Complete Results / Photos / Video
(Beaver Creek Resort – Avon, CO) – Reigning XTERRA World Champion Josiah Middaugh defended his home turf and rookie women’s pro Julie Baker took the top step in her elite debut on an absolutely epic day in the mountains at the 8th annual XTERRA Beaver Creek Championship in Avon, Colorado this morning.
The win is Middaugh’s fourth in a row on his home course (he lives and trains just one-mile down the road) and his fourth in a row this season following victories at XTERRA Argentina, XTERRA Tahiti, and XTERRA Oak Mountain.
For Baker, who won the overall amateur XTERRA USA and World Championship titles last year, the win re-affirms her decision to go pro. Of note, 24-year-old Tess Amer from Boulder, Colorado actually had the fastest women’s time of the day in 2:37:21, however, due to the two-minute start time difference between the pro women’s swim wave and the amateur women’s start, she crossed the finish line in 2nd.
In the men’s race, local pro Brad Zoller swam up front in the 66-degree, wetsuit-legal waters of Nottingham Lake all by himself and had the fastest swim split of the day in 19:14 with Branden Rakita, Leon Griffin, Greg Bennett, Rom Akerson and Ben Hoffman all together about 30-seconds back.
Middaugh had a good swim by his standards (21:01) and in what has become a commonplace occurrence here at Beaver Creek, he made up the difference by the end of the first big (brutal) climb about five miles into the bike.
“I felt good in the swim,” said Middaugh. “I knew there was a gap, but it was okay, it was a pretty good gap for me. I was worried that I was going to come out and be 2:30 behind, but I was able to keep it close enough, I think it was 1:30ish, so it was right where I wanted to be.”
By mile 11 Middaugh was 25-seconds ahead of the Costa Rican, Akerson, and roughly one-minute in front of Hoffman and the young gun Sam Long. (Long, at just 20-year-old, was racing in his first-ever XTERRA. The CU student has only been pro for a month!)
By the time Middaugh hit the last twisty downhill section of the bike course called Corkscrew he had increased his lead on Akerson to 1:15, had 1:40 on Hoffman and Long, and 2:40 to Rakita riding in fifth.
Despite posting the fastest bike of the day (1:10:13) and taking the lead into the run Middaugh said the race was far from over.
“I did not have much left on the run,” he said. “For the first time in a couple of years I was in survival mode.”
Survive he did, and with the win moves into the lead of the Pan Am Pro Series standings.
Behind him the longshot Sam Long put in the fastest run split of the day and caught Hoffman and Akerson to move into second-place just 20-seconds behind the world champ.
“Outrageous, I can’t even believe it right now,” said Long, who has a double major going at CU in psychology and integrated physiology. “2nd in a pro race, against these guys, it’s incredible.”
Akerson was equally excited to hold off Hoffman and finish in third.
“On the run the Long and I hit the first big climb together and man can that kid run fast downhill,” said Akerson. “I mean, I thought I could run fast downhill but he really went at it. I was just killing my legs going down and he just kept opening it up and I thought Hoffman was going to catch me too but he didn’t, so I guess I had a solid run and pulled it off.”
Hoffman finished in fourth, his fifth straight top four at this event.
“That was painful like always,” said Hoffman. “I thought I would have a better day but when the run started I just didn’t have any punch. The main objective was to punch my ticket for Maui so I got that done. I didn’t crash, and it’s fun. I love getting out here and doing something different, it’s definitely a good fun battle with all these guys. Josiah took it to us like he always does. He’s a class act and a world champion so I’m not surprised, but I’ll be back next year probably to see if I can go on better.”
Leon Griffin passed Rakita on the run to round out the top five, and after the race said “it was a blast, certainly going to try to do more of these in the future.”
MORE QUOTES FROM THE TOP FOUR MEN
JOSIAH MIDDAUGH
(What was it like getting into the lead on the bike?)
“I got in the top 5, I could see the lead of the race, so I felt really good about it, but you know I was around really strong guys. Sam was riding strong. Rom was riding strong, Leon was riding strong, Ben was riding strong too, so it wasn’t like I was flying by guys. I was catching and then dragging them all up together and then all of a sudden we had 4 or 5 guys all in a line, so I wasn’t shaking them off to easy.”
(So when did you take the lead for good?)
On the pavement climb just right before we got back on the dirt, I gradually reeled guys in but we were all kind of in a line. I put in a little attack at the very top just to put a little distance and then I was able to get ahead and then Rom and I put some distance on some of the downhill and then the only guy I could see was Rom for the rest of the way.
