“The triathlon and multisport family is extensive and far reaching and ITU is delighted to form a partnership with XTERRA for our 2012 Cross Triathlon World Championships. We are confident the strong race organization and dynamic course will continue to push Cross Triathlon to a new level,” said Marisol Casado, ITU President & IOC Member.

It is the first time the event will be held in the United States. ITU hosted the inaugural Cross Tri World Championships last year in Extremadura, Spain, where four-time XTERRA World Champion Conrad Stoltz from South Africa and three-time XTERRA World Champion Melanie McQuaid from Canada won the elite titles.

The ITU Cross Tri World Championships will be held in conjunction with the seventh-annual XTERRA Southeast Championship race with local support from Shelby County, City of Pelham, City of Hoover, Oak Mountain State Park and the Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers (BUMP).

“Oak Mountain State Park is amazing, and I know I speak for all of us when I say we love racing there,” said Stoltz, who has won the last five Southeast Championship races. “It’s a true XTERRA course with a nice warm water swim in a beautiful lake, a real mountain biker’s course with climbing, technical sections, and fun corners, and a tough but scenic run. This course is fully worthy of hosting a big international field of off-road triathletes.”

The event will feature $20,000 USD in prize money for elite athletes, who will compete over a 1.5km swim, 30km mountain bike and 10km trail run. Under-23, junior, age-group and paratriathlon races will also be contested in Pelham.

“We are excited about bringing the ITU Cross Tri World Championships to the U.S.,” said XTERRA managing director Dave Nicholas, who served as the Team USA Manager at the ITU Championships in Spain last year. “By combining the XTERRA series with ITU we are reaching new heights in cooperation between directors and the federations, and the venue at Oak Mountain and Shelby County are perfect for this event.”

Oak Mountain State Park was honored as one of America’s best trail destinations in the Spring 2011 edition of Runner’s World Magazine, where the twisting, rolling trails made the “Crown Jewels – 25 best trail runs in America” list. BUMP, the local trails advocacy group, has spent more than 100,000 hours in design and construction of new trails over the past 20 years.

“Outdoor sports enthusiasts from around the world have discovered that Shelby County’s Oak Mountain State Park provides unparalleled resources,” said Alex Dudchock, Shelby County Manager. “Our collaborations with the State of Alabama, City of Pelham, City of Hoover, Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers and other organizations have made extensive improvements possible to the already top-rated course, creating a destination for the serious competitor or for those discovering the thrills of outdoor sports.”

XTERRA competitors have been praising the trails at Oak Mountain since the first XTERRA staged there in 2006. Shonny Vanlandingham, the 2010 XTERRA World Champion, said “I’ve raced all over the world, and I just love coming back to Oak Mountain every year. It is perhaps the best course in the nation.”

“We are pleased to create this regional cooperation and look forward to welcoming athletes from around the world to compete in this prestigious event,” said Hoover Mayor Gary Ivey.

The unique format for the 2012 ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships also provides a spectator friendly competition for the men’s and women’s pro-only races featuring multiple loops on the bike and run courses that will pass through the main athlete village and around scenic Double Oak Lake. The under-23, junior, age-group and paratriathlon race courses will be staged on more traditional single-loop short and long courses to allow for the larger fields.

REGISTRATION

Athletes are required to register with their national federation.

Learn more at www.xterrapelham.com.

OPEN TO EVERYONE

In addition to the ITU Cross Tri World Championship races XTERRA will also host open sprint and championship distance off-road triathlons for those that do not qualify. Plus, in addition to the triathlons on Saturday, XTERRA will host 5km and 10km mud runs as well as half-and-full trail marathon races that will twist and turn through the park’s single track trails on Sunday, May 20.

To complement the races, Oak Mountain offers a wealth of family activities (wildlife center, swimming beach, fishing, horseback riding, golfing, boat rental, etc.) while lodging, eating and shopping opportunities abound right outside the park.

Relevant Links:

ITU
Results from 2011 ITU Cross Tri World Championship
USA Triathlon
XTERRA
Watch the 2012 Preview Video
Images from 2011 XTERRA at Oak Mountain
Oak Mountain State Park
Shelby County
Pelham
Hoover

About the International Triathlon Union (ITU):

The International Triathlon Union is the world governing body for the Olympic sport of Triathlon and all related MultiSport disciplines including Duathlon, Aquathlon, Cross Triathlon and Winter Triathlon. ITU was founded in 1989 at the first ITU Congress in Avignon, France. It has maintained its headquarters in Vancouver, Canada since then and also has offices in Lausanne, Switzerland and Madrid, Spain. It now has over 120 affiliated National Federations on five continents and is the youngest International Federation in the Olympic Games. Triathlon was awarded Olympic Games status in 1994 and made its Olympic debut in Sydney 2000. Triathlon is also featured in the Asian Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games. Paratriathlon was accepted into the Paralympic Games in 2010 and will make its Paralympic debut in Rio 2016. ITU is proudly committed to supporting the development of the sport worldwide through strong relationships with continental and national federations, working with its partners to offer a balanced sport development programme from grassroots to a high-performance level. For more information, visit: www.triathlon.org

About TEAM Unlimited/XTERRA

TEAM Unlimited is a Hawaii-based television events and marketing company, founded in 1988.  It owns and produces XTERRA and in 2011 produced more than 100 XTERRA off-road triathlon and trail running races in 15 countries worldwide.  In the U.S. alone nearly 200,000 participants took part in the XTERRA lifestyle last year while XTERRA’s TV, publicity, advertising, online, and grassroots marketing efforts generated more than 400 million impressions.  In addition, TEAM TV has produced more than 300 adventure television shows resulting in three Emmy’s and 42 Telly Awards for production excellence since 1990.  View samples at www.xterra.tv, and learn more at www.xterraplanet.com andwww.xterratrailrun.com.

