yesterday.
Sheldrake stormed into an early lead with a superb effort in the swim section of the race and held on to his margin during the bike section.
Although Newsom managed to catch up with him during the run, with one kilometre left Sheldrake found an extra burst from somewhere and pulled away to finish in one hour, 57 minutes and seven seconds. Newsom finished in 1:57.26.
The battle for third place was equally hard-fought, ending with Daniel Lee Chi-wo just heading off Brian Bozarth.
Lee crossed the finish line in 2:01.21, leaving Bozarth trailing by 27 seconds in 2:01.48.
Con O'Kelly was the next-highest Hong Kong finisher, coming home in 2:06.50 to take seventh place.