1 September 2009
 Xterra
Japan 2008 was my first Global Tour win and a fantastic
experience. I had promised at the time to return and try
to defend my title this year, especially with my sponsorship
from the Japanese company Panasonic.
Even though I love the course (which is known as the most
technical bike course on the Xterra circuit), the venue
(which is a tranquil and stunning spa report in the Mountains,
with no phone reception or email access) and the people,
I was very tired after back to back races in Germany and
Austria the previous 2 weeks. Flying in on Thursday morning,
with an 8 hour time difference for a Saturday race was
a little close for comfort too.
The organisers did a fantastic job as ever of making us
feel welcome and collecting us from Tokyo airport, transferring
us up to the Onsen resort and checking us into our authentic
Ryokan rooms, before a traditional Japanese dinner. The
memories of last year came back as we were presented with
15 different dishes per person, each immaculately presented
in its' own bowl and we generally had no idea what any
of them were. Every meal time is an amazing and somewhat
educational experience.
With no time for sight-seeing afterwards, Susan (my girl
friend) and I spent Friday afternoon going to a nearby
town called Nikko which is a world heritage site and packed
with temples and shrines and a 100m waterfall .Not ideal
pre race preparation, but heah, you're not in Japan every
day.
On race day the jetlag was still there as I woke at 4am.
When the gun went at midday, it was Australian pro Matt
Murphy (an ex ITU racer) that led us round the first lap.
Matt had been ill leading up to the race and it was touch
and go whether he'd start or not. The effects of his illness
certainly didn't seem obvious yet, I exited the water
almost 2 minutes down, in a pack in 6th place, with Japanese
pros Oga and Yu, both well known Xterra athletes. Deciding
to err on the side of caution (with blisters still from
Austria) and put socks on, I missed starting the bike
with these guys.
Oga (who finished 2nd last year) dropped Yu and caught
Matt after about 5km of the bike and they worked hard
together. My race was not going quite to plan however,
as I eventually caught Yu, then promptly crashed and he
rode away again. Halfway round the bike I was in 4th,
with no one in sight, why did we do that last temple yesterday,
or arrive in Japan so late...
Hitting the main climb I put in a do or die effort for
at least a podium spot. Catching Yu again, I was spurred
on and managed to catch a glimpse of Matt, who had been
dropped by the flying Oga. When I got up to him, halfway
up the climb, he told me Oga was about 40 seconds ahead
and riding well. I eventually bridged the gap just as
we started the descent, but Oga's world cup Mountain bike
skills (from racing as a pro on the Gary Fisher team)
helped him get away from me yet again. I was going to
have to work very hard to win this one.
Passing the lake, with a short 2km bike loop before T2
I caught Oga again and immediately attacked, knowing that
he outran me a year ago. I started the 2 lap run with
only a 30 second lead and didn't look back, would it be
enough? After 2km the run went up a very steep muddy bank
where competitors needed to use a rope to haul themselves
up. Soon after I started up it I felt the rope go tight
from behind as Oga, it certainly seemed like less than
30 seconds. The whole lap went like this. I was running
scared and fading fast. Luckily, Oga wasn't making much
inroads and starting lap 2 the gap was still 30 seconds.
Only 1km from the end did I know I had the race won, and
I virtually collapsed over the line, relieved more than
elated with the victory.
That night was relaxed at the banquet dinner serenaded
by a traditional Japanese drumming and dancing troupe.
The victory sunk in and I was reminded what a fantastic
event on the Xterra calendar this is.
24 August 2009
Xterra Austria was one of my breakthrough races in 2007,
when I came off the bike in 2nd behind Nico LeBrun, but
that year I faded on the run and lost a lot of time and
places. Last year I struggled with form and with the emergence
of the the new breed of pro's such as Michi Weiss and
Franky Batellier, I barely managed a top 10. This year
I was motivated and desperate to get both series points
and the extra prize money that was on offer for the events'
new European Champs status.
In the gorgeous aqua marine waters of the warmest lake
in Europe I started hard on the 1.5km non wetsuit swim,
desperately hanging onto any ones feet that came by me.
