Press and Media Center

XTERRA Mountain Champs Next Weekend

The XTERRA Mountain Championship on July 16 is the last of six regionals in the XTERRA U.S. Pro Series and the first major to be held high up in the mountains.

The last five races were at low-altitude courses in Nevada, Texas, California, Alabama, and Virginia; and while every destination has its own set of unique challenges – the Mountain Champs is all about big climbing in the thin air of the Rockies. It’s exactly that feature that has attracted the sports best climbers and mountain dwellers to Beaver Creek Resort in Avon, Colorado. 

Frenchman Nico Lebrun won the last two at Beaver Creek and returns to defend his title just a week after racing at the XTERRA France Championship.  Last year he won XTERRA France and the Mountain Champs on back-to-back weekends.

In order to three-peat the 2005 XTERRA World Champ will have to out-climb and out-run a hearty collection of Coloradoans in what promises to be the most level playing field of the season.  With the absence of South Africans Conrad Stoltz and Dan Hugo – who finished 1-2 in each of the last three races – the top spots are wide open.

Hometown favorite Josiah Middaugh (pictured), a six-time XTERRA National Champion, helped design the course and has no doubt logged more hours on these trails than anyone.  It’d be a hard to bet against him, even with Lebrun’s proven prowess on this mountain.

That said, both Branden Rakita and Seth Wealing have shown they have what it takes to win.  Rakita led from the swim until about mile nine on the bike last year, while Wealing fell just 23 seconds short of chasing down Lebrun for the title.

Others not to be overlooked include Cody Waite – fifth here last year; Brian Smith – a terror on both the bike and the run; and Craig Evans – who’s ranked 4th in the America Tour and placed in the top five in each of the last two races.

In all, 16 of the top 20 ranked racers in the XTERRA U.S. Pro Series will be on hand to race for bragging rights and their share of the $10,500 prize purse.

In the women’s race the clear-cut favorite is Shonny Vanlandingham, the reigning XTERRA World Champion & most successful rider in NORBA mountain biking history.
 
“Shonny V” has won this race each of the last three years, and most recently won the XTERRA East Championship.  With a victory here (and she won by more than seven minutes last year) Vanlandingham would take the points lead over Melanie McQuaid leading into the finale at the USA Championship in Utah on Sept. 24 – so the motivation is certainly there.

Last year’s runner-up Sara Tarkington is healthy and ready to contend, as is Christine “Big Fish” Jeffrey and Suzie Snyder – fresh off a career-best 3rd place showing at the East Championship.

Emma Garrard was fourth at this race last year and has spent the last month at altitude in the mountains around Park City, Utah.

Mountain Bike expert Kelley Cullen, who placed fourth in her first-ever XTERRA at the West Championship earlier this year, should be fun to watch as will two first-year Colorado-based pros – Jaime Brede and Luisa Bryce.  Bryce won the 25-29 World Title in Maui last year, and Brede is a two-time 30-34 XTERRA National Champ.

With nearly 5,000 feet of climbing in a race that combines a mile swim with a 16-mile bike and 6-mile trail run, the real competition is Mother Nature.  For all, a grueling challenge awaits and who wins may just be a matter of who can suffer the best.  We’ll find out July 16.

Click here to see the XTERRA Mountain Championship Press Guide, complete with updated racer profiles and standings.