Madsen, Corona win XTERRA Dominican Republic

Karsten Madsen from Canada and Fabiola Corona from Mexico captured the fourth annual XTERRA Dominican Republic off-road triathlon elite titles on a hot, beautiful day in Samana on Sunday, September 1, 2019.

In the men’s elite race Madsen and Branden Rakita swam together in the warm, glassy waters of Samana Bay and ended up posting identical swim times of 18:55.  Madsen had the faster transition and put a surge on early in the bike.

“I opened a small gap early, but Branden came back to me on the first climb,” said Madsen.  “It was probably around 5K into it I pulled away and didn’t look back from there.  Managed the heat well today, which bodes well for Maui.   Super pleased with the outcome, and happy to keep things in check today so I didn’t need to dig any unnecessary holes for Utah next weekend.”

Madsen posted the fastest bike and run splits of the day to take the tape in 2:27:11, more than 12 minutes ahead of Rakita.

“I was with Karsten through the first climb on the bike but just at the top, I spun out on the wet rocks and lost his wheel and he started to open the gap.  We were riding similar on the climbs through the first lap, but I think he was riding the downhills better and opened the gap up to 90 seconds at the end of the first lap.  I felt like I rode the second lap well, but I was really starting to feel the heat and he opened things up and put a load of time on me on the second lap. Once on the run I it was all about managing the heat and trying to stay cool.  I knew that unless Karsten really blew up I would not take any time out of him, so I just ran steady.  There was a lot of running on the beach and through sand and the temperature was climbing and at times there was very little shade, so I took full advantage of two water crossings to cool down and fully submerged myself and took down as much water as I could through the run.  I lost a heap more time but hoping I will be able to recover and be 100% ready for Utah.”

In the women’s elite race Corona was victorious for the second straight year here in the Dominican Republic.

“The race was awesome,” she exclaimed.  “The swim was beautiful, like a swimming pool, and I led the race from the start.”

Indeed, Corona posted the fastest swim, bike, and run times to cross the line in 2:56:00, more than three minutes ahead of the reigning XTERRA U.S. women’s champ Suzie Snyder.

“I pushed hard from the very beginning of the bike because I know Suzie is a good biker,” said Corona. “She caught me on the second lap of the bike, but I was able to stay in front and on the second uphill I pulled away. I had super quick T2 and stayed focused on winning the race. It was hard, but beautiful! The run features many kilometers in the sand along the coast, a bamboo forest, then jungle and stairs until a risky section with a panorama view that was incredible.  On the downhill on the way back, we crossed two rivers, and finally I got to the finish line with my hands up and a big smile!”

As for Snyder, her day was struck with some bad luck.

“I felt good this morning, ready to take on the challenges of the new course and the heat and humidity of the DR, but unfortunately, I got off to a bad start, trailing Fabiola onto the bike course. I managed the steep climbs and slippery course well on the first lap and closed the gap to start the second lap. We were riding together and then my saddle began sliding backwards. I ignored it for a bit and just rode the best I could despite the issue, but it continued to get worse and I was afraid of losing the saddle completely, so I stopped to tighten it back on. Ultimately, I'm disappointed that a mechanical took me out of the fight, but that's racing, and I hope for better luck next week!”

Kelli Montgomery finished in third with Laura Mira in fourth.

Complete Results

OSBORNE, KINGSFORD STILL ON TOP TOUR STANDINGS

After nine of 10 events Sam Osborne and Samantha Kingsford remain atop the XTERRA Pan Am Pro Series standings with just Saturday’s finale in Utah remaining.  With the win today, Madsen moved into second place and is the only man who could catch Osborne, although unlikely.  For Madsen to win the Tour, he’d have to win in Utah and Osborne would have to finish outside of the top 15. The women’s tour title is much closer with Snyder trailing Kingsford by just 16 points.

Follow Saturday’s XTERRA Pan American Championship elite race on twitter @xterraplanet starting at 9am MST.

2019 XTERRA PAN AMERICA TOUR ELITE STANDINGS                                             
After 9, as of 9.1.19

ELITE MEN

ELITE WOMEN