Huge surf at Portsea rocks Kiwi Ironman Janes

New Zealand Ironman Mike Janes finished 18th yesterday in heavy surf in Portsea for the forth round of the Australian Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain IronMan Series.

The forth round of five was won by Zane Holmes who has found his winning ways again after last season off due to a back injury, with big wave specialist Ky Hurst in second and defending champion Shannon Eckstein in third.

Janes (Midway) was up for the monster waves at Portsea on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula but the wild open beach had other ideas.

“I was pumped for the big surf, I normally go alright, Clayto [Coach Phil Clayton] was frothing, he rung me about four or five times before we even started, he loves the place.” Said Janes who was without the on-beach services of his coach, ex-IronMan Phil Clayton.

“[There were] rocks and everything, I drove the nose of my board into a rock and got dragged over rocks,”

In the Triple Sprint format that saw competitors tackle the two and a half metre surf over three individual races, Janes built confidence from an 18th in race one to 9th in race two but it was the third leg of the third race that undid him.

“The third race was a bit of a shocka, I was sitting about 8th or 9th and got to the very last wave at the back and rolled,” said Janes

“My ski wasn’t facing straight into the wave and so it went all the way back to the beach.”

“I got back there and Caine [Eckstein] was there and to see him there in front of you and he’s having a bad day and you’re having a bad day - it [Portsea] can be a great place and it can a punishing place.”

With one race left in the revamped IronMan Series Janes is happy to put the race down to experience in his first season as a professional IronMan.

“It’s just a huge learning curve, we’ve got nothing like this in New Zealand so to be here and get the experience and for [Daniel] Moodie to get it last year it can only benefit us really.”

Janes was recently named in the New Zealand team to compete in the International Surf Challenge in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand and will be hoping to take all the experience he’s gained from the IronMan Series into the Challenge

“Moodie’s a good mate, we’ve got a pretty heavy work load but it should be good.”

It was Holmes who notched two wins and a second to ensure his first victory in almost two years after back surgery forced him to spend last summer on the sidelines.

Hurst won the third race after two thirds to finish second on the day while Eckstein grabbed a third and two fourths to finish in third and move back into the Series lead for the first time since round one.

Holmes started the season slowly with an 11th in round one but after he was third at Bondi in round two he grew in confidence.

Today he made good from the start winning the opening two races.

“After my performance at Bondi I felt that I was back to my old form and I said I was going to win a round before the series was out,” Holmes said.

“I was confident I could do it and I couldn’t ask for any better. Winning the first two races made it easier and I knew all I had to do was hang in in the last race.”

Eckstein, with 70 points, now takes a four point lead over Matt Poole into next Sunday’s final round of the season at Noosa.

Hugh Dougherty, the leader heading into today’s competition was battered all day and suffered in the cold, at one point damaging his ski and having to return to shore for a replacement and wound up 19th overall and sliding to sixth in the Series.

Wes Berg, Caine Eckstein and Holmes are tied third on 61. Janes is in 17th.