American cycling legend has Beehive State buzzing with excitement
by EnduranceSportsWire.com
Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong will race at the XTERRA USA Championship triathlon Saturday, Sept. 24 at Snowbasin Resort near Ogden, Utah - his first triathlon in more than 20 years.
Armstrong tweeted his intentions last week and an Associated Press article confirmed the wide-spread speculation shortly after, setting off a flurry of action on social media sites around the world.
"I'm going out 2 have a good time, enjoy the course, & support the event," said Armstrong.
While the buzz hit frenetic levels with the news, the "rumors" of a possible Armstrong appearance started slowly in the jungles of Japan when XTERRA World Champ Conrad "the Caveman" Stoltz was in Marunuma for XTERRA in late August.
"I got a tweet from Armstrong about training and at first I thought it was a joke because I'd never talked to him before," said Stoltz, who embraced the news saying "I think it'll be great for the sport and I'm really excited to race against him" in an interview with Triathlete Magazine.
The hype intensified when Armstrong posted a profile to his twitter account of a pre-ride he did on the XTERRA USA Championship course at Snowbasin, a brand new route that had just been approved for use by the US Forest Service.
"We had literally just got clearance and made the decision to use the Sardine Peak trail for the USA course the day before Armstrong showed up," said Steve Andrus, the Snowbasin Resort sport event operations director who was tasked with showing Armstrong around. (Note: In photo Andrus is pictured on Armstrong's left, with Mike Caldwell, an Ogden mayoral candidate and former race director for the Ogden off-road tri he started in 2004, on his right, and age group competitor Josh Mortensen from nearby Eden, Utah on the far left).
"That was a cool experience. He was very inquisitive, wanted to know everything from tire choices to weather possibilities, elevation, trail conditions, other competitors, everything you could think of," said Mortensen, who got to pre-ride with Armstrong, Caldwell, and 1996 XTERRA World Champion Jimmy Riccitello. "It was pretty humbling to have one of the best cyclists to ever walk the planet ask me questions like that, and then he would just take off … man can he haul."
Now the big question is, "How will he do?"
"Lance coming to XTERRA is huge," said XTERRA Managing Director Dave Nicholas. "In our kinds of sports he is an icon. We're flattered he chose us, but if he thinks it will be easy pickins, he is in for a surprise. Our guys will not go silently into the night."
XTERRA USA Championship Press Guide
2011 XTERRA USA CHAMPIONSHIP PRO START LIST
Tentative as of 9.20.11
2011 Rank - Name - Age, Hometown
1 - Conrad Stoltz - 37, Stellenbosch, South Africa
2 - Josiah Middaugh - 32, Vail, Colorado
3 - Nicolas Lebrun -38, Digne, France
4 - Branden Rakita - 30, Manitou Springs, Colorado
5 - Seth Wealing - 32, Boulder, Colorado
6 - Craig Evans - 33, Hendersonville, Tennessee
7 - Cody Waite - 32, Lakewood, Colorado
8 - Dan Hugo - 25, Stellenbosch, South Africa
10 - Jason Michalak - 33, Lakewood, Colorado
11 - Adam Wirth - 33, Boise, Idaho
12 - Brad Zoller - 33, Avon, Colorado
13 - Patrick Valentine - 25, Colorado Springs, Colorado
15 - Matt Boobar - 38, Stratton Mountain, Vermont
18 - Will Ross - 22, Anchorage, Alaska
24 - Jimmy Archer - Boulder, Colorado
25 - Will Kelsay - 29, Boulder, Colorado
