Defending His Crown: Triathlon Pro Mike Vine Excited by XTERRA UK
Wednesday, 9th August 2006
Professional triathlete Mike Vine is to compete in the XTERRA UK event and will be defending his title following the return to the UK of the off road multisport festival.
Vine, 33, from Victoria, Canada, won the title in Minehead, Somerset in 2002, when the XTERRA series last came to the UK. Now he is looking forward to sampling the revamped XTERRA UK now taking place in the Vale of Neath, South Wales.
Competing in the event's showpiece XTERRA UK Championship, which will consist of a 1400 metre swim, 34km cross country mountain bike and a 10km trail run, Vine has previously won the Nissan XTERRA Mountain Championship off road triathlon in Keystone, Colorado, come second in the XTERRA USA Pro Tour Series and narrowly missed out on the podium of last years XTERRA World Championship in Maui, Hawaii.
Despite having already qualified for this year's World Championship, a race for which further places will be up for grabs in XTERRA UK's Age Group Championship, Vine has not been too satisfied with his season of late, which has been blighted by injury; firstly a bruised kidney and badly cracked ribs, and then 21 stitches to the knee.
Speaking in his current training base in San Diego, California, Vine says: 'My only real noteworthy achievement this year has been to take second place in XTERRA Mexico, and even there I was not at 100%.'
But Vine, well known for his addiction to the adventurous nature of XTERRA's off road circuits around the world, is certainly looking forward to the challenging assent of 1000 metres over the 34kms of the UK championship's mountain bike leg.
He continues: 'I'm certainly excited about the UK race, I had a great time the last time that I raced there. And the mountain bike ride sounds tough the way I like it!'
And to build up to this, Vine will busy this month defending another crown, the Nissan XTERRA Mountain Championships taking place this year in Utah, where he hopes that the new course will suit his style.
XTERRA itself is a mountain biking and off-road triathlon concept which has been in the States since 1996 and is the world's fastest-growing multi-sport series. XTERRA boasts 90 races annually in the Nissan XTERRA Points Series in the United States and the Global and European tours with championships in Saipan, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, Italy, Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Spain and now also the UK, France and Denmark.
A decade since the inaugural event XTERRA is now coming to the UK. The XTERRA concept and race series appeals to a range of competitors from mountain biking to adventure racing, triathlon, duathlon and trail running. The weekend event is designed to encourage participation in a range of events.
Moreover there will be a campsite, exhibitions and activities for the whole family including children. The Neath Valley location has been chosen as an area which is superb for mountain biking and running. The area already hosts many international sporting events such as the Wales Rally GB, World Cup MTB Down Hill, National Mountain Bike Championships, adventure racing, triathlon and many other leisure activities. The forest is also used as a training venue for many UK professional multi-sports athletes.
Source: Press Release
more info:www.XTERRA.co.uk