 |
|
||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||
 |
|
 
Media Contact
Press and Media CenterLebrun, McQuaid win XTERRA USA ChampionshipComplete Results. Photo gallery from today's race by Nils Nilsen/XTERRA available at xterraphotos.com Snowbasin Resort - Ogden, Utah (September 26, 2009) - Nicolas “Nico” Lebrun chased down the defending champ Conrad Stoltz during the last quarter of the run while Melanie McQuaid held off a hard-charging Shonny Vanlandingham to capture the men’s and women’s XTERRA USA Championship titles on an absolutely epic day in Northern Utah’s Wasatch Range.
“I felt really strong on the run,” said a jubilated Lebrun shortly after he crossed the finish line. “It’s a very big day for me. I’ve come to the U.S. four times before for this race and have never been very good.” This season Lebrun took the XTERRA America Tour quite literally, spending the last six months traveling coast-to-coast racing the Cup Series and exploring the country. As a result, he came in fresh with a solid base of training and zero jet leg. “This course was perfect for me, and I had a lot of confidence coming into it,” said the 2005 XTERRA World Champ who grew up climbing around ski resorts in the French Alps. The race started out predictably enough with Seth Wealing leading the charge in the mile-long swim in the calm and cool but comfortable waters of Pineview Reservoir, followed shortly after by the “Big Fish” Christine Jeffrey and some 40-seconds later out popped Stoltz, Branden Rakita, and Craig Evans. Out on the bike things changed quickly as Conrad “the Caveman” Stoltz evaporated Wealing’s early lead by the second mile and put nearly a minute into the entire field. It was 50-seconds to be exact, and the next riders to arrive added even more colors to the already vibrant scene with Josiah Middaugh in blue, Nico Lebrun in green, Mike Vine in orange, and Branden Rakita in black all riding wheel-to-wheel. Early speed credit also goes to Middaugh and Lebrun, who exited the swim more than minute-and-a-half after Stoltz and caught up quick. By mile eight the landscape had changed again as Stoltz had put another 20 seconds on Middaugh and Vine, but Lebrun had taken 20 seconds back and was now only half-minute behind the 3x XTERRA World Champion from South Africa. “Today I was riding really skinny and fast tires and my plan was to go very hard on the climbs but be conservative on the downhills so I would not crash,” said Lebrun, long known as one of the sports premier climbers. It was a solid strategy, especially considering this 30-kilometer bike course climbs and climbs and climbs with some 3,000 feet of uphill from the reservoir to the top of the course (it’s 4,600-feet elevation at the swim start and 7,600-feet at the top of the bike). On the other end of that spectrum is Stoltz, who has the power to climb but his solid 6-foot-3 frame requires a lot more effort to propel up a mountain. “This is the anti-Conrad course,” explained Stoltz. Nevertheless, any time the trail got flat and the very few times it went down Stoltz pinned it and even his fellow pros call describe his fearless riding as “simply amazing”. As proof, despite all the ground Lebrun made up on the ascent Stoltz still took a minute lead out onto the run after his final rush down to the transition area. The good news for Lebrun, and the bad for Stoltz, was there’s still a lot more climbing on the run. At mile 1.3 Lebrun had gained 13 seconds, in the next 15 minutes he made up the other 47, and for good measure added another 52 ticks to cross the line with a winning time of 2:21:57 – Stoltz 2:22:49. “Maybe for the first time ever I’m content with second,” said Stoltz, who with the finish secured an unprecedented 7th XTERRA U. S. Pro Series title. “Considering the injuries I had this year and my sketchy training as a result I’m very happy to keep it all together and still win the series. Plus, Nico is just a Billy goat, and he was the strongest guy out there today.” Behind those two Josiah Middaugh did everything in his power to stave off Mike Vine, who came within seconds of getting past, to hold on for 3rd – top American in the race and in the Pro Series now for the fifth time in six years. Both Middaugh and Vine tipped their caps to the guys ahead “They crushed it today,” said one – and – “they really nailed it,” said the other. Wealing, who said he did “pretty darn good” for how bad he was feeling, finished in 5th, and five other Colorado guys rounded out the top 10 with Rakita, Cody Waite, Ryan Ignatz, Brian Smith (fresh off a grueling adventure race in China last weekend) and Will Kelsay. McQUAID DEFENDS XTERRA USA CHAMPIONSHIP AND U.S. PRO SERIES CROWNS The three-time XTERRA World Champ came out of the water more than three minutes behind Christine Jeffrey undaunted, and by midway through the bike had a two minute lead on Jeffrey, Sara Tarkington, and Shonny Vanlandingham. By the 19-kilometer mark McQuaid still had more than two minutes on Vanlandingham, while Jeffrey fell off the pace, Tarkington remained in third, and Lesley Paterson moved into fourth position more than four minutes behind the leader. During the last quarter of the bike Vanlandingham got a split that said she was just a minute back when the dreaded flat seemingly erased any chance she might have. Three stops to quick fill her tire later that cost her a couple minutes of hard-charging time and “Shonny V” found herself in the precarious position of having to make up three minutes on the run. It just so happened that McQuaid, who has been at altitude for a month and here in the area for two weeks, may have just “overtrained” and started fading. “I tried not to think about how slow I was running,” said the champ. “Before the race I was listening to this techno song and the only thing that was going through my mind was ‘I like to move it, move it’ and I was hoping it would help me get through.” It certainly did get her through, and fast enough, but Vanlandingham ran three minutes faster over the 10-kilometer close and pulled to within 47 seconds at the