Ruzafa, Poor win XTERRA Portugal
The win is the 27th of Ruzafa’s career, his fourth of the season, fourth straight in Portugal, and third-in-a-row on the European Tour. For Poor, it’s her third win of the year and in the other two races she finished runner-up to Helena Erbenova.
“We’ve been blessed with great weather for the first third of the European Tour and today was exceptional. Portugal was hot for practice days and this is a course is tough enough without temperatures in the 90’s. Race day morning was cloudy and cool. No rain in sight but the drop in temps were well received.” said Dave Nicholas, XTERRA World Tour Director.
Golega is a very laid back village with neat hotels and lots of good restaurants. This kind of atmosphere plus the great work Jaime Rosa and his crew have done makes it a wonderful experience.
The water temp was 24C so it was a no wetsuit race except for those over 50. The layout is a long up and back on a small river for 750m. You exit the water, run up a cut out in the bank, run onto a half dam, half bridge and dive back in to start your second lap. Hannes Wolpert was the clear winner of the swim, but surprising everyone were Francois Carloni and Ruben Ruzafa who have clearly improved their swim speed. Carloni dove into the second lap on top of Ruzafa. “I love the non wetsuit swim and I’m always stronger” said François. Ruben was only 10″ behind coming into T1.
By the “new” bridge at the 5K mark, Wolpert had a big lead with Tiago Maia second but Carloni and Ruben were already pushing through the field with Yery Luxem coming on strong. By 8K the lead 4 were together and Luxem had closed more. In Spain last week Xavier Jove’ finished 2nd. Jove’ is the ETU cross duathlon champ and can clearly bike and run. At this point he was behind over 3 minutes. Xavier Dafflon, top age group finisher at Maui last year is a mountain biker. He had lost over 5 minutes in the swim, but this course is flat and open for the first 8K and Dafflon was able to pass heaps of riders before getting to the single track, technical pieces.
For the women, Brigitta Poor took the lead from the swim and never let it go. Carina Wasle challenged and got within 30 seconds but dropped back. Then she would challenge again, but the Hungarian woman was simply too strong today. Ladina Buss had a good 3rd for a while, Maude Goldestyn was 4th and Helena Erbenova back 3 minutes after a poor swim. “I felt good everywhere today” smiled Brigitta. Obviously the 2 weeks after Spain helped heal the injuries she got there.
At the 15K mark, Ruzafa had pulled away and Carloni and Luxem were working together to keep him in sight. “I had a strong bike today and Yeray and I rode really good together” said Francois. Tiago Maia flatted, but Portugal buddy Rui Delores was riding really well and was up into 5th. Jove’ had carved his way into 7th and Dafflon, while still back, was not in the top 10.
Out of T2 Ruben had 2′ on François and 2’15” on Yeray who had a flat near the end of the bike, but did not lose him a lot of time. Amazing Xavier Daflon had ridden himself up to 4th but was more than 5′ behind Ruben and 3′ behind Luxem. Xavier Jove was 5th, Riu Delores now 6th, Hannes 7th.
Brigitta had 2 minutes on the tiny Carina. Helena was up to 3rd but was 4’ behind. These trails are flat and fast and although on certain courses both Carina and Helena can post very fast run times, it would be difficult to do that in Portugal. Carina again closed to under a minute and Erbenova was running well but looked tired. Ladina was in 3rd and Maude in 4th.
“I got within 30 sec on Ruben at one point” said Luxem “but I started feeling a bit tired and had to drop back. I knew I could push hard and close more, but maybe only for 500m. It was better for me to stay strong and finish second today”.
Carloni is coming into his strong season. “It is May and this is where I really feel my training is coming good”. Indeed his swim was good, his bike very strong and today his run was good enough to keep his 3rd place. “But these two guys behind me ! If they learn to swim I am in trouble” he laughed. Yes indeed our two Xavier’s were closing in on the Frenchman finishing 4th and 5th. Dafflon even put in the fastest bike split of the day. Both he and Xavier Jove have committed to the XTERRA season and we will see them many times over the next months. Rui Delores had his best day and upheld the colors of Portugal to take a fine 6th in front of our Italian pro Mattia De Paoli.