After the first buoy, when things had calmed down slightly
I realised I was swimming with top US swimmer Brandyn
Roark Gray and UK's own Nicola Duggan, for me this was
esteemed company. Stay in this pack and you'll only be
a couple of minutes down on the leaders I told myself.
Some how I made it out in that group, just outside the
top 20 and only 2.5 mins down on the leaders. On the 500m
run to transition I gave it some gas to catch last years
winner (and World Champs' silver medalist) Michi Wiess
who was just 100m ahead of me, I knew this could be a
good wheel to follow and get me up the field. Swiftly
on with my Bell helmet and we exited T1 together, but
before we could start doing the damage Michi punctured
and ended his race. I'd have to chase on my own!
I got into a great rythmn on the hilly technical course,
keep the cadence high on my new Rotor Q-rings. My Canondale
Taurine was handling great as I passed rider after rider.
Just after half way round the first lap I caught the German
pair of Ronny Dietz and Felix Shauman who were 2nd and
3rd last weekend at Xterra Germany, I knew I was going
well at this point as I never caught them at all last
week. Pushing my Schwalbe tyres to the limit I caught
the flying Fin Vanstarata on the final descent of lap
1. At the turn around point I then realised I was in 4th
with only Olivier Marceau and the 2 leaders in the European
series (Frank Battelier and Karel Zadak) just ahead of
me. As I caught Olivier (which I've never managed to do
before), I pushed things too far and crashed over my USE
carbon handlebars, luckily nothing was broken and I got
back in my rythmn and set about chasing after Karel.
All race I had the run problems of 2007 in my mind. I
kept drinking my Maximuscle Viper and taking solid food
too. Guy's like Olivier and the other ITU road triathletes
were going to chase like mad on the run and not take any
prisoners. Another solid lap in the muddy conditions with
the drive chain still running smooth from Squirt lube
and not collecting dirt and my Sundog shades keeping the
muck out of my eyes. I exited the final descent on Karels
wheel. We shared the work up to T2 where we were only
1 minute behind Franky.
A smooth transition, on with the Montrail shoes and the
2XU number belt and cap. We would now see if I could finally
run with the top guys and get on the podium in a championship
race. After Global tour wins in Japan and Saipan, today
was my chance for a medal at the European Champs. We settled
into a good pace together on lap 1, taking turns to keep
the tempo at the front. Halfway round the final lap and
my legs were heavy it was pure adrenaline keeping me going,
Karel tryed a few attacks and on the 3rd attempt he got
a 10m gap. I was in major pain and just couldn't close
the gap, slowly it became 20m and then 30m as the finish
approached. Luckily Olivier and the others hadn't made
any inroads to our lead and I stariaghten up the 'Panasonic'
and 'Snow and Rock' logo's on my chest for the press,
and celebrated my Bronze medal with a victory leap through
the finishing pond that the organisers had constructed.
A great party followed the race and then it was a quick
bike clean and back in the bike box (bikeboxalan.co.uk),
to be opened in 4 days time in another continent. Two
days of washing kit and light training and off to Maranuma
for my chance to defend my first ever world cup win in
Japan last year.
17 August 2009
To be honest I was not expecting much from the German
round of the series. I had trained through it a bit because
I had lost some training time due to moving house, travelling
and racing so much.
I had also heard on the grape vine that the course was
a bit tame, that might not suit me. This turned out to
be totally false. It was a long non wetsuit swim in a
gorgeous clear lake, a hard, hilly 36km bike with 3 dangerous
rocky and rooty descents, and a scenic and fast 10km run
with some steps thrown in to end it all.
I had a reasonable swim, considering i didn't have a swim
skin with me, exiting just behind the new britsh pro on
the scene Tim McDowell. Onto the bike and I caught Tim
and we worked hard together with the German Nico Pfitzenmeir
to get into the top 10. Nico then descended like a maniac,
never to be seen again, while I erred on the side of caution,
not too sure of my form.
