Xterra World Champs Set For Sunday In Maui

Published October 27, 2012 09:59PM

More than 700 athletes representing more than 30 countries and 42 states are entered in the 2012 Xterra World Championship off-road triathlon, scheduled for Sunday, October 28, at the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, on the island of Maui. The race starts at 9 a.m. Hawaii time (12 noon PST, 3pm EST, 9 p.m. in Europe, 5 a.m. in Sydney, 4 p.m. in Brazil).

For the second straight year the Xterra Worlds course will traverse Maui Land & Pineapple Company’s 22,000-acre Kapalua oasis. However, there are significant changes to the swim and bike courses from last year.  The race starts the same, with a 1.5-kilometer rough water swim at D.T. Fleming Beach fronting the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua; but for the first-time ever will feature wave starts beginning with pro men and women, then all age group men, then all age group women.  “We love the mass start but with a record-field of more than 700, it’s a matter of athlete safety,” explained race director Dave Nicholas. “This year the swim course will be like an Australian M course, so we’ll still have the famous Xterra beach run where family and friends can see where you are in the pack.”

Once on the bike riders will navigate from the Ritz to a ridgeline – down to a ravine – and back up again, “like a tropical roller-coaster ride through pineapple fields and forests.”  The bike is one big 18.8-mile loop with 3,100-feet of climbing that goes up-and-down the lower slopes of the West Maui Mountains more than a dozen times. This year several technical single and double track sections have replaced dirt jeep roads. “The new stuff has tight, twisting, sharp corners, space just wide enough for your handlebars, places if you don’t get it right you’ll hit your shoulder on a tree,” said Nicholas.

Once on the 10K run competitors will be faced with a whole lot of climbing while they weave along dirt trails, through Oleander forests, and into 60-foot high ironwood evergreens to an unexpected mountain lake at the 700-foot level.  “It descends like a slalom course through high green Bermuda grasses and opens up in spots to expose fantastic views of the Pacific,” said Nicholas. “Obstacles are everywhere, including a technical, steep downhill into a gully where racers will have to jump over and duck under fallen trees, navigate a rocky dry creek, head through thick elephant grass, up a short rope-assisted scramble and along a narrow single track trail with switchbacks that drop all the way down to the beach. The final test of skill and endurance is a calf-busting 250-meter sandy beach run.”

The 17th edition of the Xterra World Championship on Oct. 28 at Kapalua, Maui will feature one of the strongest, most diverse professional fields in triathlon history. There are more than 70 pros representing 20 countries on the tentative pro start list, including some of the biggest names from the Olympics, Xterra, ITU, Ironman, 70.3, Duathlon, Winter Tri, mountain biking, snowshoeing, and adventure racing scenes.

Here is a look at some of the headliners:  Conrad Stoltz, RSA – Unprecedented four-time XTERRA World Champion, 10x US Pro Series Champion - Javier Gomez, ESP – Olympic Silver Medalist (current ITU No. 2) - Sebastien Kienle, GER – 2012 IM 70.3 World Champion - Eneko Llanos, ESP – 3x XTERRA World Champion  - Tim Don, GBR – 2006 World Champion (current ITU WTS No. 16)\ - Ben Hoffman, USA – 2012 IM St. George, Wisconsin Champion - Victor Del Corral, ESP – 2012 IM Lanzarote and ETU Cross Tri Champ, 2011 XTERRA France Champion - Olivier Marceau, SUI – Three-time Olympian and XTERRA European Tour Champion - Nicolas Lebrun – 2012 XTERRA European Tour Champion, 2005 XTERRA World Champion - Josiah Middaugh, USA – 2012 XTERRA USA Champion - Richard Ussher, NZL – World Adventure Racing Champion - Chris Legh, AUS – Nearly 100 professional triathlon victories - Francisco “Paco” Serrano, MEX – 2008 Olympian - Brent McMahon, CAN – 2012 Olympian (current ITU WTS No.37

For the women…  Lesley Paterson, GBR – Reigning XTERRA World Champ, ITU Cross Tri World Champion - Erin Densham, AUS – Olympic Bronze Medalist (current ITU No. 1) - Mary Beth Ellis, USA – 2012 Ironman Texas and New York Champion (70.3 wins in Norway, Singapore) - Barbara Riveros, CHI – London Olympian (current ITU WTS No. 7) - Magali Tisseyre, CAN – 2012 IM 70.3 Calgary, Mooseman, and Mount Tremblant Champion - Marion Lorblanchet, FRA – 2010, 2011 XTERRA European Tour Champion - Helena Erbenova, CZE – 2012 XTERRA European Tour Champion, 2006 Winter Olympian - Renata Bucher, SUI – 29 career XTERRA Championship wins, 4 Euro Tour titles - Melanie McQuaid, CAN – 3x XTERRA World Champ, 2011 ITU Cross Tri World Champion - Shonny Vanlandingham, USA – 2010 XTERRA World Champ, American Mountain Biking Legend - Heather Jackson, USA – 2012 Wildflower Long Course and San Diego Int’l Triathlon Champion

Visit Xterralive.com and follow Triathlete editor-in-chief on Twitter (@juliapolloreno) for race day updates and coverage.