About Oak Mountain State Park

As Alabama’s largest park, Oak Mountain provides nearly 10,000 acres of pine-studded ridges and lush green hardwood bottoms. Runner’s World Magazine recently named the running trails at Oak Mountain as one of “The Crown Jewels,” listing them among the Top 25 Best Trail Runs in America. The park offers vacation cottages, golf, pro shop with snack bar, improved camping, picnicking, swimming, boating, fishing, hiking, mountain bike trails, backpacking, a demonstration farm and horseback riding and equestrian campground facilities. With the largest area and variety of outdoor recreational pursuits, Oak Mountain is sure to provide excitement for every member of the family.

The 16th XTERRA World Championship turned into a sweet celebration for Michael Weiss, Lesley Paterson and Kapalua, Maui.

Weiss and Paterson earned their first XTERRA world titles on a new course that was described as both beautiful and brutal. After 15 previous years at Makena, the XTERRA World Championship off-road triathlon moved to the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua this year. A total of 675 athletes representing 28 countries and 42 states participated in the event, which featured a 1.5-kilometer swim, a 30-kilometer mountain bike and a 10-kilometer trail run.

XTERRA Photo Gallery 1 // XTERRA Photo Gallery 2 // First Cut Highlight Video // Complete Results // Replay Race Day Coverage

INSPIRING BIKE SURGE LEADS WEISS TO WIN

Weiss was the overall winner, completing the course in 2 hours, 27 minutes, including an astonishing bike split of 1:19:32. No other competitor finished with a bike time under 1:21:03. It was a breakthrough win for the 30-year-old Weiss, who had finished second at the 2008 XTERRA Worlds, and then third in 2009 and 2010.

“It’s amazing,” said Weiss, who is from Vienna, Austria. “I still cannot believe it. A big dream came true, and it was a really tough course.”

Weiss was in the middle of the pack after the swim, but made his remarkable move to the front on the bike. By midway through the bike course, Weiss and South Africa’s Dan Hugo were riding next to each other in second place.

The only rider in front of them was the legendary seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, who was competing in the XTERRA World Championship for the first time.

Weiss and Hugo actually talked about working together so that they could conserve energy in their pursuit of Armstrong.

“That was a critical moment for me, about three-quarters of the way through the bike and I was with Weiss, and we said let’s work together, but (Weiss) was one notch stronger and he kind of took off from me and he bridged to Armstrong,” said Hugo.

Shortly after breaking away from Hugo, Weiss closed in on Armstrong, and said it gave him an adrenaline rush that pushed him all the way to the finish line.

“It felt amazing,” Weiss said. “I had goose bumps. It’s something very special to catch Lance on a climb. It was an amazing feeling, and even motivated me more.”

Weiss used that motivation to do the unthinkable – he passed Armstrong on an uphill bike climb.

“I stayed a little bit behind him, I looked how he was doing, and I just gave it a shot and attacked and Lance couldn’t follow,” Weiss said. “It was cool.”

Armstrong later crashed toward the end of the bike course, and landed on his head. He said he needed a minute or two to gather his bearings before getting back on the bike.

“I hit it harder than I thought, because I stood there for a while taking inventory, trying to remember my name,” he said. “That probably took a little out of me … I’ve never hit my head that hard before.”

Hugo also crashed late in the bike course, but managed to recover with only one other competitor passing him (Conrad Stoltz). However, Hugo rebounded with a strong run, and passed Stoltz and Armstrong early in the run course.

“I caught Armstrong pretty early (in the run) and knew I was in second,” Hugo said. “But I could never make it up on Weiss. He was a little too far in front. Looking back, that crash really hurt my chances, but that’s part of it. I would have loved it to be different, but it wasn’t meant to be.”

Hugo (pictured in white) finished second with a time of 2:27:33 – 33 seconds behind Weiss. Former three-time XTERRA world champion Eneko Llanos of Spain was third in 2:28:26, followed by Josiah Middaugh of Colorado in 2:29:14. Spain’s Ivan Rana, a three-time Olympian who was m

aking his XTERRA debut, placed an impressive fifth with a time of 2:29:31.

“I caught some guys on the bike and thought I could reel some people in on the run climbs or downhills, but I really didn’t have anything left in the tank,” Middaugh said. “Even at the end of the run, coming to the finish here, (Ivan) Rana was right there and I had to do everything I could to hold him off.”

Perhaps affected by his bike crash, Armstrong (pictured in grey) faded during the run and finished in 23rd place overall with a time of 2:36:59.

“I made some mistakes,” Armstrong said. “I think the combo of swimming – I went out too hard on the swim, got a little excited and over-cooked it. It took me four to six miles to get comfortable on the bike and at that point, I was able to get in a rhythm and ride fast, but then the crash is the way it ended. If I had to do it over, I probably would have backed off on the swim and hoped for a more balanced bike ride, and of course, take the crash out. Like all these things, hindsight is 20/20.”

Still, Armstrong’s presence created a huge buzz for the 2011 XTERRA World Championship, and thousands of fans lined the course to catch a glimpse. He said he would like to take another shot at the XTERRA Worlds in 2012, but with a little more training time.

“Yeah, I don’t see why not,” he said when asked about a return to Maui next year. “But I think I would need to try some other events throughout the year. It seems to me the more you practice the little things like the strategy of the event, the transition from swim to bike, and transition from bike to run, the easier they become.”

South Africa’s Conrad Stoltz, who won his record fourth XTERRA World Championship in 2010, withdrew from the race early during the run course. He said he was experiencing breathing problems almost from the start of the race.

“I came into this race with some really strong training sessions, and I think this year I was in good form — better than last year at the same time,” Stoltz said. “But coming out of the swim, I couldn’t breathe properly and felt like I was going on one lung. I kept pushing and pushing and just couldn’t get going.”

Stoltz was still in third place after the bike, but said his breathing situation worsened as soon as the run started, so he stopped.

