European Tour titles captured
THIS WEEK: A stacked field readies for XTERRA Germany on Sunday, Olivier Marceau and Renata Bucher capture XTERRA European Tour titles, Kahuna reports from XTERRA Japan and XTERRA Spain, an update on the XTERRA Scramble Trail Run Series, results from the last five points series races of the season before the national championship in Nevada, and this week’s TV schedule.
XTERRA GERMANY: A world-class group of athletes are headed to the final stop on the XTERRA European Tour in Titisee, Germany on Sunday. Some of the notables racing include reigning XTERRA World Champ Eneko Llanos, Nicolas Lebrun from France, local hero and German champion Andreas Böcherer, his countrymen Ronny Dietz, national Team member Daniel Unger and 3rd place Ironman Hawaii finisher Faris Al Sultan, Lieuwe Boonstra and Claude Eksteen from South Africa, Maurizio Brassini from Italy, Robert Latschen from Austria, Marc Ruhe from Liechtenstein, and Jan Kubicek from the Czech Republic.
On the women’s side Renata Bucher is looking for her third European victory, but will be chased by Sibylle Matter, reigning Germany Champ Katrin Helmcke, Sigrid Lang, Duathlon champ Erika Csomor, and Melissa Thomas from the U.S.
XTERRA EUROPEAN TOUR: It took both Olivier Marceau and Renata Bucher just four races to build insurmountable leads to secure this year’s XTERRA European Tour Championships (awarded to those with the best three scores in five events). It’s the second straight title for Marceau, and another highlight in what has been a remarkable rookie season for Bucher. Here’s a look at the current standings heading into the final event in Germany this weekend.
Men - Country - TotalPoints
MARCEAU Olivier SUI -300
LEBRUN Nicolas FRA -272
BOONSTRA Lieuwe RSA -185
WINGENFELD Sascha GER -179
KUBICEK Jan CZE -164
Women
BUCHER Renate SUI -290
WHITMORE Jamie USA -270
THOMAS Melissa USA -226
MATTER Sibylle SUI -223
CSOMOR Erika HUN -187
XTERRA SPAIN (Euskadi): Olivier Marceau held off hometown hero and two-time XTERRA World Champion Eneko Llanos to win the inaugural running of XTERRA Spain. For the women it was Sibylle Matter ahead of fellow countrywoman Renata Bucher. Here’s the scoop from XTERRA Global Tour Managing Director “Kahuna” Dave Nicholas (race date Sept. 3). race report
Resultsview all
Pro Men
Olivier Marceau (SUI) 2:27:33
Eneko Llanos (ESP) 2:28:14
Nicolas LeBrun (FRA) 2:31:56
Ronny Dietz (GER) 2:38:33
Marc Ruhe (LIE) 2:39:20
Pro Women
Sibylle Matter (SUI) 2:55:59
Renata Bucher (SUI) 3:02:43
Melissa Thomas (USA) 3:09:17
Ingrid Van Lubek (NED) 3:21:41
Nerea Martinez (ESP) 3:29:20
XTERRA JAPAN: Long-time XTERRA Pro Yu Yumoto is once again the champion of XTERRA Japan, a title he last held back in 2002. On the women’s side Jamie Whitmore won this race for the second straight year. The “Kahuna” was there (race date was Aug. 27), and here’s what he had to say… race report.
Resultsview all
Pro Men
1 Yu Yumoto (JPN) 2:23:04
2 Jason Chalker (AUS) 2:30:56
3 Hideo Fukui (JPN) 2:32:58
4 Mark Leishman (NZD) 2:33:27
5 Mituru Ohara (JPN) 2:41:20
Pro Women
1 Jamie Whitmore (USA) 2:50:24
2 Riikka Kelja (FIN) 2:57:03
3 Ingrid Rolles (USA) 2:58:34
4 Mami Saito (JPN) 3:13:59
5 Yuko Sasaki (JPN) 3:34:06
XTERRA SCRAMBLIN’ IN OHIO: The XTERRA Trail Run Scramble Series heads to Knoxville, Tennessee this Sunday, Sept. 11, before heading to Ohio with six races starting Sept. 24 in Akron. The Ohio races will be directed by two Ohio race veterans, Rich Williams, former race director of the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon with a 20 year resume packed with professional race production, and Jeff Glaze who manages more than 70 events a year in the various sports of running, in-line skating, multi-sport, swimming and walking.
“It’s amazing to see the growth of all levels and distances of running throughout Ohio and the Midwest,” commented Rich Williams, co-race director of the Ohio XTERRA Scramble Trail Run Series. “This Scramble Series will offer all of the runners something they don’t have as an option now – an off-road do-able distance with challenges that will make them dirty, dusty, muddy, wet and invigorated!”
The inception of the XTERRA Scramble Series came from the XTERRA Foundation’s goal to reach out to at-risk children and teach them how to deal with adversity and competition at an early age. The more opportunity a child has, the better the odds for a successful outcome.
Each event has partnered with a local non-profit organization, which will benefit directly from the XTERRA Foundation and the XTERRA Scramble Series. In light of Hurricane Katrina, the XTERRA Scramble Trail Run Series in Ohio will also benefit the victims of this horrific disaster. All or part of the beneficiary proceeds will be directed to the American Red Cross from the XTERRA Foundation.
“Helping children with a healthy lifestyle through training and competition is our mission through these XTERRA Scramble events. For many of the children in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama, their needs are more basic because their world has been torn apart,” commented Ohio race director Jeff Glaze.
