KAYAKING

Paddling kayak in town fountain wins Coast to Coast Giant bikes sponsorship package worth $5000

By Enthuse

For paddling his kayak in central Greymouth’s town fountain Lachlan Brownlie was named the winner of a Coast to Coast Giant bikes sponsorship package worth $5000.

Giant bikes challenged Coast to Coast competitors to post their most creative training secret online via social media which Clement Holgate, New Zealand Marketing representative for Giant, said generated some great creative efforts.

“Having been involved with the Coast to Coast for several years, we thought it would be great to initiate a new and more interactive way to encourage people to enter the event with the chance to win a super prize pack from Giant,” he said. “The entries we received ranged from strange, fantastic to exciting. It was excellent to see that people were getting involved and keen to get into the Coast to Coast and get some support from Giant.”


Photo courtesy of Enthuse

Holgate said the winning image chosen which showed Lachlan paddling his race kayak in a water fountain in the middle of town in the dark showed originality, creativity and his motivation to train for the event in a unique way.

The Giant prize pack he won consisted of a 2016 Propel Advanced 1 bike and Giant shoes, helmet, bib shorts, cycle top, bottles, cages and puncture kit plus entry to February’s Coast to Coast.

“There no doubt the Giant prize package has put him in a great position to help him complete the cycle leg of the longest day event in a best possible form.”

Brownlie from Greymouth was ‘absolutely stoked’ to win the prize pack. “The gear is definitely a step up on my previous set up and will no doubt make a massive difference in training and on race day," he said.
His winning image showed him in his kayak in the fountain in front of the Greymouth council building. He says it was just a matter of carrying the boat down to the fountain and finding a mate to take a few pictures as he paddled in circles.

Holgate said Emily Bell was deserving of a set of Giant cycling kit and a helmet as she entered multiple times with some very novel ideas.


Photo courtesy of Enthuse

Coast to Coast Event Director Richard Ussher said he was really encouraged by the number of entries received not only for the Giant package but for other early bird entries as well that had a range of other prizes up for grabs including NZ Ski passes for the Remarkables and Coronet Peak and a Hermitage accommodation and food package.

Sue Wright from Christchurch won the Hermitage package while Aucklander Clark Hepworth won the Queenstown package and James Morris from Lyttelton won the NZ Ski package.