I continued a steady push through the field and caught
2 more guys on the run to finish 9th. Considering how
I've been feeling in training and the training I've missed
I was pleased with the result. It helped my overall standing
in the series which is important.
I actually feel fresh and keen again now 2 days after
the race, and ready for a couple of hard days training
before Austria next weekend and hopefully an improved
result on one of my favorite courses of the European tour.
19 July 2009
With a swim start at 7500ft, the bike climbing up to 9000ft,
transition 2 at 8500ft and the run climbing up from there,
I knew I was going to suffer here. Just walking up the
stairs in the week before left me out of breath. 3 days
in Boulder and 2 days here wasn't nearly enough.
The swim felt awful, any slight effort, or a mouthful
of water (which happened a couple of times), leaves you
out of breath for the next minute. However I exited the
water only 3 minutes behind the leaders which was a lot
better than last week so i can't have been that bad.
Onto the bike and I just tried to keep it steady, knowing
that is all you can do at this height. I caught up to
6th place and felt pretty good considering. It was a great
course, using a very exclusive ski resort 'Beaver Creek',
with amazing summer mountain bike trails. You should have
seen the posh apartments where the pro's got housed, loving
the spa jacuzzi bath.
I know I've been running well, with 2nd quickest run last
weekend and 4th quickest in Czech, so I was hoping to
gain places and get a top 5. However, it wasn't going
to be! The local guys living at this height were soon
snapping at my heals as I weazed my way slowly to the
top of the climbs. Place by place they came past me, in
the end I was hanging on to the final cash spot (8th),
but this too slipped away with a couple of Km's to go.
All in all it was a lot of hard effort for no reward,
but a fantastic place with great scenery, and it'll be
cheap to get drunk at the altitude tonight!
Returning to the UK tomorrow for 3 days, before leaving
for France and Alpe d'Huez road triathlon. Hopefully this
week at altitude should help me for that race which will
be considerably lower.
13 July 2009
This weekend was the first of 2 races stateside.
With 5 weeks of heavy rains it was extremely muddy, however
it had been warm enough to make the swim non wetsuit for
the pro's, and i hadn't packed my super speedy blue seventy
zero point 3 suit, because of baggage restrictions. So
on the start line I was the only pro without a swim skin
of some variety. How much advantage they give and how
much was psychological I don't know, but I lost far more
time than usual. In the end this was to deny me 2nd place.
Onto the bike and I was in my element in the 'British'
conditions and I had the 2nd fastest bike split, ahead
of guys such a three times world champion Conrad Stoltz,
renown as the best biker in Xterra in the US. I used my
Cannondale Scalpel, with Schwalbe Nobby Nic tyres which
proved to be superb in the gloop, with Sundog eyewear
keeping it out of my eyes.
Conrad and 2006 World Champion Nico LeBrun entered T2
together in the lead, with Seth Whealing and Dan Hugo
together in 3rd and 4th, I was in 5th and had them in
my sights and was closing fast.
Onto the 2 lap run I was inspired by my 4th quickest run
split in Czech 2 weeks ago and started fast. I could soon
see Dan Hugo and knew I was closing on him, I caught him
nearing the end of lap 1 and could then see Seth Whealing
just ahead of me, and heard that Conrad was in 2nd and
fading fast.
On the final descent of lap 2 Seth managed to catch Conrad
and nip past in an exciting sprint finish, I couldn't
quite bridge the gap in time and ended up in 4th, but
with the 2nd fastest run split of the day. If only I had
that swim skin.
Sitting in Burlington Airport now at 6 am East Coast time
on my Panasonic laptop, about to fly to Colorado for the
US Xterra Mountain Championships. Looking forward to catching
up with Julie Dibens for her first Xterra of the year,
after her very successful weekend this weekend. Next weekend
should be very different, starting at 8000ft elevation
and getting lots higher, in an epicly hilly course. It's
going to hurt!
Thank you very much for Joe and Maggie (and Kelsey the
labrador) for putting myself and Renata up in their house
for the last few days. It was great fun.
30 June 2009
A very quick race report as it's 2 pm and I've been busy
doing chores and haven't started training for the day
yet.