Pro Men

Pl Name Age Hometown Time Purse
1 Michael Weiss 30 Vienna, Austria 2:27:00 $20,000
2 Dan Hugo 26 Stellenbosch, South Africa 2:27:33 $12,000
3 Eneko Llanos 34 Victoria-Gasteiz, Spain 2:28:26 $7,000
4 Josiah Middaugh 33 Vail, Colorado 2:29:14 $4,000
5 Ivan Rana 39 Ordes, Spain 2:29:31 $2,500
6 Olivier Marceau 38 Switzerland 2:29:40 $1,500
7 Ronny Dietz 33 Chemnitz, Germany 2:29:47 $1,000
8 Richard Ussher 35 Nelson, New Zealand 2:29:54 $800
9 Jan Kubicek 31 Chodov City, Czech Republic 2:30:54 $600
10 Christopher Legh 38 Lyons, Colorado 2:31:10 $500
11 Sam Gardner 36 Surrey, United Kingdom 2:33:15 $400
12 Jan Frodeno 30 Cologne, Germany 2:33:20 $300
13 Nicolas Lebrun 38 Digne-les-Bains, France 2:33:57
14 Mike Vine 38 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 2:34:03
15 Tim DeBoom 40 Boulder, Colorado 2:34:23

Also: Kelly Guest, Jim Thijs, Braden Rakita, Alejandro Santamaria, Lance Armstrong

Graham Wadsworth, Llewellyn Holmes, Felipe Moletta, Antonello Pallotta, Brad Zoller

Richard Stannard, Jason Michalak, Brian Astell, Ben Allen, Marcel Zamora Perez, Cody Waite

Cid Santos, Will Ross, Adam Wirth, Victorien Lafargue, Pierre-Yves Facomprez,

Denis Giovannetti, Simone Calamai, & Yu Yumoto

PATERSON RUNS TO HER FIRST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

If Weiss took the men’s title with an inspiring bike ride, then Lesley Paterson won the women’s title with an equally amazing run.

Due in part to a punctured tire on her bike, Paterson started the run course in fourth place – nearly six-and-a-half minutes behind then-leader Melanie McQuaid. Paterson quickly ran down the three women in front of her, fell flat on her face less than a mile from the finish, and still managed to take the women’s title by more than two minutes.

“I felt really good,” said Paterson, who is originally from Scotland, but now resides in San Diego, Calif. “I was so angry because I punctured on the bike, and I think that anger helped me to really sort of knuckle down and go as hard as I could and see where the chips would fall.”

Paterson, 31, finished with a time of 2:45:59, including a run time of 43:54, which was nearly three minutes faster than any of the other females. Her run time was the same as Weiss, and was topped by only 12 other males in the entire field.

“I had pre-run the course a lot,” she said. “I came out 10 days early just to make sure I knew the course really well, especially the run for me because that’s where I thought I could win it.”

Like Weiss, it was a breakthrough win for Paterson. She had three previous top-10 finishes, including a runner-up showing in 2009. She got so excited after passing McQuaid late in the run course that she fell on the rocks leading to the stretch run on D.T. Fleming Beach.

“What happens is your heart rate is super high, it’s at the end of the race, you’re dehydrated and your legs are not quite sure what you’re doing with them,” Paterson said. “And I just got in the lead, so you’re kind of nervous with anticipation.”

McQuaid had a large lead after the bike, but could not complete the race due to exhaustion. She collapsed just a few hundred yards from the finish line, and had to be assisted off the course. She said she was okay a few hours after the race.

Marion “Bubu” Lorblanchet of France took second with a time of 2:48:08. She also got passed by the roadrunner legs of Paterson during the run.

“On the run, I was good, then I see ‘beep, beep’ and it was Lesley,” Lorblanchet said. “I think it was not possible for me to follow her.

“I’m very happy because it was a good race for me. Last year, I was third, this year second, so maybe next year?”

Helena Erbenova of the Czech Republic capped an impressive XTERRA rookie season with a third place showing at Worlds. She finished with a time of 2:51:51 in her first appearance on Maui. Erbenova is a former Olympic cross country skier.

Renata Bucher of Switzerland placed fourth in 2:52:02, and Danelle Kabush of Canada was fifth in 2:54:35.

Paterson and Weiss each received $20,000 for the victory. A total purse of $100,000 was awarded.

Shonny Vanlandingham, who won the 2010 XTERRA World Championship, did not compete this year due to a knee injury. Julie Dibens, the 2007, 2008 and 2009 women’s champ, also did not compete due to a foot injury.

Pro Women

Pl Name Age Hometown Time Purse
1 Lesley Paterson 31 San Diego, Calif. (Scotland) 2:45:59 $20,000
2 Marion Lorblanchet 28 Clermont Ferrand, France 2:48:08 $12,000
3 Helena Erbenová 32 Czech Republic 2:51:51 $7,000
4 Renata Bucher 34 Lucerne, Switzerland 2:52:02 $4,000
5 Danelle Kabush 36 Calgary, Alberta, Canada 2:54:35 $2,500
6 Erin Densham 26 Melbourne, Australia 2:57:46 $1,500
7 Sara Tarkington 30 Boulder, Colorado 2:57:59 $1,000
8 Emma Garrard 30 Park City, Utah 2:58:42 $800
9 Brandi Heisterman 36 Brackendale, B.C., Canada 3:03:39 $600
10 Jessica Noyola 29 San Diego, California 3:04:25
11 Brigitta Poor 22 Sopron, Hungry 3:06:56
12 Kelley Cullen 31 New Castle, Colorado 3:07:15
13 Adriana Fabiola Corona 31 Mexico City, Mexico 3:08:54
14 Manuela Vilaseca 32 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 3:17:57
15 Suzie Snyder 29 Stafford, Virginia 3:19:18

Also: Mieko Carey, Catherine Dunn, Sabrina Enaux, Elisabetta Curridori,

Tanis Tomlin, Caroline Colonna, Kim Baugh, & Brandyn Roark

HAAS, DONELSON TAKE AMATEUR TITLES

Alexander Haas of Germany and Tamara Donelson of Colorado took the overall world titles among the amateur age-group competitors.

