Press and Media Center

Maui Course Update

THE BIKE COURSE IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR PRE-RIDING.  ATHLETES CAUGHT ON THE BIKE COURSE BEFORE THE RACE WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. HERE IS SOME INFO THAT MAY BE OF USE.

Last week some of the Maui-based XTERRA crew went out for the first mowing of the bike course and came back with this report on the condition of the Haleakala Volcano trails:

The roads and trails are in great shape this year.  The lower elevations are dry and dusty but not as rocky as recent years. Heartbreak Hill will be as challenging as usual, but there seems to be more dirt and fewer of the baseball-sized rocks covering the course overall on the lower parts.

At the top of those first long climbs (old Bike Feed 1) the pastures suddenly turn green for a section of smooth wide-open single track. The occasional cattle watering station will provide some challenging dustbowls to navigate, and of course there are the typical lava rock-strewn road sections before Bone Yards and Crossroads (the start of the long Ned's climb).

Ned's Climb on the cinder road is as smooth and as fast as a steep 1000' uphill climb can be.  The plunge is lush and green at the top, but, as usual, dry and dusty at the bottom.  Overall, the Plunge and the trail behind Papaka is in surprisingly good shape for this time of year and perhaps smoother that it has ever been.  The drop on the Cinder Road (the Autobahn) will be fast and furious. Summer grading and lack of seasonal rains have left the road smooth as a gravel/lava cinder slip-and-slide.

The bottom of the course is very interesting this year.  Carcass Alley, just after the big Oil Tank and feed 3, is thick with tall green grass and heavy trees. However the trail is rough and rocky and there a couple of new dust bowls before you pop back out on the road below Valiant Park and head back down the gravel road toward T2.

Online Resources for more information:

Images: www.xterraphotos.com
Videos: www.xterra.tv
Event website: www.xterramaui.com