2006 REAL Mountain Bike Triathlon Report

A record amount of rain hit the Sacramento area this year, and we have muddy race photos to show for it!  Fortunately the rain stopped on race day Sunday and the sun peeked out a bit. Add to that a field of about 180 athletes and it made for a perfect day of XTERRA racing!

The water in Folsom Lake was a chilly 48 degrees and the athletes had to combat tree crossings during the swim!  There had been a bunch of storms and the lake had an outer rim of branches and logs that you had to walk through to get to the swim start.  But at 9am the wetsuit clad athletes were in there as the horn sounded and they were off!  Because of the chilliness, the swim course was shortened to just slightly under a half mile and the cold water didn’t seem to slow down the top folks.  David Cloninger (37, Bend, OR) was first out in a blazing 7:10 with Tom Monica (48, Walnut Creek, CA) snapping at his heels with a 7:12.  Anthony Yount (21, San Luis Obispo, CA) followed close behind in 7:24.  These guys were a good 20-40 seconds ahead of their competitors – but would their fast swim times keep them ahead or not?

The rain made this bike course MUDDY – and it was fun!  XTERRA Pro, Brian Astell (25, Gualala, CA) made up for his slower swim time by blazing through the bike course in 1:11:51.  Conrad Snover (31, Truckee, CA) had a 1:12:35 and these guys came into transition seconds apart.  Moments behind was David Cloninger who posted a 1:14:05 for his bike split.  Brian entered transition first, but Conrad got his shoes on faster and was out of their a few seconds ahead.  Who would come out on top after the run?

The run was again a muddy but awesome course.  Lots of single track, beautiful views of the lake, and tons of fun.  Jeremy Redding (33, Eagle, ID) posted an impressive 21:49 that was good enough to take home 6th place overall.  Brian Astell outran Conrad with a 22:56 to take home 1st place overall in 1:43:36.  Chad Krofta (26, Oakland, CA) had a great run as well in 23:00.  Conrad’s run was a few minutes slower, but he still had an amazing day and finished 2nd overall and 1st place amateur with a 1:45:40.  Rounding out the top three was Steven Garza (26, San Francisco, CA) who, although he did not post any top three splits, was consistent enough to grab a podium spot.  Congrats guys!
As for the ladies….. Susie Blake (41, Campbell, CA) and Ereka Rambur (26, Redding, CA) were neck and neck coming out in 8:18 and 8:19.  Newly minted XTERRA Pro Aracelly Clouse (33, Cameron Park, CA) was third in 8:51, but she would soon wow them all with her biking skills!

With a split 8 minutes faster than her nearest competitor, Aracelly Clouse sped through the bike course in 1:24:19 – she was cookin’!  Linda Lindsay (41, Petaluma, CA) and Meiling Yee (43, Sunnyvale, CA) proved that being over 40 doesn’t slow them down – they had bike splits of 1:32:12 and 1:32:58!  The mud was not slowing these ladies down!

Aracelly again had a top three split when she came in from the run with a 27:20 to make her finish time 2:00:30 – good enough for 1st place for the ladies and 31st overall.  Congrats on your first Pro race!  Birgit Johnston (38, Los Gatos, CA) wasn’t too far back on her run split – 27:30, and she was able to finish up with 2nd place overall for the ladies and 1st Amateur with a finish time of 2:12:08.  Emma Garrard (25, Incline Village, NV) also had an awesome run with a 28:20 – she must be practicing for Tahoe!  Linda Lindsay rounded out the podium spots for the women with a 3rd place finish of 2:13:00.  Way to go ladies!

And way to go to all the competitors!  The day was awesome despite the chilly weather – the XTERRA Season was alive and kickin’ in California!  The XTERRA Spirit award went to and awesome guy who was part of a relay team.  A mile into Lap 2 his back brakes went out.  With about a mile to go from the finish, his front brakes went out.  He broke the fork clean off the bike AND broke it in half.  He also dented up the frame pretty well!  But, since his swimmer had braved that chilly water – he was not going to let the team down and he ran – with all the various bike parts in tow - for the last mile.  Nice save!

Thanks to Mark and Bill and the entire TBF Racing Crew for an awesome day of XTERRA Racing.  The season is off and running and we can’t wait for more!  See you all at the Arizona Xtreme Desert Triathlon on April 23rd!

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