Haas placed an impressive 13th overall, which ties the record for best placing by an amateur at the XTERRA World Championship. In 2003, Robert Latschen also placed 13th overall. Haas finished with a time of 2:33:37, which was 17 seconds behind Olympic gold medalist Jan Frodeno, and 20 seconds ahead of former XTERRA World Champ Nico Lebrun.

Ryan Ignatz of Colorado was the second amateur in 2:36:53. His wife, Maia Ignatz, also won an age-group world title. Ryan took the men’s 30-34 age division, while Maia placed first in the women’s 30-34 age group.

Tim Van Daele, who was the top amateur in 2009 and 2010, placed fourth this year.

Donelson finished with a time of 3:09:47, which placed her 14th among all the females. It was quite a contrast from last year’s XTERRA World Championship, when Donelson needed medical assistance on the bike course after she crashed. One of the brake handles on her bike punctured her arm, and racer/Dr. Kathy Coutinho and other competitors came to her aid to help stop the bleeding before help arrived.

“My goal for this year was to be first amateur at XTERRA Nationals and Worlds, and I’m blown away that I’ve managed to achieve those goals,” said Donelson, 36. “I’m not getting any younger, and after last year, I realized that anything can happen so I decided I wanted to make this a big year and I trained really hard for it.”

Donelson is originally from Australia, but now resides in Edwards, Colo., where she works as a personal trainer.

“Having accomplished this, I think I’d like to look into turning pro next year,” she said.

XTERRA WORLD CHAMPIONS (MALE AGE GROUP)

Div Name Hometown Time
15-19 Marvin Gruget Beaumes De Venise, France 2:35:22
20-24 (2) Alexander Haas Georgensgmuend, Germany 2:33:37
25-29 Daniel Carleton Sheffield Beach, South Africa 2:49:21
30-34 Ryan Ignatz Boulder, Colorado 2:36:53
35-39 (2) Thomas Vonach Schwarzach, Austria 2:40:10
40-44 (4) Calvin Zaryski Calgary, Canada 2:39:28
45-49 (2) Mark Geoghegan Honolulu, Hawaii 2:50:17
50-54 David Maclean Ludington, Michigan 3:02:36
55-59 Jaroslav Balatka Jablonec, Czech Republic 3:19:56
60-64 Mike Lyons Mairangi Bay, New Zealand 3:52:52
65-69 (2) Bruce Wacker Colorado Springs, Colorado 3:33:27
70+ (2) John Stover Jackson, Michigan 4:37:55
CEO Rudy Achberger Maui, Hawaii 3:38:18
PC (6) Fouad Fattoumy Honolulu, Hawaii 3:32:51

XTERRA WORLD CHAMPIONS (FEMALE AGE GROUP)

Div Name Hometown Time
15-19 (2) Hannah Rae Finchamp Altadena, California 3:16:16
20-24 Danielle Kehoe Arvada, Colorado 3:22:14
25-29 Lizzie Orchard Auckland, New Zealand 3:10:05
30-34 Maia Ignatz Boulder, Colorado 3:12:44
35-39 Tamara Donelson Edwards, Colorado 3:09:47
40-44 Kim Baldwin Boulder, Colorado 3:22:52
45-49 Sue Lambert Anchorage, Alaska 3:30:42
50-54 Tamara Tabeek San Diego, California 3:29:04
55-59 (6) Barbara Peterson Berkeley, California 3:56:52
60-64 (4) Cindi Toepel Littleton, Colorado 3:59:45
CEO Cheryl Iseberg Fircrest, Washington 5:51:40

URETA, KEHOE WIN HAWAIIAN AIRLINES DOUBLE

Pablo Ureta and Danielle Kehoe won the Hawaiian Airlines “Double” award as the competitors with the fastest combined times from the XTERRA World Championship and the Ironman Hawaii Championship.

Ureta had an Ironman time of 9:18:34 two weeks ago, and finished with an XTERRA World Championship time of 2:46:51. Kehoe had an Ironman time of 10:57:13, and an XTERRA World Championship time of 3:22:14, which was fast enough to win the women’s 20-24 age group.

Ureta and Kehoe each received roundtrip airfare between Maui and the west coast of the United States from Hawaiian Airlines.

There were no professionals, male or female, that completed the Double this year.

The XTERRA World Championship is presented by Paul Mitchell, Hawaiian Airlines, The Ritz-Carlton, Maui Visitors Bureau and Outrigger Hotels & Resorts. Sponsors include the Kapalua Resort, GU, Gatorade, Zorrel, Kona Brewing Company, Hawaii Tourism Authority, T S Restaurants, and the XTERRA Alliance – Vitality, Footwear, Fitness, Flex, Wetsuits, and Cycling.

Here’s a look at the top six pro men and women in the final standings:

XTERRA managing director “Kahuna Dave” Nicholas was on-hand to take in the Euro Tour finale and brings us this report…

Ronny Dietz came into the last race of the year with just two points separating him and Marceau in the XTERRA European Tour standings.  It all boiled down to who would beat who – made no difference where.  When I spoke with Dietz on Thursday he was just recovering from a bad bout of stomach virus and was not feeling well.  “I will be there but I am not sure how fast I can be” said the German pro.  Somehow Marceau left his favorite running shoes in Germany and was expecting one of the men to bring them to Switzerland.  At the last moment they could not make it and Marceau had to use an old backup pair of shoes.  “I will be OK, I just need to make a big lead on the bike” said Marceau.

He did get that lead.  The valiant Dietz came into T2 in second place just three minutes behind Marceau and only a few seconds ahead of a hard charging Nicolas Lebrun who put in the fastest bike split.  “I am happy with my finish especially on a flat course” said climber Lebrun.  When told he had the fastest bike time on a flat course, he smiled and did his best French shrug of the shoulders.  Lebrun passed Dietz quickly and put in a solid run for second place.  Karl Shaw, fresh off a great road tri season, joined his older brother Asa for the XTERRA final and came home third.  He pushed Aussie swim specialist Ben Allen on the two lap swim and the two fought hard on the bike until Shaw found his legs to put one minute on Allen.

