The countdown to Maui is on!
THIS WEEK:
The countdown to Maui is on! The Nissan Xterra World Championship is just 17 days away and the 11th annual event promises to be the best yet with a growing international flavor (athletes from 25+ countries) and an incredible pro field (80 confirmed) that includes Olympic gold medalist Hamish Carter. The race is the culmination of the 100+ event XTERRA Global Tour that traveled to 15 countries around the world, it boasts a $130,000 purse, and will be televised as a one-hour CBS Sports Spectacular at 1pm EST on Saturday, February 3, 2007.
As the saying goes, "Maui No Ka Oi" - Maui is the best. Below you'll find a tentative pro start list, the Kahuna's pro race preview, this year's XTERRA Global Tour Championship race winners, and the weekend's XTERRA TV schedule.
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OCTOBER RACES:
Oct. 21 - XTERRA North Boundary Blitz Scramble (Knoxville, TN)
Oct. 28 - XTERRA La Jolla Canyon Legend Scramble (La Jolla, CA)
Oct. 28 - XTERRA Makena Beach Scramble (Makena, Maui)
Oct. 29 - Nissan Xterra World Championship (Makena, Maui)
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MAUI'S PRO START LIST:
The professionals competing in Maui are the best-of-the-best in not only the world of XTERRA, but also the mountain biking, triathlon, and adventure racing communities. The top 7 male and female finishers from last year are back, as well as former XTERRA World Champions Nicolas Lebrun (2005), Eneko Llanos (2003 & 2004), Michael Tobin (2000), Melanie McQuaid (2003 & 2005), Jamie Whitmore (2004), Candy Angle (2002), Shari Kain (1999), and Cameron Randolph (1997). 2006 will also see the return of triathlon legend Scott Tinley. Below is the tentative start list by race number, determined by their finish position at last year's Nissan Xterra World Championship, then alphabetically. Tentative as of 10.12.06.
# - Men - Age, Hometown
1 - Nicolas Lebrun - 33, Villeneuve Loubet, France
2 - Eneko Llanos - 29, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
3 - Brent McMahon - 26, Victoria, B.C., Canada
4 - Mike Vine - 33, Victoria, B.C., Canada
5 - Chris Legh - 33, Melbourne, Australia
6 - Nico Pfitzenmaier - 34, Besigheim, Germany
7 - Olivier Marceau - 33, Cannes, France
8 - Josiah Middaugh - 28, Vail, Colorado
9 - Greg Krause - 29, Denver, Colorado
10 - Jimmy Archer - 33, Boulder, Colorado
11 - Francisco Serrano - 26, Garza Garcia, Mexico
12 - Robert Latschen - 35, Griffen, Austria
14 - Jan Kubicek - 26, Chodov City, Czech Republic
15 - Justin Thomas - 31, Reno, Nevada
16 - Ryan Ignatz - 28, Boulder, Colorado
17 - Jason Chalker - 31, Canberra, Australia
18 - Chad Seymour - 24, Honolulu, Hawaii
19 - Michael Tobin - 42, Boise, Idaho
20 - Alexander Lang - 38, Freiburg, Germany
21 - Michael Simpson - 26, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
22 - Andrew Noble - 41, Gold Coast, Australia
23 - Chris Lieto - 33, Danville, California
24 - Mark Leishman - 27, Palmerston North, New Zealand
25 - Jeff Sanders - 34, Lahaina, Maui
26 - Dennis Manor - 30, Reno, Nevada
27 - Brian Astell - 25, Gualala, California
28 - Amon Pease - 29, Cherry Valley, California
29 - Will Kelsay - 25, Boulder, Colorado
30 - Rodrigo Altafini - Itapira, Brazil
31 - Paul Amey - 33, Benfleet, Great Britain
32 - Lieuwe Boonstra - 30, Cape Town, South Africa
33 - Dave Brown - 28, Ampthill, Great Britain
34 - Othmar Bruegger - 44, Bern, Switzerland
35 - Hamish Carter - 35, Auckland, New Zealand
36 - Ryan DeCook - 25, Rochester Hills, Michigan
37 - Peter Gardner - Australia
38 - Dominic Gillen - 29, South Royalton, Vermont
39 - Kai Hundermarck - 37, Eppstein, Germany
40 - John Koenig - 36, Longmont, Colorado
41 - Norbert Langbrandtner - 36, Saalfelden, Austria
42 - Stevee Laurent - Montpellier, France
43 - Hektor Llanos - 34, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
44 - Michael Lovato - 33, Austin, Texas
45 - Gael Mainard - 30, Volvic, France
46 - Kaley Parkinson - 31, Pleasant Hill, California
47 - Bucky Schafer - 24, Englewood, Colorado
48 - Felix Schumann - 23, Germany
49 - Taro Shirato - Tokyo, Japan
50 - Brian Smith - 30, Gunnison, Colorado
51 - Scott Tinley - 49, Del Mar, California
52 - Seth Wealing - 27, Boulder, Colorado
53 - Martin Zois - 30, Guttaring, Austria