Xterra World’s Pro List
In order of finish position in 2011, then alphabetical
Bib # (place at last year’s WC) – Name – Age, Hometown
1 (3) – Eneko Llanos – 35, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
2 (4) - Josiah Middaugh – 34, Vail, Colorado
3 (6) – Olivier Marceau – 39, Vallauris, France (SUI)
4 (8) – Richard Ussher – 36, Nelson, New Zealand
5 (9) – Jan Kubicek – 32, Chodov City, Czech Republic
6 (10) – Chris Legh – 39, Lyons, Colorado (AUS)
7 (11) – Sam Gardner – 37, Surrey, United Kingdom
8 (13) – Nicolas Lebrun – 39, Digne-les-Bains, France
9 (14) – Mike Vine – 39, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
10 (17) – Jim Thijs – 32, Huldenberg, Belgium
11 (18) – Branden Rakita – 31, Colorado Springs, Colorado
12 (22) – Llewellyn Holmes – 30, Bristol, United Kingdom
14 (23) – Felipe Moletta – 25, Sao Jose Dos Pinhais, Brazil
15 (29) – Ben Allen – 27, North Wollongong, Australia
16 (31) – Cody Waite – 34, Lakewood, Colorado
17 (32) – Cid Santos – 30, Natal, Brazil
18 (33) – Will Ross – 23, Anchorage, Alaska
19 (36) – Pierre Facomprez – 29, Nervers, France
20 – Jimmy Archer – 40, Boulder, Colorado
21 – Francois Carloni – 27, Frejus, France
22 – Leonardo Chacon – 28, Liberia, Costa Rica
23 – Braden Currie – 26, Wanaka, New Zealand
24 – Brice Daubord – 27, Orleans, France
25 – Gianpietro De Faveri – 43, Vittorio Veneto, Italy
26 – Victor Del Corral – 32, Santa Olivia, Spain
27 – Tim Don – 34, London, United Kingdom
28 – Craig Evans – 34, Hendersonville, Tennessee
29 – Jan Francke – 43, Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic
30 – Denilson Freitas – 44, Serra, Brazil
31 – Javier Gomez – 29, Pontevedra, Spain
32 – Damian Gonzalez – 36, Stockton, California
34 – Jordan Jones – 31, Golden, Colorado
35 – Sebastien Kienle – 28, Hohenklingen, Germany
36 – Mark Leishman – 34, Rotorua, New Zealand
37 – Yeray Luxem – 26, Merksem, Belgium
38 – Brent McMahon – 32, Victoria, B.C., Canada
39 – Takahiro Ogasawara – 32, Tokyo, Japan
40 – Max Renko – 27, Vienna, Austria
42 – Felix Schumann – 30, Bad Wimpfen, Germany
43 – Francisco “Paco” Serrano – 32, Garza Garcia, Mexico
44 – Asa Shaw – 28, Frejus, France (GBR)
45 – Conrad Stoltz – 39, Stellenbosch, South Africa
46 – Kenji Takeya – 43, Misato, Japan
47 – Jean-Philippe Thibodeau – 22, Baie-Saint-Paul, Canada

# (place at last year’s WC) – Name – Age, Hometown
101 (1) – Lesley Paterson – 32, San Diego, California (GBR)
102 (2) – Marion Lorblanchet – 29, Clermont Ferrand, France
103 (3) – Helena Erbenova – 33, Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech
104 (4) – Renata Bucher – 35, Lucerne, Switzerland
105 (5) – Danelle Kabush – 37, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
107 (9) – Brandi Heisterman – 37, Brackendale, B.C., Canada
108 (15) – Suzie Snyder – 30, Stafford, Virginia
109 (17) – Catherine Dunn – 50, Wellington, New Zealand
110 (21) – Caroline Colonna – 48, Taos, New Mexico
111 – Katie Button – 27 Collingwood, Ontario, Canada
114 – Tamara Donelson – 37, Edwards, Colorado (AUS)
115 – Heather Jackson – 28, Carlsbad, California
116 – Christine Jeffrey – 40, Tucson, Arizona (CAN)
117 – Melanie McQuaid – 39, Victoria, B.C., Canada
118 – Elizabeth Orchard – 26, Epsom, New Zealand
119 – Mari Rabie – 26, Stellenbosch, South Africa
120 – Barbara Riveros – 25, La Pintana, Chile
121 – Jacqui Slack – 29, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom
122 – Magali Tisseyre – 31, St-Sauveur, Canada
124 – Shonny Vanlandingham – 43, Durango, Colorado