Allen had his best race since Italy and was 4th ahead of Belgium Jim Thijs.  Poor Ronny Dietz was really courageous and not about to give up.  He had a very tough run and soldiered on to 7th place.  His reward was second overall for the Euro Tour.

For the women, the fight was much closer.  After taking a year off to have her first child, Sibylle Matter, formerly known as Billy, and now known as Doctor, came to Prangins because she is Swiss and this is the Swiss Championship.  “I have not been training much because I work and take care of the baby.  My life is very different now,” said Matter.  Perhaps that difference is a prescription for success.  Always a great swimmer, Matter was just 45 seconds slower than Marion Lorblanchet into T1.   Then the surprise – she rode to a one minute faster mountain bike.  Matter passed the 3-time winner and much younger Frenchwoman and came into T2 in the lead.  Sibylle’s husband, former pro Othman Bruegger, was jumping with joy.  Ahhh, but the lead did not last long.  In the first K of the run Lorblanchet asserted her championship form and ran away from the Swiss.

Behind this lead duo new Czech star Helena Erbanova was putting in the fastest bike split of the day and was a threat to the lead women as this girl can run.  Lorblanchet was having none of it and when she passed Matter she put her head down and ran away from them all.  Erbanova kept getting closer to Matter and cut two minutes and 44 seconds off the Swiss but fell short by seven seconds.  Yep, the difference between 2nd and 3rd was a scant seven seconds.  Behind these battles, Carina Wasle was overheated and running dizzy in 4th, while Renata Bucher, who has some problems on her bike, finished just five seconds behind Wasle in a near photo finish for 4th and 5th.

The Swiss put in a neat obstacle near the end of last year’s race.  Organizers placed two nearly 5’ high hay bales about 150m from the finish.  It was hilarious watching the varied methods of getting over them.  This year the organizers put one about 200m from the finish and then three more about 50m from the finish.  The joy (if you were watching) and the pain (if you were finishing) was hearing the “oh NO’s” and what appeared to be curses in French and German and Italian as the very tired athletes found this surprise.

It was a great day of racing.  The Sport race was won by Sibylle Matters husband Othmar and had over 200 entrants, the awards dinner was a magnificent risotto and roast beef with red and rose wine and gallons of Heineken.  At recovery where else can you get croissants, big chunks of Swiss chocolate and a coke?

The age group battles were also very hard fought.  The Tour idea has taken hold in Europe and many of the top points people were racing for the gold, silver and bronze medals. The only bad part of the weekend was the party bars ran out of Heineken about midnight.  But the music continued and we all just walked over to the local beach bar about 100 feet away.  What else would you do on a 70-degree, full moon evening on a beautiful lake in Switzerland with snow capped mountains in the distance?

Now on to Utah for the USA finals.

TOP 7 PRO MEN AND WOMEN AT XTERRA SWITZERLAND CHAMPIONSHIP
SEPT. 10, 2011 – PRANGINS

Complete Results

The European final is just two days away. It has been a fabulous season in Europe with great racing and sold out fields. The weatherman has been very cooperative. Yesterday and today were sunny and warm and race day is predicted to be 27-29C or in the low 80’s to those Fahrenheit folks.

The field is over 600 strong when combining Championship and Light. The lead story has to be German pro Ronny Dietz leading many time Champion Olivier Marceau for the European Pro title. Ronny is a tall, handsome man with an easy smile. He won XTERRA Germany a few years ago and is a consistent podium racer. However this year has been great for him with a brilliant win in the rain in Czech and second places in Italy and Germany. Marceau has won twice but has had some lower place finishes. Dietz leads on raw points by 20 – but the rules allow one race to be dropped and if we add up just the 3 best finishes this season the two protagonists are within 2 points of each other. It will all boil down to who finishes in front of the other regardless of place

It is not so close for the women with Marion “Bubu” Lorblanchet having a dream season winning 3 of 4 events. Renata Bucher is in second with one win but is 28 points behind. It would take a major meltdown or mechanical for the “Swiss Miss” to beat her French friend.

For any race, there is always the surprise and for the men it is the entry of Marcel Zamora, a five time Ironman Nice winner. That is not a typo – Zamora is the king of Nice and you can throw in two Monaco 70.3 victories to his very impressive CV. Zamora is here on Thursday riding the course so the Spanish champion is serious. It is also late in the season and that means that “The Professor” Nicolas Lebrun will be ready to win as he heads into the big money XTERRA fall.

For the women it is the return of many time XTERRA winner Sibylle Matter. Sibylle returns after taking a season off for the birth of her first child. Knowing her for many years, she is not back for a grand tour but to do well and nobody should be surprised if she stands on the podium.

Many of you probably think Switzerland – mountains – long climbs. If so, you would be wrong about our race venue. The village of Prangins is right on Lac Leman (also known as Lake Geneva) and only about 20K from the Geneva airport. It is more in the heart of rolling hills, vineyards and huge estates. The main compound, transition and finish is across the street from a genuine Castle, now the National Museum of Switzerland. Michael Schumacher, 7-time formula one world champion lives on the run course. And no, you gearheads, you cannot go into his garage.

Yesterday the water temp was a nice 20C (68F) but strong winds today whipped up this huge body of water, it is 45 miles long, and water temps dropped. The bike is very unusual with a combination of beautiful paths, singletrack through corn fields, narrow ledges under highways, water crossings and has but about 1,000’ total climbing. The run is similar being fast and not too technical but great fun. All disciplines are two laps and this race goes to the fastest not necessarily the best technical rider/runner.

Lots of hotels and pensions are in the area, the food is very French but always with Swiss Fondue. Views of the mountains are spectacular, especially with the clear fall weather. From the swim start you can look east to see Mont Blanc covered in snow and to the south the jet d’eau in the harbor of Geneva. The jet is one of the largest fountains in the world and puts 130 gallons of water a second up 450 feet into the sky.

