After a 34km road cycle around the Talgarno loop, an 8km trail run and a 26km paddle down the Murray River, Franzke beat Albury duo Tom Crebbin and John King to win the solo open male category.

The 34-year-old said the victory was one of his finest achievements in his sporting career.

“I’ve been competing in similar events for 10 to 15 years, and it probably was the biggest race I’ve ever won,” he said yesterday.

“I really like multisport challenges because I’m a bit of an all-rounder, so they suit me ... some guys might be stronger on certain legs but I was lucky enough to win.”

In the women’s solo race, Shula Webb edged out Liz Hilton and Kath Copland to claim line honours.

The multisport challenge was one of 10 competitions held as part of the council’s MAC 10 event, with two local distance runners, Adam Byles and Ellie O’Kane, scoring a unique double by winning both the one mile dash and the 10km trail run in their respective gender classes.

Byles once again showed his class by dominating both races while North Albury netballer O’Kane demonstrated she may be a new force on the local running scene by matching Byles’ effort in the women’s events.

Meanwhile, an A-grade field fought out a thrilling race in the short-track mountain bike race on Saturday evening.

An impressive line-up of riders — including Canberra’s Joe Lewis, Mount Beauty’s Neil van der Ploeg and locals Geoff Schilg, Brad Rose, Sean Moloney and Scott McPherson — locked horns for the race, which was held as part of the MAC events for the first time.

After a frenetic 15-minute battle, van der Ploeg took out the title.

Race organiser Danny King said he was extremely pleased with the how the event unfolded.

“The event was a massive success,” he said.

“To have such close racing in all categories, a large crowd watching and national level riders like Neil, Joe and Sean, just made it a fantastic spectacle and a great advertisement for the sport.”

For full results or more information, visit multisportalburycity.com.au.