Batelier, Bucher the Best of Europe - win XTERRA Austria / European Championship & Euro Tour Titles

Franky Batelier and Renata Bucher (pictures courtesy Hermann Sobe) are the best XTERRA athletes in Europe.  As proof, the duo won the XTERRA European Championship race, which doubled as the XTERRA Austrian Championship, and the XTERRA European Tour titles as well on a picture perfect day in Klopeinersee (a beautiful lake village nestled in the Carinthian Alps) on Saturday.

For Batelier the victory marks his fourth win in as many chances on the Euro Tour and seals his fate as the 2009 XTERRA European Tour Champion.  Bucher, who has won three of the four races on the Tour this year (as well as Saipan, Malaysia, and the Northeast Cup in Vermont) solidified her fourth consecutive XTERRA European Tour Championship with the win.

Hundreds of athletes from 25 countries took part in the challenge which combined a 1.5-kilometer swim in a warm lake, a tricky 30km mountain bike and grueling 10km trail run that featured 300 stairs and the signature mud tank at the finish line.

Batelier had yet another flawless race and finished nearly three minutes ahead of runner-up Karel Zadek from the Czech Republic (who also placed second at the Czech Championship).  Sam Gardner, the reigning XTERRA Saipan and Japan Championship, posted his best-ever result by finishing third ahead of Olivier Marceau (4th) and Nico Pfitzenmaier (5th).  Of note, XTERRA World Championship runner-up Michi Weiss from Austria - who won this race last year - punctured his tire on the bike shortly after the swim-to-bike transition and did not finish.

In the women's race it was Bucher all the way, crossing the finish line more than four minutes ahead of hometown hero Carina Wasle.  Great Britain's Nicola Duggan was third, with Jenny Smith (New Zealand by way of Gunnison, CO) in fourth and Germany's Claudia Frank in fifth.  Also of note, Rebecca Dussault - who represented the U.S. at the last winter Olympics in Italy - placed sixth and Brandyn Roark Gray was 7th among female pros and the first woman out of the water.

Here's a look at the top placing pros at XTERRA Austria and below is the current top 10 men and women in the XTERRA European Tour rankings.

PRO MEN  
 
Pl  Name  Nation  Time
1  Franky Batelier  FRA  2:26:45
2  Karel Zadak  CZE  2:29:18
3  Sam Gardner  GBR  2:29:42
4  Olivier Marceau  SUI  2:30:41
5  Nico Pfitzenmaier  GER  2:31:02
6  Yeray Luxem  BEL  2:31:33
7  Felix Schumann  GER  2:32:52
8  Ronny Dietz  GER  2:35:39
9  Mikko Vastaranta  FIN  2:36:46
10  Tomas Jurkovic  SVK  2:38:11

PRO WOMEN  
 
Pl  Name  Nation  Time
1  Renata Bucher  SUI  2:54:39
2  Carina Wasle  AUT  2:59:00
3  Nicola Duggan  GBR  3:07:01
4  Jennifer Smith  NZL  3:09:53
5  Claudia Frank  GER  3:12:55
6  Rebecca Dussault  USA  3:14:56
7  Brandyn Roark Gray  USA  3:28:35

Complete XTERRA Austria Results

2009 XTERRA European Tour Standings (Top 10 Pro Men and Women)

ELITE MEN  Nation  Italy  Czech  GER  Austria  Total
1  Batelier, Franky  FRA  100  100  100  100  400
2  Zadak, Karel  CZE  75  90  75  90  330
3  Gardner, Sam  GBR  41  75  53  82  251
4  Dietz, Ronny  GER  69  0  82  53  204
5  Pfitzenmeier, Nico  GER  41  58  69  168
6  Marceau, Olivier  SUI  82  75  157
7  Jurkovic, Tomas  SLO  53  58  45  156
8  Schumann, Felix  GER  0  90  58  148
9  Weiss, Michi  AUT  63  82  145
10  Luxem, Yeray  BEL  0  63  63  126

ELITE WOMEN   Nation  Italy  Czech  GER  Austria  Total
1  Bucher, Renata  SUI  100  90  100  100  390
2  Wasle, Carina  AUT  63  100  58  90  311
3  Matter, Sibylle  SUI  90  90  180
4  Golsteyn, Maud  NED  75  82  157
5  Guillot, Myriam  FRA  69  69  138
6  Smith, Jen  USA  63  75  138
7  Loubkova, Katerina  CZE  82  53  135
8  Vreeswijk-Kelja, Riikka  FIN  69  63  132
9  Duggan, Nicola  GBR  49  82  131
10  Loubkova, Ivana  CZE  75  45  120

COMING UP ON THE XTERRA WORLD TOUR
August 29 - XTERRA Japan Championship (Marunuma)
August 29 - XTERRA Brazil Championship (Angra dos Reis)
September 20 - XTERRA France Championship (Mandelieu)
September 26 - XTERRA USA Championship (Ogden/Snowbasin Resort, Utah)
October 25 - XTERRA World Championship (Maui, Hawaii)