National Championship on Sunday

THIS WEEK:  The national championship on Sunday (Oct. 2) graces the north shore of Lake Tahoe at Incline Village, Nevada for the fifth straight year.  This year's title race, the final stop on the Nissan Xterra USA Championship Series schedule, is the culmination of 50 qualifying events in 28 states.  The concept of the Series, dreamt up by race director David "Kahuna" Nicholas and initiated in 2001, was to provide amateur athletes with a bona-fide championship to compete for.  First qualify by finishing as one of the top points scorers in the region, then race against the top performers from every other region in the country.  The idea worked.  As proof, more than 300 XTERRA racers from 41 of the 50 states across the nation have qualified and traveled to Nevada in search of the national championship.

In this edition we'll sample Sunday's field to see who these guys are, where they're from, and what they do.  We'll also look further into the pro race (Eneko Llanos returns!) to see who's hot and what's at stake.

 

ABOUT 'EM:  The sport of XTERRA has produced a special breed of athletes.  A diverse group from all walks of life with at least one thing in common - that inner calling to LIVE MORE.  Here's a cross-section of Sunday's amateur field:
 

Matt Robbins, 17, Memphis, TN (Junior in High School)
Scott Bradley, 18, Houston, TX (Senior in High School)

Dale Schaafsma, 23, Walled Lake, MI (cable-modem network technician)
Timothy McCollum, 23, Charlotte, NC (Real Estate Agent)
Jason Starck, 24, Arlington, VA (College student at Purdue University)
Peter Hubbard, 24, Wheaton, IL (Research Analyst for Power Shares Capital Management)
Chad Krofta, 25, Dousman, WI (Environmental Engineer)
Luke Jay, 25, Denver, CO (Rep for Vans shoes/snowboard boots)
Brandyn Roark Gray, 26, Sandpoint, Idaho (Therapist for kids, personal trainer and swim coach)
Amber Monforte, 27, Truckee, CA (RN at Wahoe Medical Center in Reno)
Nate Simonson, 27, Reno, NV (Banker and Whitewater River Guide)
Becky Grace Batizy, 29, Boulder, Colorado (Financial Advisor Trainee, UBS)
Tim Lawson, 29, Helena, Alabama (Firefighter)
Leslie Henley Trussler, 30, Manchester, TN (Physical Therapist)

Colin Shah, 30, Washington, DC (Owner of a personal training company)
Cory Klein, 30, Cincinnati, OH (Sales, Beck International)
Brian Grasky, 31, Tucson, AZ (US Air Force/Arizona Air National Guard F-16 Instructor Pilot)
Bart Voigt, 32, Indianapolis, IN (3D Graphics designer for an architectural firm)
Laura Home, 32, Santa Cruz, CA (6th Grade Earth Science Teacher)
Lisa Jhung, 33, Boulder, CO (Managing Editor Of Adventure Sports Magazine)
Derek Maratea, 33, Naperville, IL (Psychotherapist)
Sue Anne, 34, Babylon, NY (Business Development Mgr for American Medical Response)
Samuel Turney, 35, Boulder, CO (Chemical Engineer)
Therese Conner, 35, Redding, CA (RN for DaVita Dialysis)
Ed Oliver, 36, Denver, CO (Design/Product Manager)
David A. Cloninger, 36, Bend, OR (Land Surveyor/Project Manager)
Mark Eller, 37, Boulder, CO (Communications Specialist for International Mountain Bike Assoc.)
Christiane Reetz, 39, San Antonio, TX  (School Psychologist)

Bill Parks, 40, Capistrano Beach, CA (Science Teacher)
Meiling Yee, 43, Sunnyvale, CA (Middle school physical education teacher)
Heather McNamara, 44, Brighton, MI (Physical therapist)
Craig Harrison, 46, Aberdeen, SD (Civil Designer)
Beverly Enslow, 48, Peoria IL (Caterpillar Inc. Systems Analyst)
Mike Pearson, 49, Overland Park, KS (Design Engineer SBC)

Cheryl Palen, 52, Tucson, AZ (Speech and Language Pathologist)

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THE PRO RACE FAVORITES:  Thirty pro men and 17 pro women representing 10 countries will toe the start line at the Hyatt Beach in Incline Village. Last year's champ, Eneko Llanos, has thrown his hat in the ring and will be in Tahoe to defend his title, bringing the total number of Olympians in the group to five: Conrad Stoltz (RSA), Brent McMahon (CAN), Eneko Llanos (ESP), Olivier Marceau (SUI), and Jimena Florit (ARG).  They'll join a host of world-class mountain bikers, swimmers, and runners in the hunt for the race title and Series championship.
 

