Nicolas LeBrun (Digne, France) used a remarkable run to capture the 4th annual Nissan Xterra East Championship overall title in Richmond, Va. on June 23rd. The off-road multisport race - first of four national championship events boasting a $125,000 pro purse - consisted of a 1-kilometer swim, 27-kilometer mountain bike and 10-kilometer trail run.
 
LeBrun, 28, finished the race in 2:08:04 - 20 seconds in front of Andrew Noble (Weymouth, Mass.). Reigning XTERRA World Champion Anke Erlank won the women’s race by a convincing five-minute margin.
 
LeBrun trailed leader Kerry Classen by a full-minute heading into the swim-to-bike transition and lost another two minutes when he stopped to repair a broken chain on his bike, however, he was able to make up all three on the trail run section of the course. He exited the bike-to-run transition in eighth place before blazing past the field to post a 35:07 split, three minutes and three seconds better than the runner-up performance of Classen.
 
“It was a pretty remarkable finish for Nico to move through eight places on the run but really no surprise,” said Race Director David Nicholas. “He did the same thing last year and if you looked through last season’s results you’d see he was the fastest runner in three of the four races.”
 
It’s the first XTERRA title for LeBrun, who finished second in the Nissan Xterra Pro Points Series and third at Richmond in 2001.
 
“When I broke my chain in the first loop I thought I had lost my chance to win but by the end of the bike I was still in the top 10,” said LeBrun. “I felt really strong with my run and when I was able to see Kerry and Andrew on the open section of the course, then I knew I could do it.”
 
Kerry Classen and Andrew Noble shared the lead throughout the race with Classen first out of the water by 10 seconds and first to the run by 11 seconds. The race was Noble’s first-ever XTERRA and Classen’s best finish in Richmond (9th last year and 7th in ’99).
 
Dominic Gillen from Connecticut posted an impressive fourth place finish in his first XTERRA while veteran racer Pat Brown rounded out the top five.
 
In the women’s race Melanie McQuaid came out of the swim in the middle of the pack before riding past everyone by the end of the first-of-two loops on the bike section. She carried her lead in the run until the last few miles before Erlank jolted past her.
 
The victory comes as an early birthday present for Erlank,who turns 25 on Friday. In just her second season on tour Erlank has won five of the seven races she’s entered and can now add Richmond to her list of conquered sites (she placed 5th at the East championship last year).
 
“I had a lot of ups and downs on the bike but didn’t over extend myself because I knew the run was going to be tough,” said Erlank. “Melanie went up by two minutes on me during the bike but I was able to pass her just a little past half-way through the run. It’s a great run because there’s a lot of fun stuff that takes your mind off how much your hurting, plus I practiced the rock jump part this year and had a really good line.”
 
Kerstin Weule, the winningest XTERRA athlete ever with 18 career wins, came in 3rd. Weule, now in her fifth year, had won the first two races in Richmond before finishing as the runner-up to Jody Mielke last year. Mielke was unable to race after breaking her leg mountain biking a few weeks ago.
 
Raeleigh Tennant, who captured the Australian Championship in April, finished fourth to improve on her 6th place finish last year. Cherie Touchette, the runner-up at the 2001 Nissan Xterra World Championship, placed fifth.
 
TOP 10 PRO MEN
1 Nicolas LeBrun, 2:08:042
2 Andrew Noble, 2:08:243
3 Kerry Classen, 2:08:394
4 Dominic Gillen, 2:09:595
5 Pat Brown, 2:11:356
6 Mike Vine, 2:11:377
7 Justin Thomas, 2:13:388
8 John Koenig, 2:14:549
9 Andy Kinley, 2:17:1410
10 Dave Harrison, 2:18:50
 
TOP 10 PRO WOMEN
1 Anke Erlank, 2:25:582
2 Melanie McQuaid, 2:31:213
3 Kerstin Weule, 2:32:344
4 Raeleigh Tennant, 2:33:515
5 Cherie Touchette, 2:38:446
6 Melissa Thomas, 2:40:247
7 Katherine Zambrana, 2:40:518
8 Candy Angle, 2:42:189
9 Lorraine Barrows, 2:46:4210
10 Catherine Phillips, 2:50:35 
 
For complete results, visit http://www.xterraplanet.com/race/results02/richmond02_xoverall.html.