The ancient city of Nyon is less than 5K away and the very cosmopolitan cities of Geneva and Lausanne just minutes by car. There is no shortage of great things to experience and see in this area. Anybody have an extra $100,000 for a watch? Switzerland is the home of Rolex, Patek-Philippe, Vacheron and in price all the way down to Swatch. In fact, the top Swiss male and female will win a Hublot timepiece – Hublot makes one of the most expensive watches in the world at the moment costing $105,000. The XTERRA awards are slightly less but stunning none the less.

More tomorrow as things progress and all the athletes arrive in Prangins.

Follow along with “Kahuna Dave’s” adventures on the XTERRA Facebook page.

It was a beautiful day in Zittau, “Sunny and mild with a slight breeze – a perfect low 70′s day for racing,” explained “Kahuna Dave” Nicholas. Here is his complete report from Saturday’s race…

Another great XTERRA experience in Europe as the weekend was packed full of racing, festivities, concerts and food.  The town of Zittau was sold out with more than 1,000 athletes for the three adult races and three kids races, and that did not count about 40 teams playing a round robin beach volleyball tournament on Sunday.  Yep, you read it right, beach volleyball in the mountains of eastern Germany.

The big event was a combined XTERRA Germany, XTERRA European Championship and Deutsche Federation Championship.  It was a mass start with two 750m laps and a short beach run.  The water temp was right at 22C, or so the DTU feds said, so no wetsuits for anyone.  The swim ended up a bit long taking over 21 minutes even for speedy Aussie Ben Allen.  The early surprise was the strong bike form of Czech Karel Zadak.  At the top of the steepest climb at what is known as “The Tower” Zadak had a lead of about 30-seconds on a pack that included Olivier Marceau, ITU 70.3 winner Sebastien Kienle and young German age group phenom Alexander Haas.  This pack was closely followed by Ben Allen, Ronny Dietz, Nico Lebrun, Jan Kubicek and Yeray Luxem.  I expected Seth Wealing to do well here but he was struck hard with two flats and at the climb was already well back.  American Will Kelsey (known in Germany as Veel Kezley) was having a great race with German Thilo Zoberbier and both were cutting through the field after slower swims.

Nearing the end of the bike on a technical, steep downhill Marceau had passed Zadak, now in second, with Haas, Dietz and Kienle not far back and Nico Lebrun closing fast.

For the women, “Bubu” Lorblanchet as usual took the lead out of the water and simply kept it.  Shonny Vanlandingham was still bothered by the torn ligament in her thumb but this course was not as bumpy as the Czech race last week and she was able to make up six minutes on the French girl during the ride.  The problem?  She lost eight minutes in the swim.

“Yeah, the thumb slowed me down a bit on the swim, but heck, my swim is never that fast anyway” said the world champ.

Lorblanchet was worried about “Swiss Miss” Renata Bucher and said she rode hard knowing that Shonny and Renata would be catching her.  Renata had a great bike and was the only woman within two minutes of the Texas rider.  Renata’s running has not been super fast this season and Vanlandingham was able to reel her in on the run to take second under two minutes behind Lorblanchet.  Carla van Huyssteen from South Africa returned to the European tour for a fine 4th with last week’s runner-up Helena Erbanova in 5th.  Erbanova’s father said she had big problems only in the swim with “no neoprene” and indeed Erbanova was by far the fastest runner of the day to offset a swim slower than Vanlandingham’s.  Carina Wasle, expected to do well on this climbing course had bike problems but soldiered on to a hard fought 6th place.

Back to the men, Marceau had the lead, Zadak second and Haas third but Ronny Dietz is a man on a mission this year and he ran those two down to put himself into second place.  I did not get a chance to talk to young Haas, but he certainly had troubles on the run and dropped down to 9th overall.  “Professor” Lebrun had his strongest outing this season in Europe and after a great battle with Czech Jan Kubicek managed 4th place just 19 seconds ahead of Jan.  Marceau’s win tightens the points race but Dietz still holds a slight lead.  It will all come down to the final race in Switzerland in 3 weeks.

Seth had another flat on the second part of the bike losing at least 10 minutes and still put in a great run for 15th.  Will Kelsey had a great day in 11th overall and 10th pro and continues on his XTERRA World Tour, this week heading east to Japan.

On Saturday there were three triathlons – the Champ event, the O-See classic and XTERRA light.  It was great non-stop action all afternoon.  Awards started at 6pm and with five awards ceremonies – took until almost 9pm but nobody cared.  The beer was cold, tasty and cheap, there were athlete meals of bratwurst or pasta and the weather was a fabulous mid-70’s.  At 9pm a band took stage and believe it or not, they were a fantastic 8 piece Zydeco and Reggae group that simply rocked the house.  The compound was packed until well after midnight.  Beach Volleyball and Zydeco were simply not expected in this part of the world yet it was as natural as the brats and beer.

Sunday the festivities continued with over 200 kids taking place in three races and those 40 teams in beach volleyball going all day on four sand courts just outside transition.

The O-See organization is absolute first rate and this event was truly worthy of being called the European Championship.  Friday, for the opening ceremonies, there was a tent full of sponsors and dignitaries from the State of Saxony (where Zittau is located) the Bürgermeisters (Mayors) of Zittau and Olbersdorf, the minister of Sports for the region and all were very enthusiastic about the turnout from 23 countries around the world coming to the area.

It sounds like a broken record; me telling the American racers they must come over to Europe and enjoy athletes from other countries and cultures that think and act like you do and welcome you with open arms.  But take G.L. Brown, a 60+ age grouper from Michigan, that came with his wife to do Czech and Germany on back to back weekends.  When I last saw them you simply could not wipe the smiles off their faces.

The season around the World is coming to an end, but many of the races are still waiting for that final push in late August in the States and early September in Europe and Canada.  We even have the first XTERRA Venezuela in early September.  The world is out there waiting for you.

Complete Results – Men
Complete Results – Women

“The weather is spectacular. It must be in the low 80’s, sunny and warm. It was raining a bit when we came over from the Czech Republic on Monday but since then it has been glorious,” said XTERRA managing director Dave Nicholas.