# - Women - Age, Hometown
61 - Melanie McQuaid - 33, Victoria, B.C., Canada
62 - Sybille Matter - 32, Bern, Switzerland
63 - Jamie Whitmore - 30, Somerset, California
64 - Renata Bucher - 28, Lucerne, Switzerland
65 - Jenny Tobin - 37, Boise, Idaho
66 - Danelle Kabush - 31, Canmore, Alberta, Canada
67 - Shonny Vanlandingham - 36, Durango, Colorado
68 - Ingrid Rolles - 32, Cape Town, South Africa
69 - Mami Saito - 29, Kawasaki, Japan
70 - Kathy McKay - 30, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
71 - Carina Wasle - 21, Kundl, Austria
72 - Nicole Newton - 33, La Jolla, California
73 - Yasuko Miyazaki - 26, Tokyo, Japan
74 - Candy Angle - 37, Weymouth, Massachusetts
75 - Molly Bockmann - 30, Boulder, Colorado
76 - Jackie Burt - 35, Crested Butte, Colorado
77 - Aracelly Clouse - 33, Cameron Park, California
78 - Teresa Hill - 48, Vista, California
79 - Yukako Inoue - Japan
80 - Shari Kain - 41, Cupertino, California
81 - Heather King - 33, North Vancouver, Canada
82 - Michelle Lombardi - 38, Somerset West, South Africa
83 - Amber Monforte - 28, Reno, Nevada
84 - Janae Pritchett - 30, Crested Butte, Colorado
85 - Shae Rainer - 26, Austin, Texas
86 - Cameron Randolph - 35, Ridgway, Colorado
87 - Jennifer Smith - 33, Westport, New Zealand
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KAHUNA'S PREDICTION:
Winston Churchill said, "Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it". In 2001-2002 Conrad Stoltz won back-to-back World Championships. In 2003-2004 it was Eneko Llanos' turn. These were not unprecedented as Ned Overend did two titles in 98-99. Last year Nico Lebrun won his first. Nobody has won three, so until somebody unseats Nico, it will be hard to bet against him. Nico has had a great European year and smashed the field at XTERRA Brazil. He is the 2006 Euro Champ and other than testing the waters with a 70.3 in France, he should be well rested and ready to defend come October.
The women have different thing going. Melanie in 2003; Jamie in 2004 and Mel again in 2005. Can anybody challenge these two superstars? Maybe Renata Bucher, who is winning it all in Europe? Perhaps young Carina Wasle from Austria. Never forget Candy Angle. We're not sure if Sybille Matter (2d in 2005) will have her MTB skills ready so the dark horse must be the quickly improving Jennifer Smith or Danelle Kabush. Both are gaining strength and speed as witnessed in Tahoe just a few weeks ago.
The men's field has a lot of challengers for Lebrun. Not the least of which is Olivier Marceau who has led each of the past few years and has taken some time off this fall to come into Maui rested and ready to claim his World title. Seth Wealing had his breakthrough win in the UK and with that newborn confidence trounced the field in Tahoe to become the US Series Champ. Brent McMahon has had a great year and should be ready to avenge his loss in the US series because of injury. Mike Vine always goes well on Maui and did his usual "King of the Mountain Championship" win after an injured early season. Who might be overlooked? Eneko Llanos will race Kona so his endurance might be suspect, but the man is fast and he has that nasty habit of leading at the end. The true untested man for the World Championship has to be Olympic Gold Medalist and 2006 ITU world's silver medalist- Hamish Carter. Hamish has won XTERRA New Zealand a few times but has yet to be tested against the world's best. But anyone overlooking Carter is making a mistake. A thoroughbred is still a thoroughbred.
That History Thing says the men go in pairs, the women swap every year. So if one listens to Winston's advice from long ago, look for a repeat from Nico and a win by Jamie - which will fuel the fire in the women's field for years to come. No matter what; the field is big and strong and the racing will be hot.
*Dave Nicholas, the managing director of the XTERRA Global Tour, is the Kahuna.
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THE OFF-ROAD TO MAUI:
An athletes' journey to Maui is forged in dirt and determination. Their right of passage calls for swimming, mountain biking, and trail running on rugged, bumpy, crooked, dust-strewn and muddy trails from the French Riviera to the rainforests of New Zealand, past ancient Samurai temples in Japan and along the white sand beaches of Saipan.
