Adams won the inaugural 2014 event and had backed it up last year. 

On Sunday he slipped to third, only a minute behind first-placed Ali Najem of Cronulla (44m 36s), and second-placed Courtney Atkinson (44m 46s).

Najem had finished second to Adams in 2014 making his victory all the sweeter.

“In 2014 I got lost on the track which cost me a lot of time, so I was really happy to be on track this year and come in first place,” he said.

“Courtney and I were tagging each other the whole way so for the whole race it was really tight.”

Atkinson, an Australian Olympian triathlete and regular entrant, said the 10km event was hard fought.

“This year was tougher than previous years by far, the weather was windy and coming up and over the dunes was a challenge but it’s always a great feeling when you finish," he said.

About 250 competitors hit the dunes in two classes; open men’s and open women’s.

Mel Campbell, who won the race in 2014, reclaimed the women’s trophy.

The event, which starts at 9am, requires competitors to pass through multiple checkpoints before they climb the biggest sand dune in sight to cross the finshing line.

Red Bull Dune Dusters is considered Australia’s most grueling soft sand race.