Calteaux had to dig deep, unearthing true grit on the road to winning an unprecedented third national excavator operator of the year title in Feilding back in March.
Although not a sport in the conventional sense, competitive digger operation demanded just as much focus from its practitioners, he said prior to competing this year.
"You rely on experience and second nature. To be honest, it’s all a bit stressful on the day, as the concentration level is so high and non-stop.
"But there’s nothing like the feeling when you get a clean run."
Following his victory after two days at the Civil Contractors New Zealand (CCNZ) competition — which added to titles in 2018 and 2021 — Calteaux said he was "stoked".
"I put everything into it this year. I focused on each task and it just went mint. That was the best performance I’ve had at the nationals.
"You just break it down task by task and stay focused. I’m over the moon for myself, and for [employer] Andrew Haulage."
The "pressure cooker" competition tests both "real-world" skills, such as traversing a trench and digging around pipelines, and novel tasks such as slam-dunking a basketball into a two-storey concrete pipe using an excavator bucket, and a slalom course.
CCNZ chief executive Alan Pollard praised Calteaux for his "tremendous performance".
"Not everyone is able to perform at the top level under such pressure against the best of the best.
"He showed that nothing and no-one could throw him off track. Troy is the toast of his peers and an example to the industry — the cream of the crop."
Calteaux thanked organisers and singled out his brother, Kieran, for his assistance as support crew.
"I couldn’t do it without Kieran. We’ll be back next year to defend the title."