Here's a look at the 19 races that qualified athletes to compete in Maui and the pro and amateur winners from each:
2006 XTERRA Global Tour Championship Race Results
March 25 - XTERRA South Africa Championship (Grabouw, Western Cape)
Men's Pro/Amateur Winners: Conrad Stoltz/Neil Gardiner
Women's Pro/Amateur Winners: Michelle Lombardi/Shale Exelby
April 1 - XTERRA Saipan Championship (Saipan - Northern Mariana Islands)
Men's Pro/Amateur Winners: Olivier Marceau/James Kennedy
Women's Pro/Amateur Winners: Renata Bucher/Mieko Motoyoshi
April 8 - XTERRA New Zealand Championship (Rotorua)
Men's Pro/Amateur Winners: Hamish Carter/Adam Marshment
Women's Pro/Amateur Winners: Gina Ferguson/ Tracy Kirkwood
May 21 - Nissan Xterra West Championship (Temecula, CA)
Men's Pro/Amateur Winners: Brent McMahon/Jens Beck
Women's Pro/Amateur Winners: Jamie Whitmore/Katrin Tobin
May 27 - XTERRA France Championship (St. Raphael)
Men's Pro/Amateur Winners: Cedric Fleureton/Gonzalo Orozco
Women's Pro/Amateur Winners: Renata Bucher/Rita Haerteis
June 4 - XTERRA Italy Championship (Villacidro, Sardinia, Italy)
Men's Pro/Amateur Winners: Nicolas Lebrun/Dirk Pauling
Women's Pro/Amateur Winners: Renata Bucher/Alexandra Stewart
June 11 - Nissan Xterra Southeast Championship (Pelham, AL)
Men's Pro/Amateur Winners: Brent McMahon/Craig Evans
Women's Pro/Amateur Winners: Melanie McQuaid/Christiane Reetz
June 18 - Nissan Xterra East Championship (Richmond, VA)
Men's Pro/Amateur Winners: Conrad Stoltz/Mark Junkermann
Women's Pro/Amateur Winners: Jamie Whitmore/Allison Hardy
June 24 - XTERRA Czech Championship (Hlubloka nad Vltavou)
Men's Pro/Amateur Winners: Nicolas Lebrun/Karel Zadak
Women's Pro/Amateur Winners: Renata Bucher/Kaja Polivkova
June 24 - XTERRA Mexico Championship (Puerto Vallarta)
Men's Pro/Amateur Winners: Francisco Serrano/Arenas Cisneros
Women's Pro/Amateur Winners: Jamie Whitmore/Ana Paula Guerrero
July 29 - XTERRA Spain Championship (Bakio, Euskadi)
Men's Pro/Amateur Winners: Hektor Llanos/Ulli Katzer
Women's Pro/Amateur Winners: Renata Bucher/Barbara Peterson
July 29 - XTERRA Brazil Championship (Ilhabela)
Men's Pro/Amateur Winners: Nicolas Lebrun/Rafael Scuissiatto
Women's Pro/Amateur Winners: Candy Angle/Carla Prada
August 6 - Nissan Xterra Midwest Championship (Milwaukee, WI)
Men's Pro/Amateur Winners: Brian Smith/Matt Berg
Women's Pro/Amateur Winners: Jamie Whitmore/Shannon Straub
August 12 - XTERRA Denmark Championship (Arhus, Jutland)
Men's Pro/Amateur Winners: Nicolas Lebrun/Thomas Mortensen
Women's Pro/Amateur Winners: Julie Dibens/Karin Jorgensen
August 19 - Nissan Xterra Mountain Championship (Ogden, UT)
Men's Pro/Amateur Winners: Mike Vine/Cody Waite
Women's Pro/Amateur Winners: Melanie McQuaid/Laura Home
*August 19 - Jamba Juice Mountainman Triathlon (Kaaawa, HI)
Men's Pro/Amateur Winners: Chad Seymour/Jimmy Davis
Women's Pro/Amateur Winners: none/Marion Summerer
*The Mountainman, although not a championship, is the local qualifying race for Hawaii racers.
August 26 - XTERRA Japan Championship (Marunuma)
Men's Pro/Amateur Winners: Yasuo Takahashi/Keiji Matsuba
Women's Pro/Amateur Winners: Jamie Whitmore/Yuko Sasaki
Sept 3 - XTERRA United Kingdom (Wales, UK)
Men's Pro/Amateur Winners: Seth Wealing/Dirk Pauling
Women's Pro/Amateur Winners: Renata Bucher/Louise Hanley
Sept 9 - XTERRA Germany Championship (Titisee, Schwartzwald)
Men's Pro/Amateur Winners: Sebastian Kienle/Thilo Zoberbier
Women's Pro/Amateur Winners: Carina Wasle/Barbara Alber
