Third try's a charm for this former motocross champion. He wins at everything in which he competes and now that includes Ironman. He's also universally considered among the nicest guys on the triathlon circuit.

But it was no easy feat. Usually the winner of the challenged athletes division takes it in a runaway. But this year was just like any classic Mark-and-Dave battle, except it was between Bailey and 2-time defending champion Carlos Moleda.

Doubly satisfying was to win under these windy conditions -- perhaps the windiest ever. That's hard enough when you're pushing through the wind on your way to Hawi with your legs. Imagine doing it on a hand-cycle.

We caught up with David down in Australia, where he flew directly after the Ironman to work the Paralympics TV coverage. David is, by the way, not the "color guy," but the lead pro for Fox Sports Net down in Sydney.

DAN EMPFIELD: You won.

DAVID BAILEY: Yeah. It's a dream. And I'm still riding it. I've had seven trips to Hawaii, three times racing. Even with the trouble I had in '98 in my first time over there competing -- last year leading and then having to stop -- nothing was as emotional, and still is as emotional, as this win.

DE: You guys had a race.

DB: That's what made it so cool. The last couple of years I'd see him as he passed me on the bike and that was it. I don't think it was as exciting for him to win it either. He was excited -- I know he wanted to win this time -- but to be part of a race like that... Even getting second he seemed pretty happy. It's always nice to win one of those.

DE: I think the course was 15-minutes slow for a top male, 18-minutes for a top female

DB: Double that for us.

DE: You guys must have had a horrific time out there.

DB: It was tough for us but the thing is that I went in there prepared for whatever. It seemed [to those in my camp] that the heat was pretty bad [this year]. I thought the island was going to dish it out, that it could be the worst ever. So I really went in like that. And I'd been hearing that Carlos was bent on going sub-10:30. So I trained for that. I trained for going under 10:30 and expecting tough conditions, so when it got windy all I was thinking about was holding my form and not worrying about the wind.

DE: How did the run go for you? How did the split compare?

DB: My fastest previously was a 2:34. To be honest, Dan when I got off the bike... even before I got off the bike, when I was approaching the airport... he had about 6-and-a-half minutes at one point, and I thought, that's too much. I thought he was out there digging a hole. But I had to dig a little bit of a hole to get up there with him. And not let him just have it. I really wasn't sure what he was capable of in the marathon. He was talking 2:10 or less, and everything he said he was going to do he's done there, so I decided to get up there. When we approached the airport and I passed him I was really thinking, "How am I going to push this marathon? Even slow?"

DE: As I recall I saw the two of you come in off the bike together.

DB: I'd finally reeled him. I remembered last year he struggled on the way back.

DE: So how fast did you run the marathon?

DB: 2:15

DE: Is that a course record?

DB: Yeah. He went 2:16 his first year. You know, I don't know where that [2:15 split] came from. I was exhausted.

DE: It seemed like you really started hauling ass back from the Energy Lab.

DB: That's when it really started clicking, and the emotions were in my favor and not in his, where he felt like, "I'm losing this thing". As soon as you see one guy's power, he's been catching you all day and he goes by you and looks strong, it's pretty hard to muster up anything. He hammered the first six, out of town. When I saw he was getting a gap again, I thought, "It just doesn't make sense to go fast through town." Cyclists were coming in, runners were going out, it was crowded. People were squirting us with hoses, and it wrecks our gloves, and the stickum we have on the hand grips. So I loaded up on food and Gatorade and water -- whatever I could -- so that when I got up on the Queen K I was going to push my tail off.

DE: I've never seen you guys up on the Queen K. But I can just imagine that people must be going nuts as you're wheeling past them.

DB: They were! It was crazy. And the closer I got... I get goose bumps now thinking about people going, "He's right there, you got him" It reminded me of watching some of the coverage of Mark and Dave. Then as I got closer I could hear people telling him, "Come on Carlos, don't let him catch you!" It was pretty intense.

DE: Where did you pass him?

DB: I was 1:35 back going into the Energy Lab and coming out we were basically together. About a couple hundred yards after that I stayed behind him just for a second to get my gloves just right and to say, "Okay, this is it." I didn't want him, or the guy that was riding with him on the moped, to know that I was back there for any length of time without gaining. I went right by.

DE: Did he try to get on your wheel?

DB: When he saw me go by he picked it up. Same as he did on the bike. In fact I passed him in the exact same place I passed him on the bike. But when I passed him on the chair I had something, and I laid it down as hard as I could. I saw him pick it up, but he was losing time.

DE: How fast you can go under the right conditions.

DB: To get decent conditions we can get under 10:30. Right now. I believe somebody can swim an hour. We can go under 7-hours on the bike, and I believe somebody can push under 2-hours.

DE: Well, that's under 10-hours.

DB: Yeah. It's possible. If John McClain wanted to come back and do it again, he can swim 58, 57, and I know he can push that course in 1:55. It's just a matter if he can do that and improve his biking.