After he got a taste of overseas success with his big overseas win at Kraichgau, Lewis decided to head to New Zealand for this race on December 8.

“I decided to come to Taupo because of the amazing location and it’s known to always have great competition,” Lewis said.

“While I am a rookie pro, I just want as much experience against great athletes as possible.”

To prepare for this big event, the 26-year-old competed in a number of events in recent weeks, including ‘Little Husky’.

“My preparation was really good – I didn’t miss a beat after my race in Shepperton a few weeks before, so I was really excited to test myself again and see what I could do,” he said.

“In New Zealand, my race plan was all focused around the swim.

“I just wanted to make a good group to set myself up for a strong bike and run.”

But unfortunately the former St John the Evangelist Catholic High School student’s race plan, for the 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21.1km run course, didn’t go entirely to plan.

“My race didn’t go to plan, as I really struggled in the water, which I am extremely disappointed with because it doesn’t reflect the hard work I’ve put into my swimming,” he said.

“I was out of the water by myself and spent the rest of the day solo.

“I rode at a good tempo hoping for a miracle on the bike but I knew I was loosing time to the guys up front.

“Going into the run, I was a fair way down, sitting in ninth place and my only motivation was to try and run fast, as it would be over quicker.

“I picked off two athletes and made my way up to seventh, just missing out on the last money spot.

“Overall, I was pretty disappointed in my performance but I learnt a lot from it and it adds some extra fire to the belly for 2019.”

Lewis’ splits were 27:36 (swim), 2.20:08 (bike) and 1.25:44 (run), which saw him cross the line in an overall time of 4.17:51 – just under 25 minutes behind winner Mike Phillips.