Zittau is in the southeast close to the border tri-point of Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. The course starts in the village of Olbersdorf at a huge park with a beautiful lake that serves thousands during the summer months.

“The swim is a full 1500m and pros are worried because the water temp is 19.5 and at 20 they cannot wear wetsuits,” said Nicholas. “As the race is sanctioned by the German Federation speedsuits are not allowed. It is supposed to cool down, and if that happens we should be full wetsuit for everyone on Saturday, but only time will tell.”

The bike course in the Zittau Mountains is a long 35K and challenging. “The first 5-6K are fast and flat and could produce some drafting if packs are smart enough to figure that out. But the first climbs and downhills will shred any pack that gets there together. Some of the climbs are hike a bike even for the best pros and there are very technical downhills that will have a lot of people walking,” said Nicholas.  “The run is about 9K and has some rolling hills and technical sections but not difficult. Lots of fun as you start out of transition, run around the park campgrounds and then do a counter clockwise loop around the lake.”

Saturday’s race will serve as not only the XTERRA European Championship, but also the German Triathlon Union Meistershaft (national championship) and the XTERRA Germany Championship.

With so many titles on the line some of the best professional and amateur off-road triathletes from around the world are in Zittau for the event, and here Nicholas breaks down the pro race…

The pro field coming into this weekends race is strong, and trying to pick a winner out of such a high quality lineup is difficult at best.

Let’s start with the women.

- XTERRA World Champion Shonny Vanlandingham is always in contention.  She had a problem with her sprained thumb last weekend in Czech and it is still not healed.  She has pre-ridden the long mountain bike course here once and said she’ll not ride again until race day to give that injury some time to heal. The bike is long and if the thumb holds up she will lead into T2.

- Marion “Bubu” Lorblanchet is the leader in points and the favorite here if she has no bike problems.  Bubu swims faster than the major contenders so it is always up to the others to catch her, then pass her and keep her away on the run.

- Renata Bucher is having a solid year.  Her cycling is very fast and usually quickest among the women.  She swims well and in the past has been very fast on the run.  Recently her running is still quick but not as dominant as in the past.  If she gets the running pace back she is nearly unbeatable.

- Carina Wasle might be perfectly suited for Germany (and won it three years in a row from 2005-2007).  She is tiny and all muscle and can climb like nobody else.  The worry here will be the very rocky and technical downhills and whether she can go as quickly coming down as she does going up.

- Helena Erbanove.  This woman is no longer a dark horse after finishing 2nd in Czech.  Did she crush that course because she knew it well or because she is simply really fast?  I think she is really fast and has a great shot at the podium here.

For the men the field is equally difficult to predict.

- Ronny Dietz is leading the points race and won last week with a rock steady performance.  Now in his home country and not far from where he lives the home town advantage has to go to him.

- Felix Schumann did not have a good race last week but is a two-time German Cross Triathlon Champion and will also be racing in front of his home crowd.  Felix is very due for that first big win and from what he told me last week – he will be ready this weekend.

- Seth Wealing is on a roll.  The American won Mexico and nearly won last week in Czech despite a short swim.  Seth can always get a handfull of seconds or more in the swim and his cycling is getting really fast. He is fleet of foot and my bet is he contends all the way.

- Nico Lebrun is back for Germany and the season is getting older.  The “French Professor” has always been a podium guy early in the season and starts to kick in the wins in August.  Hey, is it August?

- Olivier Marceau told me he was weak last week but felt he would be recovered and ready to take his place at the sharp end of the field in Germany.  Anybody who doubts Marceau can win it all is underestimating this champion.

- The Young Guns:  We have to look at Jim Thijs and Yeray Luxem from Belgium.  “Jimbo” Thijs is riding like the wind and Yeray will keep his bike under him one of these races and win it all.  Finn Mikko Vastaranta returned last week with a strong race and we welcome him back.  Ben Allen will most likely be first out of the water, but can he ride this technical course?  He is powerful but sometimes lacks the skills to conquer a bumpy, rocky course like Zittau.

- The Unknowns:  Jan Kubicek had a great podium last week and has the speed to do it again. Sebastian Kienle is entered and although playing more in road tris, is very strong and very fast.  Richard Stannard is here and was running top three till almost the end at the ITU Spain Championships and perhaps has been riding his mtb a bit more. Czech Karel Zadak might be here – he missed last week when his wife had their 2nd child – and Zadak is a consistent podium racer.

There are always others that can surprise but just think about the quality of the field I just described.  World Class for sure and if the weather stays gorgeous as it has been – we could have a great day.

Two great efforts put in today.  In my pre-race report I mentioned a local Czech racer Helena Erbanova.  In her case the promise was fulfilled.  Helena came out of the water in 9th place for the women; proceeded to pedal the 4th fastest bike time and smoked the women by putting in the fastest run of the day and passing eventual 3rd place Renata Bucher on the last of three run laps.  The 32-year-old recent mom is the product of a long line of Czech athletes with Father, Mother and Grandfather all being Olympians in winter sports.  She’ll be in Zittau next week to race the XTERRA one day European Championship and I would not bet against another podium finish.  Marion “Bubu” Lorblanchet rode past swim leader Jacqui Slack on the initial climb to get into first place and never let it go.  World Champ Shonny Vanlandingham had a bad day in Czech being uncomfortable in the very cold water.

“It was a good thing it was only 1,000m,” the world champ said.

Shonny has been racing with a severely sprained thumb since she hit it on a rock during the swim in Richmond.

“This course was just so bumpy with a lot of elevation changes and was jarring my thumb so much that I simply could not hold on,” explained Vanlandingham, who managed a 5th place after she was passed by Austria’s Carina Wasle late in the run.  The women’s podium had Bubu first followed by Erbenova, Bucher, Wasle and Vanlandingham.  Five places, five different nations.