30 - Ben Allen - 26, North Wollongong, Australia
31 - Lance Armstrong - 40, Austin, Texas
32 - Tim DeBoom - 40, Boulder, Colorado
33 - Chris Ganter - 32, Boise, Idaho
34 - David Henestrosa - 34, Manresa, Spain
35 - Michael Hiscott - 28, London, England
36 - Lewellyn Holmes -29, Bristol, England
2011 Rank - Name - Age, Hometown
61 - Melanie McQuaid - 38, Victoria, B.C., Canada
62 - Shonny Vanlandingham - 41, Durango, Colorado
63 - Christine Jeffrey - 38, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
64 - Emma Garrard - 30, Park City, Utah
65 - Suzie Snyder - 29, Fredericksburg, Virginia
66 - Jessica Noyola - 29, San Diego, California
67 - Caroline Colonna - 46, Taos, New Mexico
68 - Tracy Thelen - 31, Colorado Springs, Colorado
70 - Kelley Cullen - 30, New Castle, Colorado
71 - Lesley Paterson - 30, San Diego, California (Scotland)
72 - Sara Tarkington - 30, Boulder, Colorado
73 - Danelle Kabush - 36, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
74 - Luisa Bryce - 29, Denver, Colorado
75 - Jaime Brede - 33, Breckenridge, Colorado
77 - Kim Baugh - 31, Colorado Springs, Colorado
80 - Mical Dyck - 29, Victoria, B.C., Canada
81 - Tammy Jacques - 45, Steamboat Springs, Colorado
82 - Carina Wasle - 26, Kundl, Austria
Note:
Numbers 1-25 represent men's exact position in 2011 XTERRA U.S. Pro Series standings
Numbers 30-up represent non-ranked pro men in alphabetical order, then late additions
Numbers 61-77 represents women's exact position (those ranked 1-17) in 2011 XTERRA U.S. Pro Series standings
Numbers 80-up represent non-ranked pro men in alphabetical order, then late additions
http://www.xtri.com/features/detail/284-itemId.511712979.html
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XTERRA USA CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE
XTERRA USA Championship Course Map
1.5k swim / 28k mountain bike / 9.8k trail run
PRE-RIDING / PRACTICE PARKING
There is no parking at Port Ramp Marina during the week.Please park at the Wheeler Canyon trailhead or at Snowbasin and coast down to the bottom of Wheeler Canyon trailhead to begin riding.
QUICK STATS
Swim course distance: 1,500-meters (0.93 miles) Combines two 750-meter laps (no run in-between)
Elevation at Port Ramp Marina for swim start: 4,900-feet
Water temperature: TBA, expected to be in the 65-degree range
Mountain bike course distance: 28-kilometers (17.7 miles)
Total climbing on bike: 3,400-feet
Elevation at highest point: 7,300-feet (where Sardine Peak Trail meets the ridgeline)
Elevation at T2/Snowbasin Resort Lodge: 6,400-feet
Trail Run course distance: 9.8-kilometers (6.1 miles)
Total climbing on run: 700-feet
Total climbing on course: 4,100-feet
http://www.xterraplanet.com/utah/index.html
Lance Armstrong’s Trek Superfly Elite, Gary Fisher Collection
more photos
http://triathlon.competitor.com/2011/09/gear-tech/photos-lance-armstrongs-trek-superfly-mountain-bike_40000/attachment/2-26
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Lebrun And McQuaid Win XTERRA USA Champs, Lance Armstrong Finishes Fifth
Updated: Sep 24th 2011 2:50 PM UTC by Liz Hichens
France’s Nico Lebrun and Canada’s Melanie McQuaid took the titles at today’s XTERRA USA Championship at the Ogden & Snowbasin Resort in Utah. Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong finished fifth in his first triathlon in 22 years.
Men’s Recap
lzzq 224x300 Lebrun And McQuaid Win XTERRA USA Champs, Lance Armstrong Finishes Fifth
Nico Lebrun took the win in front of an excited crowd.
