Moodie eager to begin ironman series in style

New Zealand ironman champion Daniel Moodie will measure his progress against the best surf lifesavers in Australia this weekend when he makes his debut in the lucrative Kellogg's Nutri-Grain series at Kurrawa Beach in Queensland.

The Hawke's Bay star may also be joined by fellow Kiwi Madison Boon, who is trying to qualify at Kurrawa tomorrow after organisers scrapped the wildcard system.

Boon finished one spot outside the qualifying mark at the trials in December and if she gets through tomorrow, will need to back up by racing in the first two rounds of the series on Saturday and Sunday.

Moodie has no such worries, though he is anxious to perform as the first New Zealand male to compete in the series in four years.

"I'm hoping I'll be the first of many more Kiwis competing here, after guys like Cory Hutchings and Glenn Anderson showed the way," Moodie said. "Being my first series, I really don’t know what to expect.  I'll be taking things as they come but I feel really good, a lot better than last year when I had trained so hard in the off-season."

Muriwai's Lucy Pengelly was the last New Zealander to compete in the Kellogg's series in 2007, with New Plymouth Old Boys coach Anderson completing the last of his three seasons in 2006.

The new look series, with A$250,000 ($312,000) in prizemoney on offer, will kick start off with a "Dash For Cash" on Saturday and one of Moodie's training partners at the Northcliffe club looms as the hot favourite.

Four-time series champion Shannon Eckstein believes the move back to individual competition this year will bring out the best in the 22 best ironmen in Australasia.

"There are some new formats and we haven't really raced them too often - it's going to play out a lot tactically and you're going to have to think about what you do with these new formats as well," Eckstein said.

Another Northcliffe champion, three-time series winner Zane Holmes, is sidelined this year with a back injury, although Moodie has still had the chance to train with his illustrious clubmates.

"I decided not to do the Coolangatta Gold event at the start of the season - it just took too much out of me last time and might have cost me a place in last year's Kellogg's series," Moodie explained.

"This season I've been able to peak better for the summer short course racing and use my training sessions with the likes of Shannon and Zane as my main build up. It's incredibly competitive at training - our coach Pat O'Keefe like to push the guys against each other and believes its better racing than some of the smaller carnivals around here."

The 22-year-old warmed up for his series tilt with a classy second in the ironman final of the Oceans 38 surf carnival at North Burleigh on the Gold Coast on Sunday.

Boon, meanwhile, had a frustrating final hit-out as she recovers from a bout of bronchitis.  A minor car accident the day before unsettled the 19-year-old Midway club member, and she finished one place off making the ironman final at North Burleigh.

"I pushed hard but it just wasn’t to be," Boon said. "I now have one week to get my head in the right space for the wildcard trial where I'll need to finish in the top-three. It's going to be really tough trying to qualify... It's a one-off race so it's not so much a physical ask but a mental one. You may be the best but you've got one chance so it can be quite daunting."

Five-time Kellogg's runner-up Kristyl Smith is an early front-runner in the women's division after winning the Ocean's 38 ironwoman title, head of fellow series competitors Alyce Bennett and Allira Richardson.