I was not feeling that great in the few days leading up
to Xterra Czech. All week I had been very tired from Mountain
Mayhem the week before (where Julie Dibens and I finished
in the 2nd Elite team), which speaking to the other guys
on our team was the general feeling.
The weather had been awfull with storms so torrential
that 12 people in the Czech republic were killed.
As the gun went for the swim I got badly swum over and
ended up missing the front pack and getting stuck behind
loads of age groupers swimming loads slower than me.
Onto the bike and again I felt sluggish initially, not
really reeling in people for the first 5km. Then we hit
the serious off road and I began to feel better. It was
super wet and muddy and very slippery, making the bike
leg into 1 hr 45 minutes long for us leaders. I had no
idea which position I was in until I returned to transition
2 and saw only 4 bikes there. Maybe it wasn't such a bad
day after all?
Heading out on the run I just felt better and better.
Soon I was up into 4th place with Michael Wiess (Xterra
Austria champion and 2nd at the world champs in Maui)
one place ahead of me. Unfortunately I couldn't quite
catch him and I finished in 4th, equalling my best European
tour finsh ever and improving my series ranking into the
top 6.
I am back in the UK now for 10 days, before I head over
to the US for Vermont and Colorado rounds of the US series.
All equipment performed great, Cannondale Taurine was
great in the mud, especially with Schwalbe Nobby Nic tyres.
Squirt lube kept the chain as mud free as poss. Thanks
everyone.
Got to rush, it's sunny and bike is calling. Sam
22 June 2009
Mountain Mayhem is the biggest prize purse on the UK Mountain
bike calendar and is the biggest Mountain bike event in
the world.
In various teams we have tried to pocket the cash in the
12 years it has been running. Eventually managing 1st
place in 2006 with the Elite Mixed team of Julie Dibens,
Jody Crawforth, Jamie Newall and myself.
This year we had a near identical team but with Dave Collins
stepping in for Jamie Newall and we were riding under
the USE Exposure lights banner with great help from them.
Our main opposition was always going to be the Scott team,
also on Exposure lights.
The first lap starts with a 1km run, followed by the bike
lap, with my triathlon background it was me that started
off the race. Finishing the run in 5th I was pleased to
be back on the bike. I got into the lead fairly comfortably
and had a 45 second lead finishing the lap.
However this was as good as it got, Scott got back to
us on the next lap and we traded the lead for the next
4 hours, eventually they drew slightly ahead and never
let up. They rode a stong race and deserved to win.
It was another 2nd place to add to the list, but a great
team effort by the riders, mechanics and support crew.
Especially Susan, giving out time gaps and getting us
out on our bikes at 2am.
Maximuscle energy and recovery drinks kept us going which
was invaluble. Obviously USE lights, seatposts and other
equipment was used. Used both my Cannondale bikes and
they were great as ever.
Next race Xterra Czech on Sat, watch this space.
8 June 2009 Malaysia race report
It's been a busy week. I had 7 hours at home from returning
from Xterra Italy, before going to Xterra Malaysia. All
the travelling, stress and time difference left me pretty
tired on arrival. However I was looking forward to racing
at this new destination on the Global tour, and getting
behind the event.
The local media were very excited about the arrival of
the foreign athletes for this first edition of the event,
and had hyped it up into a big rematch between Mike Vine
(the current US champion) and myself, after our recent
battle in Saipan where I edged him out for the win. The
dark horse was Scott Thorne from New Zealand, who had
the advantage of less jet lag and an extra 3 day actimatising
to the extreme heat and humidity. Scott narrowly missed
out on winning Xterra New Zealand this year so was always
going to be one to watch out for along with the other
Japanese, Malaysian and Philipino's making up the pro
field.
