DEANO THE IRONMAN-OF-THE-MOMENT AS nib COOLANGTTA GOLD COUNTDOWN HOTS UP

October 6: Dean Mercer remains the Ironman of the moment as the countdown hots up for this year's nib Coolangatta Gold on October 18.

Mercer, 39, won the 20km Dolphin Surf Ski Classic at Northcliffe on Saturday leaving two-time Gold winner Caine Eckstein, his brother Shannon and ski specialists Tate Smith and Murray Stewart in his wake.

In the end it was Mercer who finished ahead of Caine Eckstein with Stewart third, followed by Smith and Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Iron Man stars Zane Holmes and Shannon Eckstein.

The ageless "father" of Ironman racing recently won the one kilometre and two kilometre Burleigh Heads open water swims and is revelling under Olympic stillwater coach Denis Cotterell at Miami after moving from the Sunshine Coast to join Pat O'Keefe at Northcliffe.

The O'Keefe/Cotterell combination over the past two decades have produced great competitors such  Trevor Hendy, Karla Gilbert, Shannon Eckstein and Zane Holmes, who have all reached great heights under their tutelage.

Mercer is stoked with his win, but is not getting carried away with his win over Caine Eckstein, who is favoured amongst most coaches and competitors as the man to beat come Sunday 18 October.

" I am not reading too much into it for two week's time," Mercer told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

"That race went for about one hour, 20 minutes and the Coolangatta Gold is another three hours on top of that.

"It is great for the confidence and the ski leg is a significant part of the race. It (the ski) has always been a strength of mine and I am pleased with the way things are going."

Three time nib Coolangatta Gold champion Hayley Bateup was a noticeable absence at the Dolphin Ocean Classic as she battles with the flu.

In Bateup's absence last year's nib Coolangatta Gold runner-up Courtney Hancock proved too strong for the field beating Kurrawa's Jasmine Kelly and Elizabeth Pluimers while Hancock's younger sister Bonnie (who missed last year's Gold after injuring her back in a training accident), won the 10km board race.

"It was pretty much my first race since the Australian titles, so it was good to get rid of a few cobwebs," Hancock told the Bulletin.

"I know I have done all the hard work for this race (Coolangatta Gold), so I am feeling confident from that point of view."

Bateup also remains confident she will be fully recovered for her annual date with the Gold - as she chases a record fourth win from five starts.

"I have won the board for the past couple of years so it was hard to sit back and not try to do it," Bateup said.

"I don't like to miss these types of events because there aren't really a lot of money events in our sport. I like to support these kinds of races as well. But my bigger picture is the Coolangatta Gold."

Bateup faces a fight on her hands with Northcliffe trio, Liz Pluimers and the Hancock sisters joined by 2005 winner Alicia Marriott all beaming with confidence.

Marriott has made the move from City of Perth to the Sunshine Coast-based Michael King Ironman Academy and is thriving in a new environment.