The men’s race started with Australia’s Ben Allen leading out of the two-lap 750m swim. He was followed by Brenden Rikita and Craig Evans. As the riders took on the brand new 28km bike course, South Africa’s Dan Hugo made a move and established himself up front. He exited T2 with an approximately two-minute lead. Following Hugo were fellow South African Conrad Stoltz, France’s Nico Lebrun and then Armstrong. The run is where things got interesting. Hugo looked strong early on, but was overtaken by a fast-running Lebrun at mile four. Hugo kept pace with the Frenchman but was never able to retake the lead. Lebrun took the win with an unofficial time of 2:24:20.
“When I came into T2 I saw Conrad’s and Dan’s bike and thought, ‘Okay so I’m third. I can make it. Now I just have to pace myself and it will be ok. I caught him in mile 4. Dan didn’t try to go with me; he knows I’m a good runner,” Lebrun said after crossing the finish line.
Hugo finished shortly after in second with Josiah Middaugh rounding out the podium.
“I hadn’t been that nervous for a very long time,” explained Hugo. “A very huge thanks to Armstrong for coming out. We’ve never had an XTERRA like this.—the energy, the expectation, the way it got people excited back home in South Africa. Today was a big opportunity and the stage felt a lot bigger.”
Stoltz, the favorite to defend his title today, earned fourth. Armstrong turned in a solid run to finish fifth.
“I was nervous,” said Armstrong. “I was just trying to stay focused on what I had to do today just because I was so freaked out. It had been so long. I didn’t sleep last night.”
Women’s Recap
For the women, Christine Jeffrey exited with several of the top men, giving herself a nice lead heading onto the bike. Canada’s Melanie McQuaid rode hard from the beginning and quickly established herself as the one to beat. The effort on the singletrack paid off as McQuaid started the run with a sizeable lead over her competition. Behind the Canadian, Scot Lesley Paterson was hitting the trails hard. McQuaid’s lead was just too much for anyone to overcome and she took the win. Paterson cruised in for second, with another Canadian, Danelle Kabush earning third. American Kelley Cullen earned third and local athlete Emma Garrard took fifth.
Check back for a complete race report with finishing times and a photo gallery from the race.
XTERRA USA Championship
Ogden & Snowbasin Resort, Utah – Sept. 24, 2011
1.5km swim, 28km bike, 10km run
Men*
1. Nico Lebrun (FRA)
2. Dan Hugo (RSA)
3. Josiah Middaugh (USA)
4. Conrad Stoltz (RSA)
5. Lance Armstrong (USA)
Women*
1. Melanie McQuaid (CAN)
2. Lesley Paterson (SCO)
3. Danelle Kabush (CAN)
4. Kelley Cullen (USA)
5. Emma Garrard (USA)
http://triathlon.competitor.com/2011/09/news/lebrun-and-mcquaid-win-xterra-usa-champs-lance-armstrong-finishes-fifth_40035
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El Xterra volvió a ver un Armstrong con madera de triatleta y a acabó a 4:59 de otro talludito como el francés Nicolás Len[Img #3987]brun, pero dio muestras que sigue destilando clase a raudales y que con una preparación más intensa y específica podría competir en pruebas de más calado y de mayor fondo.
En natación, que es donde podía haber notado más el regreso, fue uno de los destacados. Realizó los 1.500 metros en 21:55, el tercer mejor tiempo de todos los participantes: En bici pagó el cambio de la bici de carretera a la de montaña y aunque hizo un buen tiempo no pudo marcar las diferencias que habrían sido las normales en una carretera convencional. Marcó 1:24.32, el cuarto mejor tiempo.
Fuen en la carrera a pie donde se notó que aún no está preparado adecuadamente para ser más competitivo en el triatlón y en los 10,2 kilómetros finales se distanció con un tiempo de 42,58 aunque hay que recordar que el recorrido es de montaña con múltiples obstáculos.
Armstrong reconoció al acabar que había sido una prueba “más difícil de lo que me esperaba. ¿Si hoy siento que tengo 40 años? Totalmente”, aseguraba entre risas el americano.
http://diariodeltriatlon.es/not/2068/armstrong_cumple_en_su_vuelta_al_triatlon/
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