(Are you on track?)
I’m a little behind, I don’t know. I can’t rest on my fitness, I gotta build on it a little bit. Yeah definitely, a wins a win and I got confidence to that, I can race well when I’m not feeling that well, so I feel good about that.
(On the tight racing)
It made for a really exciting racing, you know there was a much bigger front swim pack which made it exciting, not for me so much because I wasn’t in it but you know when I caught up on the bike there was a big group of riders and those guys are just super strong in their other disciplines, those guys are monsters on the bike, and Ironman and ITU racing and you know they can climb, they are lightweight, they go up hill and they can put down the power so it wasn’t easy to catch them. Luckily I caught them early enough and was able to put a distance and use some of the technical skills to put a little bit more gap.”
(On his 12-year-old Sullivan racing the Sprint event, his first try)
I was thinking about him all day and it was good motivation for me. It was great to see him having fun. I took a lot of pride in that.
SAM LONG
The swim was pretty hard; I always have a hard time in the swim. Me and Josiah came right out of the water together and I said I’m just going to hang with him on the bike, so I rode right by him till the top of the climb. We passed Ben Hoffman and all those guys. He was in first and I was in second then he lost me on the decent a little bit and I rode with Ben Hoffman the rest of the way. I think Ben Hoffman came in a little in front of me, he came in 4th off the bike. Then I just felt amazing off the run, actually only probably ran twice in the last two weeks, I’ve been dealing with a foot injury so I wasn’t sure if I was even going to be able to finish to be honest but my legs felt 100 percent fresh on the run, I’ve never had such a feeling. I’ve grown up in Boulder my whole life and my family has been fortunately enough to have a house in Crested Butte so I have mountain biked up their tons, every summer I go up there and just hammer it so I like to think this is home, this is a lot like Crested Butte. I got into triathlons my Junior year in High School so its only been three years
(What’s next)
I’m racing Calgary next weekend actually, 70.3. I wasn’t planning on doing any other XTERRAs but now I have to. I’ll be at Nationals, and maybe World’s after that. It’s so fun.
ROM AKERSON
I’ve been at altitude for 12 days and this is the difference. I had a little mess up on my bike for a second, you know my chain came off but it’s all part of the racing though. Solid race. I wanted to get off my bike with Josiah today, it was close though, but one step at a time and I’ll get ready for my next race.
(On racing against Josiah in the Pan Am Pro Series)
I’ll see him in Dominic Republic, I’ll see him in Mexico, and I’ll see him at Nationals. I got plenty time to race against him.
(On Beaver Creek)
I love it here, I’m actually thinking of coming up and getting ready for the US Nationals here and the people are great. Beaver Creek is the Sh*%!
BEN HOFFMAN
(On Sam Long)
“I’m happy for him, he had a good day, you can’t argue with the way he raced, he pushed all day, he was up there with me on the bike coming in and he actually went up the top of the climb pretty much with Josiah, he had a special day, and then on the run he ran passed me about a mile and a half in and I had nothing to match it. I’ve raced him on the road a few times and pretty much have been ahead of him there but he had a great day today and definitely took it to us on the run especially, I think he ran back pretty close, he’s got a future in XTERRA for sure.
ELITE MEN RESULTS
Pos Name, NAT Time Points 1 Josiah Middaugh, USA 2:10:05 100 2 Sam Long, USA 2:10:35 90 3 Rom Akerson, CRC 2:12:20 82 4 Ben Hoffman, USA 2:13:30 75 5 Leon Griffin, USA 2:14:23 69 6 Branden Rakita, USA 2:16:37 63 7 Greg Bennett, AUS 2:18:00 58 8 Brad Zoller, USA 2:19:12 53 9 Mario de Elias, ARG 2:20:40 49 10 Brian Smith, USA 2:20:53 45 11 Thomas Spannring, USA 2:22:32 41 12 Michi Weiss, AUT 2:23:49 37 13 Patrick McKeon, USA 2:25:10 34 14 Cody Waite, USA 2:26:00 31 15 Kieran McPherson, NZL 2:26:15 28 Also: AJ Baucco, Michael Nunez, Joshua Merrick, Ian KingBAKER SHAKES UP WOMEN’S ELITE RANKS
Julie Baker, a 39-year-old soil scientist out of Sonora, California, led just about from wire-to-wire.
