The
competition was fierce but Conrad Stoltz (29, Stellenbosch, South Africa) stole
the show once again and defended his crown at the seventh annual Nissan Xterra
World Championship at the Outrigger Wailea Resort in Maui, Hawaii on October 27th. Former Pennsylvania resident Candy Angle out-sprinted Jamie Whitmore
to capture the women’s title. Justin Thomas (27, Fairfax, Va.)
finished 6th in the pro race while Rebecca Bashton (Mechanicsville, Va.) was the top finisher in the
women’s 20-24 age group.
Stoltz, the winner of the last seven XTERRA races he’s entered, aggressively
attacked the dangerous bike portion of the race to pull off a one-minute
victory over Eneko Llanos of Spain. Stoltz crossed the line in 2:22:55, just
more than a minute ahead of Llanos (2:23:57) who posted the fastest run split
of the day.
“Things went wrong today on the bike climb – my gears were jumpy and I was
losing pressure in my tire,” said the two-time Nissan Xterra World Champion. “I
knew I had to have some time going into the run so I let it all out on the
downhill. I was going frighteningly fast and ended up in the bushes a few times
but it was still by far the best downhill I’ve ever done on the mountain bike.”
The bike course in Maui climbs 2,300 feet up the slopes of Haleakala (the
worlds largest dormant Volcano) and the final descent, labeled “The Plunge”,
drops 1,420 feet to the bike-to-run transition area in less than one-mile.
Hot on his tails was Llanos, who was trading leads with Stoltz through the
mid-way point of the bike. Last year in Maui Llanos watched a mechanical take
away a possible win.
“Today I took my revenge,” said Llanos. “Last year I felt so good before I
broke my chain and today I had no problems and it was perfect. I’m very happy
with my race. Conrad put a lot of time on me in the downhill and that is where
I lost the race.”
Stoltz bike split was two-minutes faster than anyone else in the talent-laden
pro field. Mix that with the fifth-best swim time and the third strongest run
and you have his season-long secret to success.
“XTERRA is my passion and my focus. It’s been my goal this year and I’ve
trained hard for these races,” said Stoltz, who was first off the bike at the
2000 Sydney Olympics. “I’m looking forward to many more years of XTERRA because
it is a sport that is expanding and the competition gets better every race.
It’s a great fit for me.”
Nicolas LeBrun of France had an error-free race to finish third and Canada’s
Mike Vine was right behind him in fourth. Frenchmen Olivier Marceau led in the
early stages of the bike course before a flat set him back and he was never
able to catch-up to the front again.
In the women’s race Candy Angle surprised everyone but herself and her partner
and coach, pro male Andrew Noble, by winning the biggest race of the year. The
33-year-old from Weymouth, Massachusetts came out of the water just seconds
behind Australia’s Raeleigh Tennant and put together a cautious and steady bike
with the second fastest-run for her first XTERRA World Championship.
Despite the fact that she showed signs of ever-improving success with XTERRA
(won the XTERRA Czech Republic race in June and placed third at the Nissan
Xterra USA Championship last month) not many counted on such a brilliant
performance.
“I was just really in the zone today,” said Angle. “I felt good, I was
comfortable, I’ve adjusted quite a few things with the help of Andrew, and am
really just hitting my peak now.”
The women’s race was one of the tightest and most exhilarating in recent memory
with XTERRA Pro Points Champion Jamie Whitmore (26, Elk Grove, California) and
Angle trading leads on the run until the final stages of the race. Angle took
advantage of a loose rocky beach section titled “Salt and Pepper Beach” to
sneak past Whitmore for good and sprint to the finish line.
Shari Kain, the 1999 XTERRA World Champion, hammered out her best race of the
year to finish in third and was followed by Raeleigh Tennant (who had her
best-ever Maui race) and Melissa Thomas - who posted the fastest bike split of
the day.
2002 Nissan Xterra World Championship Race Results
TOP 10 PRO MEN
Pl Name Age Hometown Final
Time
1
Conrad Stoltz 29 Stellenbosch, South Africa 2:22:55
2 Eneko Llanos 26 Vitoria-Gasteiz,
Spain 2:23:57
3
Nicolas LeBrun 28 Villeneuve-Loubet,
France 2:27:37
4 Mike Vine 29 Victoria, B.C., Canada 2:33:18
5 Olivier Marceau 29 Mougins,
France 2:34:43
6
Justin Thomas 27 Fairfax, Virginia 2:35:09
7 Allan Mansson 26 Copenhagen,
Denmark 2:35:34
8 Jason Chalker 27 Sydney,
Australia 2:36:46
9 Pat Brown 31 Boulder,
Colorado 2:37:21
10 Geoff Kabush 25 Victoria,
B.C., Canada 2:39:08
TOP 10 PRO WOMEN
Pl Name Age Hometown Final
Time
1
Candy Angle 33 Weymouth, Massachusetts
2:57:33
2
Jaime Whitmore 26 Elk
Grove, California 2:59:10
3 Shari Kain 37 Cupertino, California 3:03:20
4
Raeleigh Tennant 33 Canberra,
Australia 3:06:03
5
Melissa Thomas 32 Boulder,
Colorado 3:07:18
6 Erika Csomor 28 Szazhalombatta,
Hungary 3:09:21
7
Kerstin Weule 35 Evergreen, Colorado 3:10:13
8 Erin McCarty 32 San
Jose, California 3:10:37
9
Melanie McQuaid 29
Victoria, B.C., Canada 3:11:01
10 Linda Gabor 30 Menomonee
Falls, Wisconsin 3:13:05
FEMALE
AGE GROUP CHAMPIONS
Division Name Time Hometown
15-19 Allegra
Erisman 3:55:11 Haleiwa, Hawaii
20
- 24 Rebecca Bashton 3:28:29 Mechanicsville,
Virginia
25
- 29 Zoe King 3:23:35 Manly
Vale, NSW, Australia
30 - 34 Tina
Eakin 3:19:43 Kailua, Hawaii
35
- 39 Serena Warner 3:24:50 Provo, Utah
40
- 44 Jodi Ruby 3:46:43 La
Verne, California
45
- 49 Beverly Enslow 3:34:55 Peoria, Illinois
50 - 54 Lorenn
Walker 3:47:36 Waialua, Hawaii
55 - 59 Wendy
Minor 4:46:18 Honolulu, Hawaii
MALE
AGE GROUP CHAMPIONS
Division Name Time Hometown
15
- 19 Hunter Claxton 3:25:49 Ross, California
20
- 24 Josiah Middaugh 2:50:33 Vail, Colorado
25 - 29 Andrew
Wadsworth 2:46:17 Bristol, United Kingdom
30
- 34 Matt Boobar 2:50:41 Plymouth, New Hampshire
35
- 39 Mark Gavach 2:55:58 Boulder, Colorado
40
- 44 Tom Lyons 2:57:34 Reno,
Nevada
45
- 49 Reinhold Garnitschnig 3:11:51 Klopenfurt,
Germany
50
- 54 Jiri Kokes 3:52:48 Praha,
Czech Republic
55
- 59 Richard Wall 3:52:06 Colorado Springs, Colorado
60+ David Sharp 4:00:06 Kihei,
Maui
