XTERRA UK A WET AND WILD WEEKEND!

Monday, 4th September 2006

The arrival to South Wales' Vale of Neath of the XTERRA experience certainly proved to be a wet and wild one for all involved, but in the end it was the usual suspects who shared the spoils.

The return to the UK of the off road multisport festival culminated in Sunday's Duathlon XTERRA UK Championship, which was won by two already well decorated athletes. Seth Wealing of the USA won the men's race, with Renata Bucher of Switzerland winning in the women's race. The race was a 2.5km run, 32km mountain bike ride and another 10km run, which took place in the challenging terrain of Afan Forest Park.

Wealing, 27, from Indiana, an established off road triathlete and World Cup racer, won the race with a time of 2:12:38 (2 hours, 12 minutes, 38 seconds), consistently holding onto first place from the moment he started on the mountain bike after the first run.

But for Wealing, this course, hosting its first ever XTERRA race, was certainly no easy ride. He said: 'From three quarters of the way through I realised that I was at my strength limit. I just held on to the final quarter!

'I actually found XTERRA UK's bike course at times very different to other XTERRA venues that I have raced at over the world. There are some tough climbs, but it does allow you to work on a speed strategy'.

The women's duathlon, however, provided more entertainment for the crowd, with Bucher and Melissa Lombardi of South Africa continually exchanging the leading position. But in the end it was Bucher's fearless descents in the mountain bike leg, and a smooth and consistent run which held the order of the day. This was a repeat success for the 28 year old from Switzerland, and a repeat frustration for Lombardi, following the XTERRA France race earlier in the season where Bucher held off the South African to gain the top prize there.

Bucher said: 'I try and win in the downhills and push through in the uphills. This was a very difficult race, but my performance and result will serve me well for the XTERRA World Championships next month, where I hope to reach the top 5'.

Both Wealing and Bucher walked away with a jackpot of £2,200 following their sterling efforts. The weekend on the whole was faced with difficult weather conditions, which forced some last minute changes to the event schedule. The adjustments included changing the main Championship race from a triathlon (swim, bike, run) to a duathlon (run, bike, run). But in the end, the event continued to be a success, with 14 of the scheduled 18 events taking place.

The gale force winds and heavy rain made this a wet and wild weekend, which certainly appealed to the competitors who love the adventurous side to XTERRA races. Finishers entered the arch covered in mud and with a smile on their faces.

Winners in the weekend's other events included experienced XTERRA pro Melissa Thomas, who won the Saturday's 75k mountain bike enduro race comfortably, and 16 year old Robert Bowles of Oxford who came through in style in the sprint duathlon.