Still heavily jet lagged and relying heavily on some super
strong local hotel coffee I got to the start line for
the 8am start. The day was pretty overcast, compared to
the searing heat of the previous week. Warming up 10 minutes
before the start Mike Vine was stung by a Jellyfish (which
we'd not seen in previous few days), he was in obvious
pain, but we decided (hoped) it wasn't a fatal portugese
man of war sting. Maybe I shouldn't have laughed at his
expense because 20 minutes later I felt my hand touch
something soft and jelly like and sure enough half a second
later I felt a shooting pain go up my leg, wow those things
hurt. Despite this I had a reasonable swim, exiting the
water in 4th, 2 minutes behind Mike, and a minute behind
Scott and the Japanese pro Taro.
The bike started with 7km of road, where I desperately
gave chase after Taro and Scott who were working together
to catch Mike. I made contact with them after 3km and
we soon dropped Taro and I worked with Scott on our chase.
It was a very interesting and eventful bike leg. I dropped
Scott on each climb, but first missed a corner on a descent
and he got back to me, then the heavens opened and he
got back to me a second time on another descent. Finally
I could see Mike 200m ahead and had got rid of Scott for
good (or so I thought), but a police marshal sent all
3 of us the wrong way and when we found out and turned
round, we were all 3 together again! We worked together
on the subsequent road section and were still neck and
neck with 10km to go. This did not leave me with much
time to build a lead against 2 guys that were known for
being top runners. When I did manage to get away on my
own it was only 2km from transition and I only managed
to get a 20 seconds lead on Mike and maybe a minute over
Scott.
It must have had for great television for ESPN (the channel
covering the event in Asia). I kept my dwindling lead
for about 4km, then Mike caught me and coming onto the
2nd and final run lap we were again separated by only
5 meters with Scott chasing hard and closing. Mike eventually
pushed home his advantage on lap 2 and I had to think
about holding Scott off for 2nd place. It all ended in
a sprint down the finishing funnel on the beach in front
of the Malaysian crowds with Scott taking 2nd leaving
me in 3rd with all 3 of us separated by less than 1 minute
in one of the most exciting races I've ever been in. How
so many things could have sent the result a different
way and any of us could have won.
I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight
(the first time in 12 days!), and having a weekend off
racing and being spectator next weekend at Windsor triathlon.
My next races are Mountain Mayhem 24 hour mountain bike
race in 2 weeks time (the UK's biggest and highest paying
race) where I am racing for the USE all stars team. Then
the following week I have round 2 of the European tour,
Xterra Czech.
Thanks as usual to all sponsors, writing this on my Panasonic
laptop now! Thoroughly recommend Squirt chain lube for
not collecting the sand this weekend like most lubes do.
Despite all this travelling, jetlag and racing Maximuscle
products have been essential with my recovery and keeping
my immune system strong. Thanks obviously to Snow and
Rock and Cycle surgery for their support also and to Bikeboxalan
for a case that has kept my bike undamaged in over 12
flights so far in 2009.
3 June 2009
Xterra Italy 2009 saw the biggest field ever in a European
race, with 500 competitors in total and about 50 pros
including the guys that got 1st and 2nd in the recent
world champs. It was going to be damn hard. The race was
also combined with the ETU (European Triathlon Union)
Cross Champs, which is off road title they promote. This
in turn attracted some more ITU road triathletes. Great
Britain fielded a large contingent of nearly 30 athletes,
making us one of the biggest teams.
The hot weather of Thursday, Friday and Sat, had made
the water temperature 21 degrees, which according to ETU
rules means it was wetsuits for the age groupers and no
wetsuits for the pros. Race morning however was a lot
colder, raining and over cast as the pros shivered in
the ocean with a 20 metre headstart waiting for the age
group athletes to swim over us in their much faster wetsuits.
Sure enough this happened, but I still made it out of
the water in about 80th place.
Onto the bike I was on a mission and immediately set about
making up the lost ground. At the end of lap 1 I was in
the top 10 and on the 2nd and final lap I passed Michael
Wiess who got 2nd at the world champs, which put me into
5th position approaching the transition area to change
for the run. It was here I made a very costly mistake,
I hadn't checked out the exact entrance to transition
(which turned out to be on a high speed blind corner),
as I came to it I was caught up in a battle overtaking
back lappers and we were waved onto another lap, continuing
on the course. Around the next corner, and the next I
expected to be waved into transition, but after 400m I
realised I was embarking on another 16km lap. I quickly
turned round and headed back to transition, but this costly
mistake lead to a big argument in transition with an official
for riding in too fast, left me in about 8th place, and
more importantly I lost my focus and had a bad run.