Brigitta kept her cool to take a solid wire-to-wire victory. Carina held 2nd and speedy Helena Erbenova could not get it done today but was very happy with 3rd. Maude Golsteyn caught Ladina going into the last 4K to take 4th with Buss just 20 seconds behind in 5th.
The awards and after party in the village park are simply wonderful. Each top 3 get a laser etched Portugal cork medal to the applause of hundreds of spectators. Big, juicy pork sandwiches on hearty bread, a drink and a sweet are on sale for 4 euros and cold beers are 1 euro each. Needless to say almost all the athletes enjoyed the evening. The Mayor and the city council were all in attendance and on Sunday we’ll have a sprint distance tri for local folks and nearly 300 kids participating in XTERRA races at the park. This is a full Portuguese festival with something for everyone.
ELITE RESULTS (TENTATIVE)
| Pl | Name, NAT | Time | Points |
| 1 | Ruben Ruzafa, ESP | 2:33:46 | 75 |
| 2 | Yeray Luxem, BEL | 2:37:23 | 67 |
| 3 | Francois Carloni, FRA | 2:39:02 | 61 |
| 4 | Xavier Dafflon, SUI | 2:39:41 | 56 |
| 5 | Xavier Jové, ESP | 2:40:25 | 51 |
| 6 | Rui Dolores, POR | 2:41:08 | 47 |
| 7 | Mattia De Paoli, ITA | 2:43:57 | 43 |
| 8 | Dominik Wychera, AUT | 2:45:38 | 39 |
| 9 | Wolpert Hannes, GER | 2:48:23 | 36 |
| 10 | Llewellyn Holmes, GBR | 2:48:51 | 33 |
| 11 | Alejandro Tenorio, ESP | 2:58:29 | 30 |
| 12 | Rafael Gomes, POR | 2:59:05 | 27 |
| 13 | Octavio Vicente, POR | 3:19:52 | 25 |
| Pl | Name, NAT | Time | Points |
| 1 | Brigitta Poór, HUN | 3:00:48 | 75 |
| 2 | Carina Wasle, AUT | 3:04:18 | 67 |
| 3 | Helena Erbenová, CZE | 3:05:43 | 61 |
| 4 | Maud Golsteyn, NED | 3:13:08 | 56 |
| 5 | Ladina Buss, SUI | 3:13:23 | 51 |
| 6 | Rocio Espada Vazquez, ESP | 3:21:16 | 47 |
| 7 | Sheila Azevedo Marques, POR | 3:38:49 | 43 |
XTERRA EUROPEAN TOUR ELITE STANDINGS
With his win today Ruzafa jumps into the pole position on the XTERRA European Tour, with Carloni right behind in 2nd and Roger Serrano and Yeray Luxem tied for third.
In the women’s chase Poor remains in the top spot with three wins and two runner-ups, followed by Erbenova who has won two, was second at Malta and third in Portugal today. Maud Golsteyn sits in third, followed by Morgane Riou and Carina Wasle.
The next stop on the XTERRA European Tour is XTERRA Belgium on June 10, followed a week later by the inaugural XTERRA Finlandin Imatra on June 18.
2017 XTERRA EUROPEAN TOUR PRO POINTS STANDINGS
After 5 – 5.27
| Men | S | S | S | S | S | ||
| Pl | Name, NAT | TOTAL | MLT | CYP | GRE | ESP | POR |
| 1 | Ruben Ruzafa, ESP | 225 | DNS | DNS | 75 | 75 | 75 |
| 2 | Francois Carloni, FRA | 212 | 61 | 47 | 43 | DNS | 61 |
| 3 | Roger Serrano, ESP | 142 | 75 | DNS | 67 | DNS | DNS |
| 4 | Yeray Luxem, BEL | 142 | DNS | 75 | DNS | DNS | 67 |
| 5 | Maximilian Sasserath, GER | 128 | 67 | DNS | DNS | 61 | DNS |
| 6 | Rui Dolores, POR | 122 | DNS | DNS | 39 | 36 | 47 |
| 7 | Xavier Jove Riart, ESP | 118 | DNS | DNS | DNS | 67 | 51 |
| 8 | Jens Roth, GER | 117 | DNS | DNS | 61 | 56 | DNS |
| 9 | Jan Pyott, SUI | 114 | 56 | DNS | 25 | 33 | DNS |
| 10 | Xavier Dafflon, SUI | 103 | DNS | DNS | 47 | DNS | 56 |
| 11 | Oivind Bjerkseth, NOR | 100 | 33 | 67 | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| 12 | Thomas Kerner, GER | 94 | DNS | 61 | 33 | DNS | DNS |
| 13 | Julien Buffe, FRA | 79 | DNS | 56 | 23 | DNS | DNS |
| 14 | Hannes Wolpert, BEL | 79 | DNF | 43 | DNP | DNS | 36 |
| 15 | Maxim Chane, FRA | 66 | 30 | DNS | 36 | DNS | DNS |
| 16 | Stephan Radeck, GER | 64 | 25 | 39 | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| 17 | Arthur Serrieres , FRA | 61 | DNS | DNS | DNS | 61 | DNS |
| 18 | Llewellyn Holmes, GRB | 58 | DNS | DNS | DNS | 25 | 33 |
| 19 | Kris Coddens, BEL | 56 | DNS | DNS | 56 | DNS | DNS |
| 20 | Jörg Scheiderbauer, GER | 51 | 51 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| 21 | Sebastian Neef, GER | 51 | DNS | 51 | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| 22 | Arthur Forissier, FRA | 51 | DNS | DNS | 51 | DNS | DNS |
| 23 | Tomas Kubek, SVK | 47 | 47 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| 24 | Albert Soley, ESP | 47 | DNS | DNS | DNS | 47 | DNS |
| 25 | Mark Hamersma, NED | 43 | 43 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| 26 | Pau Botella Tarres, ESP | 43 | DNS | DNS | DNS | 43 | DNS |
| 27 | Mattia De Paoli, ITA | 43 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS | 43 |
| 28 | Jim Thijs, BEL | 39 | 39 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| 29 | Jan Honza Kubicek | 39 | DNS | DNS | DNP | 39 | DNS |
| 30 | Dominik Wycgera, AUT | 39 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS | 39 |
| 31 | Geert Lauryssen, BEL | 36 | 36 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| 32 | Tiago Maia, POR | 30 | DNS | DNS | 30 | DNS | DNF |
| 33 | Guillaume Jeannin, FRA | 30 | DNS | DNS | DNS | 30 | DNS |
| 34 | Alejandro Salmeron Tenorio, ESP | 30 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DMP | 30 |
| 35 | Doug Hall, GBR | 27 | 27 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| 36 | Tim Van Daele, BEL | 27 | DNS | DNS | 27 | DNS | DNS |
| 37 | Peter Lehmann, GER | 27 | DNS | DNS | DNS | 27 | DNS |
| 38 | Rafael Gomes, POR | 27 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS | 27 |
| 39 | Octavio Vicente, POR | 25 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS | 25 |
| 40 | Callum Hughes, GBR | 23 | 23 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| 41 | Javier Oliver Vives, ESP | 23 | DNS | DNS | DNS | 23 | DNS |
| 42 | Markus Benesch, AUT | 21 | DNS | DNS | 21 | DNS | DNS |
| 43 | Zeus Gutierrez Ochoa, ESP | 21 | DNS | DNS | DNS | 21 | DNS |
| 44 | Barret Fisher, USA | 0 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNP | DNF |
| 45 | Ivan Munoz, ESP | 0 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNP | DNS |
| 46 | Nil Riudavets, ESP | 0 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNP | DNS |
| 47 | Diego Silva , POR | 0 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNP | DNS |
| WM | S | S | S | S | S | ||
| Pl | Name, NAT | TOTAL | MLT | CYP | GRE | ESP | POR |
| 1 | Brigitta Poor, HUN | 359 | 75 | 75 | 67 | 67 | 75 |
| 2 | Helena Erbenova, CZE | 278 | 67 | DNS | 75 | 75 | 61 |
| 3 | Maud Golsteyn, NED | 159 | 56 | DNS | 47 | DNS | 56 |
| 4 | Morgane Riou, FRA | 123 | DNS | 67 | 56 | DNS | DNS |
| 5 | Carina Wasle, AUT | 118 | 51 | DNS | DNS | DNS | 67 |
| 6 | Cecila Jessen, SWE | 100 | 39 | 61 | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| 7 | Kathrin Mueller, GER | 89 | 33 | DNS | DNS | 56 | DNS |
| 8 | Anna Pauline Sasserath, GER | 79 | 36 | DNS | DNS | 43 | DNS |
| 9 | Nicole Walkers, GBR | 61 | 61 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| 10 | Miriam Casillas Garcia, ESP | 61 | DNS | DNS | 61 | DNS | DNS |
| 11 | Sara Bonilla, ESP | 61 | DNS | DNS | DNS | 61 | DNS |
| 12 | Daz Parker, GBR | 56 | DNS | 56 | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| 13 | Marika Wagner, SWE | 51 | DNS | 51 | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| 14 | Isabelle Ferrer, FRA | 51 | DNS | DNS | 51 | DNS | DNS |
| 15 | Rocío Espada, ESP | 51 | DNS | DNS | DNS | 51 | DNS |
| 16 | Ladina Buss, SUI | 51 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS | 51 |
| 17 | Kristina Lapinova, SLK | 47 | 47 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| 18 | Aina Picas, ESP | 47 | DNS | DNS | DNS | 47 | DNS |
| 19 | Rocio Espada, ESP | 47 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS | 47 |
| 20 | Louise Fox, GRB | 43 | 43 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| 21 | Renata Bucher, SUI | 43 | DNS | DNS | 43 | DNF | DNS |
| 22 | Sheila Marques, POR | 43 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS | 43 |
| 23 | Marta Menditto, ITA | 30 | 30 | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS |
2017 XTERRA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING SERIES SCHEDULE
XTERRA Portugal was the 19th of 41 events where amateur athletes from around the world can qualify to race at the 22nd annual XTERRA World Championship in Maui on October 29.
|
Date
|
Race
|
Elite Winners or Location
|
|
Feb 25
|
Richard Murray / Flora Duffy
|
|
|
Mar 4
|
Dougal Allan / Josie Wilcox
|
|
|
Mar 18
|
XTERRA Saipan + Silver
|
Sam Osborne / Carina Wasle
|
|
Mar 25
|
XTERRA Argentina # Silver
|
Gonzalo Tellechea / Suzie Snyder
|
|
Apr 1
|
XTERRA Thailand + Silver
|
Kieran McPherson / Renata Bucher
|
|
Apr 1
|
XTERRA Chile # Silver
|
Felipe Barraza / Barbara Riveros
|
|
Apr 2
|
XTERRA Malta * Silver
|
Roger Serrano / Brigitta Poor
|
|
Apr 8
|
XTERRA New Zealand + Silver
|
Sam Osborne / Jacqui Allen |
|
Apr 9
|
XTERRA Costa Rica # Silver
|
Josiah Middaugh / Suzie Snyder
|
|
Apr 16
|
Ruben Ruzafa / Carina Wasle
|
|
|
Apr 23
|
XTERRA Danao + GOLD
|
Bradley Weiss / Carina Wasle
|
|
Apr 23
|
XTERRA Cyprus * Silver
|
Yeray Luxem / Brigitta Poor
|
|
Apr 29
|
XTERRA Langkawi + GOLD
|
Osborne,Allen,Weiss,McPherson/Wasle
|
|
Apr 30
|
XTERRA Greece * Silver
|
Ruben Ruzafa, Helena Erbenova
|
|
May 6
|
XTERRA Tahiti + Silver
|
Sam Osborne / Jacqui Allen
|
|
May 13
|
XTERRA Brazil # Silver
|
Felipe Moletta / Sabrina Gobbo
|
|
May 14
|
XTERRA Spain * Silver
|
Ruben Ruzafa / Helena Erbenova
|
|
May 20
|
XTERRA Oak Mountain # GOLD
|
Josiah Middaugh / Suzie Snyder
|
|
May 27
|
XTERRA Portugal * Silver
|
Ruben Ruzafa / Brigitta Poor
|
|
Jun 10
|
XTERRA Belgium * Silver
|
Namur
|
|
Jun 17
|
Milton, Ontario, Canada
|
|
|
Jun 18
|
XTERRA Finland * Silver
|
Imatra
|
|
Jun 24
|
XTERRA Switzerland * GOLD
|
Vallee de Joux
|
|
Jul 2
|
XTERRA France * GOLD
|
Xonrupt
|
|
Jul 9
|
XTERRA Victoria # Silver
|
Victoria, B.C., Canada
|
|
Jul 15
|
XTERRA Beaver Creek # GOLD
|
Beaver Creek, CO, USA
|
|
Jul 30
|
XTERRA Abruzzo * Silver
|
Scanno, Abruzzo, Italy
|
|
Aug 5
|
XTERRA Mexico # GOLD
|
Tapalpa
|
|
Aug 5
|
XTERRA Norway * Silver
|
Norefjell
|
|
Aug 6
|
Canmore, Alberta, Canada
|
|
|
Aug 12
|
Quebec City, Canada
|
|
|
Aug 12
|
Ontario, Canada
|
|
|
Aug 13
|
XTERRA Dominican Republic # Silver
|
Barahona
|
|
Aug 13
|
XTERRA Poland * Silver
|
Krakow
|
|
Aug 19
|
XTERRA Germany * GOLD
|
Zittau
|
|
Aug 26
|
XTERRA Sweden * Silver
|
Hammarbybacken, Stockholm
|
|
Aug 26
|
Thunder Bay, ON, Canada
|
|
|
Sep 2
|
XTERRA Japan + Silver
|
Hokkaido
|
|
Sep 3
|
Mons Klint
|
|
|
Sep 16
|
XTERRA Pan Am Championship / USA # D-GOLD
|
Ogden, Utah, USA
|
|
Oct 29
|
Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii
|
* XTERRA European Tour / # XTERRA Pan American Tour / + Asia-Pacific Tour
Silver = Min. $7,500 pro purse & 75-point scale // GOLD = Min $15,000 pro purse & 100-point scale
About TEAM Unlimited/XTERRA
TEAM Unlimited LLC, founded in 1988, is the Hawaii-based television, events, and marketing company that brought off-road triathlon and trail running to the world under the brand name XTERRA. From a one-off race held on the most remote island chain in the world XTERRA evolved into an endurance sports lifestyle with worldwide appeal. Over the past 20 years XTERRA transcended its status as ‘just a race’ to become a bona-fide way of life for thousands of intrepid athletes as well as an emerging brand in the outdoor industry. In 2017, XTERRA will offer more than 200 off-road triathlons and trail running events in 33+ countries worldwide and produce 10 adventure television shows for international distribution. Learn more at xterraplanet.com and xterracontent.com.