World Mountain Bike Champion Christoph Sauser Crushes XTERRA Nevada Course

RESULTS

Christoph Sauser, a 32-year-old from Sigriswil, Switzerland, enjoyed his "holiday" in the U.S. by taking part in the XTERRA Nevada off-road triathlon as part of a relay team today.  The 2000 Olympic bronze medalist and current mountain biking world champion took the lead right away and raced all by himself on the 32-kilometer mountain bike course that climbed more than 2,500-feet up the Sierra Nevada range.  His bike split of 1:34:13 was more than 11 minutes faster than the second-best time and his relay squad (with Ian Malec running the first leg and Katerina Nash the last) was first across the line and bested 23 other relay teams with a total time of 2:05:55.

"This is a very beautiful place and a really great mountain bike course," said Sauser.

Today's XTERRA Nevada off-road triathlon was switched to a modified duathlon (run-bike-run) due to a cold front that blew in some high winds and whipped Lake Tahoe into a stormy sea making the swim portion unsafe.  The swim was switched to a short run of a little more than a mile, and the 300+ competitors from 14 states and five countries participating in today's race were clearly in agreement with the decision.

Cody Deane from Reno and the University of Nevada - Reno was the top overall individual finisher in 2:15:32 and won the inaugural XTERRA Collegiate Division National Title for the men.  Gary Mandy from Truckee, CA via South Africa was second overall, and first in the open category with a time of 2:17:32.

Rochelle Hair from Mammoth, CA was the top overall female in 2:44:07, followed by 14-year-old Shayna Powless in 2:45:08.  Maureen Downing-Kunz from the University of California - Berkeley won the women's XTERRA Collegiate National Championship (and placed 5th overall) in 2:47:51.

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