MEN'S RACE

Conrad Stoltz has to be the men's favorite.  He won this race three years in a row from 2001 thru 2003 before struggling though a mediocre season in 2004.  In '05, he's been on fire and was unstoppable until Mike Vine crushed him and the high-altitude course in Keystone, Colorado on Aug. 14. If Vine can do that again, nobody can beat him, but Stoltz is on a self-declared mission to dominate this sport like he has in the past and it's hard to doubt him.  Next up is Eneko Llanos, last year's winner and the current and two-time XTERRA World Champ.  He was hurt earlier this year, however, and finished second to Olivier Marceau at XTERRA Spain and second to Nicolas LeBrun at XTERRA Germany last month.  Other strong contenders include Olympians Olivier Marceau - the two-time XTERRA European Tour Champion, and rookie Brent McMahon, who's always first out of the water.  Mexico's Francisco Serrano showed he's capable in Milwaukee, finishing just 47 seconds behind Stoltz.  Josiah Middaugh is America's best hope, and he had the fastest bike and run here last year, although his swim put him more than four minutes behind the leaders.  Sylvain Dodet had a great season last year to win the Pro Series and was second here, but he hasn't raced in an XTERRA in 2005. Justin Thomas and Jason Chalker both live and train in Reno during the season so they're likely as familiar with this course as anybody racing.  Canada's Michael Simpson just beat some big name triathletes to win the City of Los Angeles Triathlon held September 11th.  Seth Wealing was fourth in Richmond, fast, and has mountain bike skills.  Greg Krause is another U.S. guy that lives at altitude and has had a pair of podium finishes this year.

Men's Pro Start List

USA - Jimmy Archer, Jimmy Davis, Chad Demasi, Ryan Ignatz, Will Kelsay, John Koenig, Greg Krause, Deon Lourens, Eric Lujan, Dennis Manor, Josiah Middaugh, Thaddeus Reichley, Chad Seymour, Justin Thomas, David Thompson, Jim Vance, Seth Wealing.

AUSTRALIA - Jason Chalker, Chris Legh, Andrew Noble

CANADA - Stefan Jakobsen, Brent McMahon, Michael Simpson, Mike Vine.

MEXICO - Francisco Serrano

FRANCE- Sylvain Dodet

SOUTH AFRICA - Conrad Stoltz

SPAIN - Eneko Llanos

SWITZERLAND - Olivier Marceau

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WOMEN'S RACE
In the women's race it's simple and once again, all about Jamie and Melanie.  They've been 1-2 in 14 of the last 15 races (Whitmore leads during this stretch 8-6, with three straight wins in Tahoe but McQuaid won the last race in Keystone).  They enter this race dead even in points as both have won two championship events this year, and the winner will walk away with $19,000 in prizes ($14k for the Series and $5k for first).  The heat is on!  Candy Angle finished third here last year, and is third in points, and she's won a big one before (the 2002 XTERRA World Championship).  First-year standout Jess Harrison has three top five finishes under her belt and comes out of the water with a lead.  Perhaps the first person out of the water this year will be a woman, America's finest Barb Lindquist.  It's her first-ever XTERRA and possibly her last triathlon on U.S. soil as she announced plans of retirement.  Melissa Thomas quietly stays in contention every race with fantastic times on the bike.  Jenny Tobin is never too far back and a great runner.  Canadian Danelle Kabush finished 3rd in Maui last year, but has yet to have a great race this season.  Janae Pritchett is comfortable at altitude and in the snow (which it might) as a professional alpine skier.  Monique Merrill was third in Keystone, and she won the Pro Series back in 2001.  Adventure racing star Danelle Ballengee put her hat in the mix.  The real darkhorse might be four-time NORBA Champ and two-time Olympian Jimena Florit, who had the best bike in Keystone and is getting better at the swim and run.

Women's Pro Start List
USA - Candy Angle, Danelle Ballengee, Lisa Isom, Jari Kirkland, Barb Lindquist, Monique Merrill, Christy Murphy, Nicole Newton, Janae Pritchett, Melissa Thomas, Jen Tobin, Jamie Whitmore.

ARGENTINA - Jimena Florit

CANADA - Danelle Kabush, Melanie McQuaid

ENGLAND - Jess Harrison

SOUTH AFRICA - Ingrid Rolles

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SHOW ME THE MONEY:  $110,000 will be given away = $70k to the top performers in the Nissan Xterra Championship Series for pros, and $40k for the race alone.  Here's how it breaks down for the Series: 1st - $14,000, 2nd - $7,000, 3rd - $4,500, 4th - $3,000, 5th - $2,000, 6th - $1,200, 7th - $900, 8th - $700, 9th - $500, 10th - $450, men only 11th - $400, 12th - $350, 13th - $300, 14th - $250, 15th - $200.  Here's the race breakdown: 1st - $5,000, 2nd - $4,000, 3rd - $3,000, 4th - $2,400, 5th - $1,800, 6th - $1,400, 7th - $1,000, 8th - $700, men only 9th - $500, 10th - $400, 11th - $300, 12th - $200.