XTERRA first-time Julie Stupp had the fastest swim of the day in 19:32, then came Baker in 21:17, the third best swim was from Snyder in 22:40, then it was nearly three minutes to Mayalen Noriega with the fourth-best split.
Baker caught Stupp early on the bike and never looked back, posting the fastest ride of the day in 1:29:36 and took the tape in 2:38:54, nearly two-minutes ahead of Snyder.
“This is like a dream,” said Baker. “I can’t believe it, and I didn’t expect it. I was just hoping to beat my time from last year (when she won the amateur title here). I’m super psyched to race with all these ladies who are awesome. I kind of died a little bit on the run but I had a good enough swim and bike to hold on.”
Baker actually credits her full-time job for giving her the necessary break from training that her body needs.
“I have a good group of road biking friends in Sonora and they push me really hard,” said Baker. “I just try and get out when I can and actually my work forces me to rest, go out and dig holes. I like racing at altitude even though I live at 2000 feet.”
As for Snyder, winner of XTERRA Oak Mountain and XTERRA Mine over Matter on the Pan Am Tour to start the season, she’s just happy to have got through it today.
“It was a just see what happens kind of day,” she said. “My body didn’t feel great, I wasn’t digesting the nutrition well, my legs didn’t have anything. It was hard.”
Maia Ignatz posted the fastest run of the day to finish in third, her best result yet at Beaver Creek.
“I’m so impressed with Julie and Tess today,” said Ignatz after the race. “I never saw Julie, she swims so fast, and Tess came by me on the bike smiling and peddling away. It was pretty good day for me, though, best I’ve ever felt on the bike here. The run is forever hard, and swimming here I just try not to die or blow up, so all things considered it was a good day.”
Two other first-year XTERRA elites, Katharine Carter and Liz Gruber, took home the fourth and fifth spots.
ELITE WOMEN’S RESULTS
Pos Name, NAT Time Points 1 Julie Baker, USA 2:38:54 100 2 Suzie Snyder, USA 2:40:47 90 3 Maia Ignatz, USA 2:42:36 82 4 Katharine Carter, CAN 2:50:39 75 5 Elizabeth Gruber, USA 2:52:33 69 6 Kara LaPoint, USA 2:54:53 63 7 Debby Sullivan, USA 3:00:19 58 8 Mayalen Noriega, ESP 3:02:02 53 9 Sarah Gravves, USA 3:02:44 49 10 Caroline Colonna, USA 3:07:43 45 11 Julie Stupp, USA 3:10:17 41 12 Rebecca Blatt, USA 3:17:55 37WANE, AMER WIN AMATEUR TITLES
Cedric Wane and Tess Amer took home the amateur titles, and as previously mentioned Amer actually won the women’s race with the fastest time.
“I didn’t expect that at all,” said Amer. “I haven’t done a tri in like three years. I graduated CU in 2013, when I was the president of the tri club. I’ve been mountain biking but not putting all three together. And I just signed up last night. It turned out well, it was good. I guess I should go pro and go to Maui now.”
Amer, who works as a 5th grade teacher just outside of Boulder, said she can’t wait to tell her class what happened on Monday.
As for Wane, a Tahitian who was on the CU tri club during Amer’s reign as Pres, he finished 13th overall and ahead of several pros.
Here’s a look at all of today’s age group champs:
FEMALE AGE GROUP CHAMPS Division Name Time Hometown 15 – 19 Heather Horton 3:18:00 Draper, UT 20 – 24 Katarina Marks 3:01:34 Durango, CO 25 – 29 *Tess Amer 2:37:21 Boulder, CO 30 – 34 Megan Riepma 3:05:59 Lafayette, CO 35 – 39 Whitney Barrett-Kaucher 2:45:04 Golden, CO 40 – 44 Deanna McCurdy 2:53:04 Littleton, CO 45 – 49 Patricia Smaldone 3:30:50 Portland, OR 50 – 54 Janet Soule 3:04:22 Davis, CA 55 – 59 Janie White 3:27:43 Paradise Valley, AZ 60 – 64 Martha Buttner 3:26:25 Boulder, CO 65 – 69 Libby Harrow 5:23:21 Fruita, CO MALE AGE GROUP CHAMPS Division Name Time Hometown 15 – 19 Benny Smith 2:54:21 Glenwood Springs, CO 20 – 24 Nelson Hegg 2:31:08 Boulder, CO 25 – 29 Kris Ochs 2:26:09 Vail, CO 30 – 34 *Cedric Wane 2:24:21 Papeete, Tahiti 35 – 39 Nick Stengl 2:35:47 Longmont, CO 40 – 44 Garren Watkins 2:34:13 Boulder, CO 45 – 49 Rife Hilgartner 2:33:17 Vail, CO 50 – 54 Charlie Wertheim 2:44:43 Carbondale, CO 55 – 59 Tom Monica 2:46:49 Thousand Oaks, CA 60 – 64 Johnny Davis 3:05:40 Boulder, CO 65 – 69 David Rakita 3:28:24 Durango, CO PC Andre Szucs 3:47:10 Encinitas, CAMIDDAUGH, SNYDER LEAD XTERRA PAN AM PRO SERIES
After seven of 10 events in the Pan Am Pro Series Josiah Middaugh and Suzie Snyder sit in the top spots. With several of the top 10 men and women all racing in the final three events at XTERRA Dominican Republic, XTERRA Mexico, and the XTERRA Pan Am Championship in Utah on September 17, anything can happen.