I also mentioned German Ronny Dietz was having a great year and was second in the XTERRA European Tour standings behind three-time Olympian Olivier Marceau.  Well, he is now in first place with a fantastic win in the mud and rain of Spindleruv Mlyn.  Marceau started fine but said later that he just did not have anything in his legs today.  Normally among the fastest riders, the two time European Champ could muster no better than 19th on the bike.  American Seth Wealing came here after a great win in Mexico and his form has been so good I was thinking he could sweep all three internationals in a row.  And he darn near did with a great second place only 35 seconds behind Dietz.

“Ahh” said Wealing “This course was just not right for me.  Too short a swim and too long a bike”.

There were a few hundred other guys out there who wished they had it so bad.  The other great prediction was about Czech pro Jan Kubicek.  Jan has been one of those guys who is blistering fast one race and nowhere in the next.  One never knows which Kubicek will show up.  When I talked to him before the race he seemed more settled than ever.

“Now I am 31 years old and have a nice girlfriend and life is good for me” smiled Kubicek.

It showed up on raceday as Kubicek ran his way into a best ever 3rd overall.  He came down the slippery hill leading to T2 in 5th place behind eventual 4th and 5th place Jim Thijs (Belgium) and Mikko Vastaranta (Finland).  Then Jan put in the fastest run of the day gaining more than four minutes on Thijs and Vastaranta.  Jimbo Thijs (pronounce it Theese) rode brilliantly.  He is primarily a mountain bike racer who turned to XTERRA a few years ago.  His swim has greatly improved but today “I rode too hard” he said. “It was so much fun, especially the downhills that I just could not stop – and I had nothing for the run”.

Vastaranta showed some true speed last year and we had not seen him until yesterday.  We welcome him back and hope to see this very brilliant young gun the rest of the season.  Speaking of young guns Yeray Luxem, also from Belgium, got the lead on the bike but kept crashing to the extent he needed stitches in his hip and still managed 6th place.  We have a great crop of young male pros in Europe and they are knocking hard on the door of a win.  With two to go in 2011, I would not bet against it happening this year.  The podium for the men was a varied as the women with Dietz, Wealing, Kubicek, Thijs and Vastaranta all from different nations.

The weather on race day was typical middle Europe.  This is to say, changeable.  Gray in the morning, it started raining just 30 minutes before the start and turned cold.  The reservoir that was at 16 degrees C  (61F) on Friday morning dropped at least a couple of degrees because of the chilly overnight rains.  The rain stopped for a great majority of the day and in the middle of the two lap bike course the sun came out and warmed everything up.  Alas the rains came back for one last slap in the face and to make sure everything and everybody was soaked and muddy.  By the time Dietz came across the line the sun was back out and it became a pleasant rest of the day.  Despite the weather there were loads of smiles everywhere.  It seems XTERRA people just don’t mind having Mother Nature throw some body punches at them.

All in all it was a great 10th year for XTERRA Czech.  By far the longest running race on the European Tour.  The place, the people and the culture are just wonderful.  We will continue to combine it with XTERRA Germany as we have the past two years and it makes a great two week excursion into Europe for the Tribe.  Start making some plans for 2012.

Top 10 Men

Pos  First  Last  Country  Time
1  Ronny  Dietz  GER  2:26:54
2  Seth  Wealing  USA  2:27:29
3  Jan  Kubicek  CZE  2:27:57
4  Jim  Thijs  BEL  2:30:44
5  Mikko  Vastaranta  FIN  2:31:31
6  Yeray  Luxem  BEL  2:32:32
7  Peter  Possible  SVK  2:32:47
8  Olivier  Marceau  SUI  2:33:07
9  Pierre  Facomprez  FRA  2:34:28
10  Ian   Leitch  GBR  2:34:30

Also: David Janda, Alexander Haas, Felix Schumann, Ben Allen, Will Kelsay

Top 10 Women

Pos  First  Last  Country  Time
1  Marion  Lorblanchet  FRA  2:52:21
2  Helena  Erbenova  CZE  2:53:41
3  Renata  Bucher  SUI  2:54:35
4  Carina  Wasle  AUT  2:59:02
5  Shonny  Vanlandingham  USA  2:59:08
6  Maud  Golsteyn  NED  3:05:06
7  Heather  Holmes  GER  3:06:34
8  Bridget  Poor  HUN  3:08:22
9  Jacqui  Slack  GBR  3:11:01
10  Dagmar  Sverak  CZE  3:21:27

2011 XTERRA WORLD TOUR SCHEDULE

The XTERRA Czech Championship race was the ninth world tour event (and third European Tour race) to qualify amateur athletes into the XTERRA World Championship to be held in Kapalua, Maui (Hawaii) on October 23, 2011.  A total of 34 slots were awarded to the top finishers in each age division.  Next up, the XTERRA Germany Championship, which doubles as the XTERRA European Championship, on August 20. Here’s a look at the rest of the 2011 XTERRA World Tour Championships.

Date – Event (Location)
Feb 26 – XTERRA South Africa Championship (Western Cape)
Mar 6 – XTERRA Philippines Championship  (Cebu)
Mar 12 – XTERRA Saipan Championship (Northern Marianas)
Apr 9 – XTERRA New Zealand Championship (Rotorua)
May 29 – XTERRA Italy Championship+ (Orosei, Sardinia)
June 11 – XTERRA Brazil Championship (Manaus, Amazon)
July 10 – XTERRA France Championship+ (Xonrupt, Alsace)
Aug 6 – XTERRA Mexico Championship (Valle De Bravo)
Aug 13 – XTERRA Czech Championship+ (Spindleruv Mlyn)
Aug 20 – XTERRA European/Germany Championship+ (Zittau)
Aug 27 – XTERRA Japan Championship (Marunuma)
Sept 4 – XTERRA Canada Championship (Whistler)
Sept 10 – XTERRA Switzerland Championship+ (Prangins)
Sept. 18 – XTERRA Venezuela Championship (Villa Caribe)
Sept 24 – XTERRA USA Championship (Ogden/Snowbasin, UT)
Oct 23 – XTERRA World Championship (Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii)