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TEMECULA, CA – Conrad “the Caveman” Stoltz of South Africa powered through the grueling XTERRA West Championship course at Vail Lake Resort in Temecula Valley in two hours and 28 minutes to win the first of four regional championships on the XTERRA America Tour today.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound XTERRA machine was in the first pack of racers to finish the 1-mile swim in the warm waters (roughly 66-degrees) of Vail Lake, absolutely crushed the bike with the fastest split of the day in one-hour, 26 minutes, and posted the fifth-best run in 41:23. His winning time was more than three minutes faster than runner-up Mike Vine from Canada.
“It was a great day, a great course,” said Stoltz, a two-time Olympic triathlete. “I felt good today but this result is really surprising. I spent the off-season doing a lot of construction work building a house and a pool. Came into this race at about 80% fitness with the plan to peak for the October races. I’m trying not to get too excited because it’s a long season, but am still very happy with the result.”
The victory reasserted Stoltz’ presence at XTERRA and solidified his stature as the man to beat if he’s healthy. It was also a feel good story for all of those in the XTERRA family that watched the two-time XTERRA World Champ suffer through a 2006 season filled with injuries that culminated with a devastating pre-race crash at the USA Championships in October.
“It’s great to be back with friends and family here, and I didn’t break any bikes and I didn’t break any bones,” said Stoltz to an appreciative crowd at the post-race awards ceremony.
Australian phenom Andrew Noble – who at 41-years-old continues to impress – came out of the water with the leaders and stayed in second through a big chunk of the bike until getting passed by Mike Vine. Vine was about two minutes behind the leaders after the swim but charged hard on the bike (2nd fastest bike split) to pass eight other riders and move up to the second position by the bike-to-run transition.
The “Vineman” headed out on the run roughly four minutes back of Stoltz and couldn’t catch up despite posting the fastest run of the day in 39:37.
“I was happy to have that lead coming off the bike because I could relax and run at my own pace,” said Stoltz. “The run here can be dangerous because there are really steep downhills, lots of up and down, loose dirt and dust, twists and turns. If you’re not careful you could cramp-up, twist an ankle, or fall of a cliff.”
Noble – who was in the top five at all six stops on the U.S. Series last year – was fast and consistent to solidify third place.
“I lost time during the bike on the downhills because Conrad and Mike and Josiah and Brian are just relentless on those descents,” said Noble. “I want to live a bit longer.”
Josiah Middaugh and Brian Smith, who finished in 4th and 5th respectively, truly are fearless on the bikes and made up a ton of ground on those fast downhill sections. Middaugh parked the bike in 3rd but got run down by Noble.
It was a course that favored pure strength, as the bike wasn’t all that technical but was very demanding with steep climbs and lots of flat and sandy sections to power through. The run was more of the same with one calf-burning climb after another.
“That run hurt bad,” said Smith. “Incredibly hard,” said Vine. “Those hills broke me on the run,” added Will Kelsay.
Lost in the top five mix was Seth Wealing, the reigning XTERRA U.S. Pro Series Champion. Wealing led the swim, took a wrong turn on the bike course early on, and then rode on a half-flat tire for five miles. The 40-hour-a-week architect landed in 12th place overall, the last money spot, then jumped on a plane back to Denver so he could be back at work tomorrow at 7am. “I can only go up from here,” joked Wealing.
Kerry Classen, a former Navy SEAL and XTERRA star, hadn’t raced in a few years but looked like he was about to make a statement with a top 5 swim and a solid bike ride until his tire flatted, and the gizmo to fix it exploded.
Young gun Dan Hugo from Stoltz’ hometown in Stellenbosch had a brilliant first XTERRA in the U.S. by finishing in 6th and Jim Vance from San Diego posted his best XTERRA result in years with a 7th.
McQuaid Picks Up Where She Left Off … On Top
Three-time XTERRA World Champion Melanie McQuaid from Canada had a perfect day. She had the second-best swim behind Candy Angle (who she passed in the second mile on the bike); the fastest bike split by more than two minutes, and was 20 seconds away from having the fastest run time too.
It added up to a five-minute margin of victory over Jamie Whitmore and her fourth straight XTERRA win dating back to last season when she won Worlds in Maui, USA in Nevada, and the Mountain Champs in Utah.
“I worked bloody hard in the off-season,” said McQuaid. “But this week I didn’t do anything, I just rested so I felt good today.”
Whitmore – with a new coach and strategy designed to peak later in the season – raced in the middle of a training cycle that left her feeling less than 100%.
“It was a solid race but I didn’t feel on,” said Whitmore, who won this race last year. “I’m in a training period so it’s a little hard.”
Angle was solid as usual, and as usual she finished third (as she did last year, and in all four regionals she raced at last season).
The surprise came from Dara Marks Marino – a pro mountain biker who made her XTERRA Championship debut with a 4th place finish today. She had the second best bike time and rode along with strong mountain biker Jennifer Smith for much of the race. Marks Marino actually went out on the run in third but was passed by Angle early in the run.
Smith held on for 5th, Amber Monforte (the 2005 Amateur XTERRA National Champ) had her best pro race to finish 6th, and Heather Fuhr (the 1997 Ironman World Champ) followed in 7th. After crossing the finish line Fuhr laughed about how she lost a pedal on the bike and had to “one-leg-push” the last mile.
It was a magnificent day for racing in Temecula Valley – warm, sunny, and clear with panoramic views that stretched for miles over the wine country. Some 500 athletes from six countries and more than 20 states across the U.S. competed in the XTERRA off-road multisport events.
xterraplanet.com.
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