finish line. “I feel really good about today,” said Vanlandingham, the top American woman in the race and the Pro Series. “I mean, if you take the flats out I could have contended. Wish I could’ve made it more exciting for the fans and spectators but in this sport, those things happen.” Paterson caught and passed Tarkington on the run to finish in the top 3 in her third straight XTERRA championship race this year. Carina Wasle also moved up into fourth, and Jenny Smith rounded out the top five. “This place is absolutely amazing,” said Paterson in her Scottish accent. “The course was perfect and fast and smooth and fun, the air temperature was perfect, and I was having trouble concentrating looking at all the pink and yellow and orange – it was much like Scotland in the fall.” At the awards ceremony McQuaid spoke for the entire field when she said, “the people and volunteers here in Utah are crazy amazing. The hospitality they show is insane, they’re just so happy to have us and I can tell you we are happy to be here. I can’t imagine a funner place to enjoy the end of the U.S. series.” Here in Utah the fun doesn’t stop with the race, as Ogden’s annual Mountain 2 Metro games on Saturday night treated the athletes and their friends and family from across the U.S. to a massive block party with seven bands and dozens of restaurants celebrating the healthy, active, outdoors lifestyle right there in the middle of historic 25th street. TOP PRO MEN
Also: Craig Evans (41, $150), Scott Gall (37, $100), Damian Gonzalez (34), Guy Perry (31), Matt Boobar (28) TOP PRO WOMEN
Also: Emma Garrard (41, $150), Tracy Thelen (37, $100), Alexandra Borrelly (34), Brandyn Roark-Gray (31), Cameron Randolph (28) Fastest Swim (1.5km): Seth Wealing (19:20), Christine Jeffrey (19:27) XTERRA U.S. PRO SERIES: Today’s race was the last of nine in the XTERRA U.S. Pro Series that featured eight XTERRA Cup regionals and today’s national championship. Not much changed from the standings heading into the event with the exception of Mike Vine moving up one past Dan Hugo (who didn’t race today) into the No. 4 spot and Alexandra Borrelly moving up one to pass Erin Kummer (who also didn’t race). There was $60,000 in prize money awarded to the top performers. Here’s how it breaks down:
1 = Loews XTERRA West Cup (Lake Las Vegas Resort, NV) - May 2 AMATEUR RACE: More than 300 qualified athletes representing 42 states were in Ogden and up at Snowbasin Resort today for their shot at the national championship of off-road triathlon. Jason Michalak, 31, from Lakewood, Colorado edged former XTERRA pro Jason Jablonski from Wenatchee, Washington by just 28 seconds to win the men’s amateur overall crown. In the women’s race Jaime Brede, 32, from Breckenridge, CO topped Keri Grosse, 43, of Leavenworth, WA by more than a minute. Kent Robison from Reno (one of the members of the inaugural class of 2001 XTERRA National Champions) won the 60-64 division for his 7th national title - tying him with his partner in crime Tom Lyons, also from Reno, for the all-time record. Lyons streak of seven straight national championships came to an end today at the hands of Kevin Shelden who edged him by just two minutes. Former Mrs. XTERRA Cindi Toepel picked up her 5th national championship, Beverly Enslow won her fourth, and Caroline Colonna, Keri Grosse, Katherine Pollard, Megan Fisher, Wayne Avery, and Randy Beckner each won their second. Here’s the complete list, which features athletes from 12 states: Div Name Hometown Time Div Name Hometown Time XTERRA UTAH: There was also an open-race today, the XTERRA Utah off-road triathlon featuring a 750-meter swim, 19km mountain bike, and 5km trail run. Aaron Jordin, 41, of Sandy, Utah took home top honors in 1:40:48 for the men and Sarah Jarvis, 29, from Provo, Utah won the women’s race in 1:59:25. As part of XTERRA Utah Aaron Hall, 38, of North Ogden, UT won the Utah CEO Corporate Challenge, and Mylissa Graham, 34 of Heber City, UT won the Wasatch Woman Challenge. Complete Results. In addition this morning Kevin Tuck, a two-time XTERRA Trail Running National Champion in the 50-54 division from Salt Lake City, won the XTERRA Wheeler Canyon Half-Marathon in 1:27:16 while current 30-34 XTR National Champ Rachel Cieslewicz, also from SLC, won the women’s race in 1:37:42. Complete Results. Some 800 athletes representing 42 states and several countries competed in today’s races, and an army of volunteers, friends, family, and fans lined the course the entire time to cheer them on. A special thanks goes out to the Utah Sports Commission, City of Ogden, Weber County, Greater Ogden Athletic Legacy Foundation, Snowbasin Resort, and the local community for all their support and encouragement. The 2009 XTERRA USA Championship is presented by the Utah Sports Commission, Paul Mitchell, and XTERRA.TV. National sponsors are GU, XTERRAGear.com, Rodale, Zorrel, Gatorade, and John Paul Pet. Local sponsors include Snowbasin Resort, the GOAL Foundation, KSL TV, Media One of Utah, McKay-Dee Sports Medicine, and the U.S. Forest Service. TEAM Unlimited, a Hawaii-based television events and marketing company, owns and produces XTERRA. In 2009 there are more than 100 XTERRA off-road triathlon and trail running events held in 15 countries worldwide. It all started with 123 competitors one afternoon in Maui, and has since evolved into the most prestigious off-road multisport race in the world. There are 30,000+ competitors, ages 13-71, from all 50 states and more than 40 countries competing in XTERRA events. |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
.jpg)
Fall is in full swing in this part of the country and the magnificent array of colors painting the mountainside around the world-class Snowbasin Resort was nothing short of breathtaking. Perhaps the only thing more explosive was the burst of energy Lebrun unleashed on Stoltz heading up the last major climb of the run less than two miles from the finish.
 |
|
 |
My Account Press & Media Privacy Policy Refund Policy About Contact Sponsors Foundation Feedback
© 2010 TEAM Unlimited LLC |