In the end I finished 11th, whereas I'm sure I deserved
to be about 6th or 7th. I was and still am annoyed with
the amateur errors which I can't afford to make now this
is my job, and it cost me several hundred euro's. Well
done to the British age group winners in which we had
considerable success.
Oh well, time to put it behind me. I am sitting in Kuala
Lumpur airport currently, on route to Xterra Malaysia.
Several top pro's are making the trip including the current
US Champ Mike Vine, South African Champ Leiwe Boonstra
and other New Zealand, Japanese and Australian pro's.
One thing is for sure, I'll be double checking out the
entry and exits to transition this weekend!
British Age group top 10 results according to ITU website,
may not include athletes who entered the Xterra and not
the ETU champs with an ETU license.
• Stuart Lumb 2nd 65-69
• Jon Bronze 9th 55-59
• Robert Moore 4th 45-49
• Paul Drinkwater 6th 40-44
• Darrelle Parker 1st 40-44
• Ross Calder 6th 30-34
• Paul Davies 9th 30-34
• Kellie Marks 8th 30-34
Writing this very tired and weary from Saipan airport.
Not looking forward to 48 hours travelling home.
It's been a great trip, we've made many new friends and
caught up with old friends too. Thanks to Tyce and Angie
Mister and Joshua and Mamiko Berger for putting us up
in home stays and making us feel so welcome. Thanks also
to two of the best hotels in the Pacific, the Hyatt in
Guam and the PIC in Saipan for housing both us and the
races.
Tagaman road triathlon consists of a 2000m swim, 60km
bike and 15km run. I've got to admit, that after winning
both Guam and Saipan Xterra's it was hard to totally motivate
myself for this event. Fatigue was catching up from all
the racing and travelling, and 4 days scuba diving doing
our PADI course didn't help!
However the prize for doing the 'double' of fastest combined
time in Xterra Saipan and Tagaman is return flights to
here for next year and 7 nights accomodation for 2 at
the PIC including a gold card for all meals and also another
$500 cash. So it was essential to defend the 12 minute
lead I had over Australias Andrew Noble and win this challenge.
In the swim I lost about 4 minutes on the leaders and
exiting the perfect Pacific waters for the last time I
set about getting this time back. I managed to catch Andy
Noble at about 1/2 distance but I was still 2 minutes
behind the flying Japanese competitor Masauki Matsumaru.
I worked so hard in the searing heat, but only inched
closer to Masa. I had the quickest bike split, but was
still 2.5 minutes down as we entered Transition 2. After
a terrible transition losing my shoes I set about chasing
Masa on the run. After about 6 km, he was well in my sights
and I was only a minute down. With another 9km of running
to go I thought I had the better of Masa. Andrew was not
closing on me and I knew i had the 'double' crown, barring
any major problems.
However I didn't manage to get any closer, Masa ran the
last half superbly and I faded slightly. With a mile to
go, the gap was still one minute and I resigned myself
to 2nd place and jogged home.
It was a great end to the Saipan sports festival and I
urge any Brits wanting to do the races to join us there
in 2010.
My main goals on returning to the UK are the 2nd round
of the Mountain bike National points series, and then
Xterra Italy in 5 weeks time. Let's hope the season continues
as it's started.
It was a mixed British result at Saipan after our great
race in Guam.
I had possibly the best race of my Xterra career, winning
my 3rd international Xterra race and 2nd Global tour race
(Guam didn't have Global tour status). World champ Julie
Dibens crashed heavily on the bike and sustained some
nasty injuries but nothing broken we hope and started
the run in pain but with a slight lead over Renata Bucher
from Switzerland, unfortunately Renata got in front on
the run and Julie was left to salvage 2nd place. Jim McConnel
had another consistent race with 6th place despite nursing
an injury and against a quality pro field.
