Little known German Tim Ole Neske has beaten out New Zealand's Mahe Drysdale and Croat Damir Martin to take out the Billy Webb Challenge on the Whanganui river.
In what is normally a race that provides a little bit of insight into where the athletes are in their training cycles, the result meant something a bit different this year with Drysdale taking a year off from competition.
The race involved something a little different with competitors rowing up-stream before turning around and going back down the river.
With all eyes on Drysdale after beating Martin by one five thousandth of a second in Rio, few gave little though to an outsider winning it.
"It was a race between Mahe and Damir and I just went with it," Ole Neske, who is the World U23 Champion, told Newshub.
"You beat an Olympic champion. I know I can't really believe it."
Martin finished in third ahead of Drysdale in fifth. And the relaxed-looking kiwi said he would have loved it to be a race between just him and the Croatian.
"I should've just taken out all those young guys there and then Damir and I could have our own good race."
And when asked about who will have a better Christmas after the result, Drysdale was happy for the underdog.
"I think Tim from Germany."
Newshub.