Pros count their best four scores (two Gold, two Silver) and whatever they get (or don’t get) at the finale in Utah to determine their final score.
Learn more about the XTERRA Pan Am Tour at http://www.xterraplanet.com/xterra-pan-am-tour/
Up Next: XTERRA Dominican Republic on July 31.
2016 XTERRA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS
XTERRA Beaver Creek was the 22nd of 37 events where the fastest amateur athletes from around the world could qualify to race at the 21st annual XTERRA World Championship at Kapalua, Maui on Oct 23.
DATE WORLD TOUR EVENT LOCATION or WINNERS 7-Feb XTERRA Philippines Brad Weiss/Lizzie Orchard 21-Feb XTERRA South Africa Brad Weiss/Flora Duffy 5-Mar XTERRA Motatapu Olly Shaw/Mary Gray 12-Mar XTERRA Saipan Brodie Gardner/Carina Wasle 20-Mar XTERRA Costa Rica Karl Shaw/Myriam Guillot-Boisset 26-Mar XTERRA Argentina Josiah Middaugh/Myriam Guillot 3-Apr XTERRA Malta Roger Serrano/Brigitta Poor 16-Apr XTERRA New Zealand Braden Currie/Lizzie Orchard 17-Apr XTERRA La Reunion Ruben Ruzafa/Carina Wasle 23-Apr XTERRA Asia-Pacific Championship Braden Currie/Lizzie Orchard 7-May XTERRA Asia-Pacific Tour Championship Ben Allen/Jacqui Slack 7-May XTERRA Brazil Albert Soley/Sabrina Gobbo 7-May XTERRA Greece Roger Serrano/Helena Erbenova 14-May XTERRA Tahiti Josiah Middaugh/Lesley Paterson 21-May XTERRA Oak Mountain State Park Josiah Middaugh/Suzie Snyder 21-May XTERRA Portugal Ruben Ruzafa/Helena Erbenova 11-Jun XTERRA Belgium Kris Coddens/Helena Erbenova 25-Jun XTERRA Switzerland Ruben Ruzafa/Michelle Flipo 25-Jun XTERRA Mine over Matter Karsten Madsen/Suzie Snyder 3-Jul XTERRA France Ruben Ruzafa/Lesley Paterson 10-Jul XTERRA Victoria Karsten Madsen/Katie Button 16-Jul XTERRA Beaver Creek Josiah Middaugh/Julie Baker 23-Jul XTERRA Parry Sound Ontario, Canada 31-Jul XTERRA Italy Lago Di Scanno 31-Jul XTERRA Dominican Republic Barahona 6-Aug XTERRA Mexico Tapalpa 7-Aug XTERRA Poland Krakow 13-Aug XTERRA Sweden Hellsgaarten, Stockholm 14-Aug XTERRA Canmore Canmore, Alberta, Canada 20-Aug XTERRA European Championship Zittau, Germany 27-Aug XTERRA Sleeping Giant Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada 27-Aug XTERRA Korea Daeahn Reservoir, Wonju City 3-Sep XTERRA Japan Hokkaido 4-Sep XTERRA Denmark Mons Klint 4-Sep XTERRA Quebec Quebec City, Quebec 11-Sep XTERRA Woolastook New Brunswick, Canada 17-Sep XTERRA USA / Pan Am Championship Ogden, Utah, USA 23-Oct XTERRA World Championship Kapalua, MauiThe post Middaugh, Baker win XTERRA Beaver Creek appeared first on XTERRA.
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