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Bozzone & Foote Win New Zealand. Stotlz & Hugo to Tackle South Africa

BOZZONE & FOOTE WIN XTERRA NEW ZEALAND

Terenzo Bozzone just missed making the New Zealand Olympic triathlon team, but that didn’t stop him from proving his off-road worth by winning the 2008 XTERRA New Zealand Championships in Rotorua last weekend.  Managing to limit his time losses to defending champion Tim Wilding (Taupo) on the 26km mountain bike stage, Bozzone overtook Wilding at the start of the second lap of the run around the picturesque Blue Lake.

Mark Leishman of Palmerston North took the lead from Wilding and pushed Bozzone hard as they ran past the crowds halfway through the run.  “I knew Terenzo was not far behind and running well,” said Leishman “he took me, I took him, but he finally left me behind as we headed down to the finish”.

“I was concerned about the technical aspects of the course,” said Bozzone.  “The uphills were fine but on the downhills Tim (Wilding)and Mark (Leishman) left me in their dust. Tim (Wilding) went past me in a flash but I kept plugging away and waiting for the run.”

“It’s a great event and I love to do more XTERRA events at some stage,” he said “but I’m going to stick with road triathlons over the next few months.”

Scott Thorne of Hamilton also ran past last years winner to take third. Defending champion Wilding of Taupo had been unable to run for the last few months due to a knee injury and struggled towards the end to finish in fourth. Klayten Smith of Sydney finished in fifth. “I knew i needed to get a good lead on the bike”, said Wilding, “but this year my run form was not enough to hold off those guys.”

Former winner Sonia Foote made it three XTERRA New Zealand titles, changing last year’s second place into a win once again! The winner in 2004 and 2005 looked much smoother on the run than in 2007 when she finished second to Gina Ferguson.  Foote said that she had changed her running style and added more run training than in previous years.

“The bike course rocked”, said the teacher from Rotorua who earlier this year won the New Zealand Cross Country Mountain Bike championships.  Despite giving away five and a half minutes at the end of the swim Foote was confident that she was still in contention and would be able to rely on her mountain-biking and running abilities to take out the win.

“I’ve not done much swimming,” she confessed, “but I will before the XTERRA World championships in Maui.  The swim there is 1500m and in the Ocean, so I’ll need it.”

Nelson’s Susie Wood and Nic Leary from Palmerston North also finished ahead of 2007 champion Gina Ferguson.

Glorious spring weather greeted more than 2,000 participants in what is the world’s largest XTERRA off-road triathlon festival based at the Blue Lakes with competitors choosing from walking, running, mountain biking as well as the individual and team XTERRA events.

XTERRA hosts a worldwide series of off-road triathlons for age groupers and professionals, which culminates at the World Championships in Maui each October. Olympic champion Hamish Carter ended his career with an XTERRA World Championship win in 2006.

XTERRA New Zealand
Blue Lake Rotorua - April 12
1,000m swim, 26km Mountain Bike, 11km trail run

Top 5 Men
1      Terenzo Bozzone (N.Z. Auckland)                2:07:09
2      Mark Leishman (N.Z. Palmerston North)      2:07:29
3      Scott Thorne (N.Z. Hamilton)                         2:08:48
4      Tim Wilding (N.Z. Taupo)                               2:11:03
5      Klayten Smith (Aus Sydney)                          2:12:11

Top 5 Women
1      Sonia Foote (N.Z. Rotorua)                            2:28:18
2      Susie Wood (N.Z. Nelson)                              2:31:34
3      Nic Leary (N.Z. Palmerston North)                 2:34:06
4      Gina Ferguson (N.Z. Christchurch)               2:34:55
5      Fiona Docherty (N.Z. Taupo)                         2:34:55

For more details contact Peter Harwood, XTERRA New Zealand – Media Manager, at media@xterranz.com

STOLTZ & HUGO TAKE ON GERMAN STARS IN S.A.

Three-time XTERRA World Champion Conrad Stoltz is hoping to win his fifth straight XTERRA South Africa crown this Saturday in Grabouw, but will face some strong competition.  Fellow countryman Dan Hugo, who made a grand entrance to XTERRA by finishing 6th overall in his first-ever XTERRA at the West Championship last year, placed 2nd in the South African finals a year ago.  Hugo, just 23-years-old, is fully recovered from a broken hand he suffered at XTERRA Alabama last June.  The two local boys will face off against two of Germany’s best in Felix Schumann and Nico Pfitzenmaier (Both finished in the top 10 at XTERRA Worlds last year).

On the women’s side SA star Michelle Lombardi is shooting for her third straight XTERRA South Africa Championship, but will have her hands full with defending XTERRA Italy, XTERRA Denmark, and XTERRA European Tour Champ Eszter Erdelyi from Hungary, as well as local favorites Carla Germishuys and Jeannie Bomford.

BREEDER'S CHOICE XTERRA K9 CHALLENGE

NEW MADE-FOR-FUN OBSTACLE COURSE TIME TRIALS FOR DOGS AND THEIR OWNERS AT ALL XTERRA REGIONAL EVENTS WITH ITS FIRST STOP AT THE XTERRA WEST CHAMPS IN TEMECULA ON MAY 17.

A 20-yard sprint, a speed-crawl through a tunnel, a bounding leap over a 2-foot-high block, a hairpin turn into a set of mixed sized step-overs, another cutting turn to a teeter-totter, up, over, one last jump, then a 15-yard sprint to the finish.  No, it’s not the latest version of American Gladiator or a behemoth football player tackling the agility drill at the NFL Combine, this is the brand new Breeder’s Choice XTERRA K9 Challenge - a timed race with owner-dog teams competing against the clock on a combined trail run and obstacle course.  Completing the challenge will take anywhere from 20 seconds to one minute, and it’s not limited to highly trained or specialized dogs so all are welcome to participate in this “made for fun” event. 

It’s $25 to enter and includes a t-shirt, dog bandana, goodie bag, and donation to the Petco Foundation.  The winner will receive a year supply of Avoderm Dog food.  It’s limited to the first 75 to register, so sign up now.

GU FRIDAY, APRIL 25!

The first-ever Great GU Giveaway is set for next Friday, April 25th.  Register for any 2008 XTERRA regional championship off-road triathlon or trail run and our good friends and sponsors at GU will mail a free 6-pack of GU Energy Gel straight to your door!   The GU giveaway promotion is one-day only – sign-up on Friday, April 25 for any of the races listed below and get some free GU…

May 17 - XTERRA Vail Lake 5k/10k/21k Trail Runs (Temecula, CA)

May 18 – XTERRA West Championship/XTERRA Sport/XTERRA Duathlon (Temecula, CA)

June 7 – XTERRA Oak Mountain 5k/10k/21k Trail Runs (Pelham, AL)

June 8 – XTERRA Southeast Championship/XTERRA Sport/XTERRA Duathlon (Pelham, AL)

June 14 – XTERRA Richmond 21k Xduro (Richmond, VA)

June 15 – XTERRA East Championship/XTERRA Sport (Richmond, VA)

Aug. 16 – XTERRA Wheeler Canyon 21k Xduro (Ogden/Snowbasin, UT)

Aug. 16 – XTERRA Mountain Championship/XTERRA Sport (Ogden/Snowbasin, UT)