I managed to exit the water in 11th place and set about
chasing down the guys ahead in the blazing Saipan heat.
It took almost 1/2 a lap to catch last year's winner and
ex world duathlon champ Andrew Noble from Australia and
he announced the Mike Vine (the current US champion) was
leading just ahead, with this sprung me on I managed to
catch and pass Mike, and worked on building as much of
a lead as possible before the run, where I knew Mike would
be hunting me down.
I left transition 2 with a 3 minute advantage and ran
as hard as I've run, even with a mile to the finish when
I knew I had it in the bag, I still pushed harder, knowing
every second counts for the Saipan sports festival double
competition which takes the combined times for Xterra
and next weeks Tagaman race, I wanted as much of a cushion
as I could get. I was amazed to only lose 5 seconds to
Mike on the run in the end and win by close on 3 minutes.
With Mike now deciding to go back to the States and prepare
for the first US race in Vegas, and 3rd place Sacha Wiggenfield
of Germany returning to Europe it now leaves me with a
12 minute lead over Andrew Noble for the double competition.
The prize for the fastest combined time is a free flight
to the event next year from anywhere in the world, 7 night
accomodation and food at the Pacific Islands club where
we've been staying and also an additional $500US.
Watch this space for next weeks instalment of the Pacific
tour 2009.
Big thanks to all sponsors as ever, Cannondale bike was
faultless, Schwalbe tyres have had no punctures or crashes
all trip, Maximuscle kept me hydrated, Sundog eyewear
blocked the rays, big thanks to everyone else too.
Xterra Guam 1st, British domination!
Today was the first race of our Pacific racing tour, Xterra
Guam. After an eventful week, where my bike never made
it further than Dubai before getting delayed, let alone
the other 3 flights! Good job it was in it's new Bikeboxalan
hardcase and arrived eventually unscathed.
Still suffering with Jetlag due to arriving on Weds and
a 9 hour time difference, I was not sure quite how I'd
perform on the day. Luckily it went totally to plan. I
even managed to get on two times Xterra world champion,
Julie Dibens heels in the swim for 100m which helped me
break clear of the pack behind. Prefering to draft and
conserve energy, I eased up and swum in the lead pack,
with Julie blazing away on her own ahead.
A swift transition and I left T1 with fellow pro's Michael
Le Roux from Australia and Takahiro Ogasawara from Japan,
hitting the 3 1/2 mile road climb I went on the offensive
and left the other 2 guys. Knowing that Jim McConnel from
the UK would soon be chasing us down and not wanting to
be near the whippet on the run I worked hard to get a
decent lead.
Julie mean while was on a mission and it took me 20 minutes
to catch her and pass her. Infact she was still in 2nd
place as we entered T2, and Jim had moved up to 3rd place
with all 3 Brits in the top 3.
On to the run and I knew as long as I didn't do anything
stupid I should have the race in the bag. I successfully
negotiated the slippery run down the waterfall sections
and then while concentrating too hard on my line along
the rocky stream, I missed a course arrow taking me left
up the bank. I realised this 30 seconds later and quickly
retraced my steps in a panic.
Luckily no one got by and I ran home the victor, Jim chased
down Julie and finished 2nd, and Julie rounded out the
British top 3 and won the womens race convincingly from
Renata Bucher of Switzerland. Michael Le Roux of Australia
rounded off the mens podium.
Tomorrow we are off to Saipan for 2 weeks training and
then Xterra Saipan, which features top Xterra pros Mike
Vine (who won the US champs in '08 and has won Xterra
Saipan before) and Andrew Noble (Ex world Duathlon champion
and winner of last years Xterra Saipan) amongst other
competitors. Then Jim and I are racing Tagaman road triathlon
in Guam, while Julie is returning to the US for St Anthony's
Olympic distance non drafting race. |
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About Sam Gardner
> Xterra Japan 1st
> Xterra UK 6th
> Xterra France 7th
> Xterra Italy 9th
> Xterra Austria 10th
> Xterra US Champs 11th
> Overall 11th in European tour despite missing
2 rounds
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