Andreev, Fox win XTERRA Finland
Pavel Andreev (RUS) and Louise Fox (GBR) captured the inaugural XTERRA Finland Championship off-road triathlon race in Rauha this afternoon.
The event combined a 1.5 kilometer swim in the beautiful Saimaa Lake, followed with a 30-kilometer mountain bike in the forest surrounding the lake, and concluded with a 10-kilometer challenging trail run.
XTERRA World Tour managing director Dave Nicholas was on-site to take in all the action and brings us this report…
I hate it when the weatherman is right. And right on time the sprinkles began about 10am. This small rain did not deter the Finn’s at all and it did help the temperatures were in the high 60’s.
Everything was perfectly organized and ready for a noon start and the bunch took off from a deep water start on a one lap 1500m swim. We expected local triathlete Panu Lieto would be quick, but he destroyed the field and came out of T1 with a 3 minute lead. Czech Jan “the fox” Kubicek and Russian Winter Tri World Champion Pavel Andreev left literally side by side in 2nd and 3rd. The first K of the bike is on paved paths headed to the forest. Riders cross a bridge and take a 270 degree circle under the road and onto the trails. It is gravel and downhill and with the fresh rain – slick. Kubicek locked his brake and fell hard. “I was surprised by this and lost contact with Pavel” he said “But Pavel was so strong today I don’t think I could stay with him”
Indeed the Russian rode well putting in the fastest bike time by far. With Kubicek’s having lost time on his fall, he never caught our Finnish triathlete until T2. In a pretty slick move, Kubicek came in behind Lieto and left before him. One of the favorites, Norwegian Oivind Bjerkseth had a bad day. His first open water swim in his life was at XTERRA Malta and although he has been training, he lost over 8 minutes to Pavel and over 11 to Lieto. Oivind did have the second fastest bike of the day but had lost too much in the beginning and ended 4th.
For the women, Louise Fox had a good swim and led Swede Cecilia Jessen by over a minute. “Foxy” as we often call her rode well and made no mistakes. She was able to pull out nearly another minute over Cecilia and she needed it as our Swedish woman pulled it back on the run for a very solid second place.
The weatherman had predicted the rain would stop in the afternoon but it never did. It never came down hard but was on and off all day. Great for the athletes as they stayed cool the whole race. The now famous “Swamp” a typical Finnish bog was wonderful with people sloshing through, feet plunging into the bog up to the ankle. Leader Pavel Andreev lost his shoe running through and had to stop, find it and put it back on. I was there and stayed outside it but to no avail, my shoes went through the moss and I spent the rest of the afternoon with soaked feet. I can only imagine what the runners feet were like having to run another 5K lap and through it again!
Rave reviews from everyone about the bike and the run. Every trail was beautifully marked and despite the cloudy day and rain nobody got lost. Dozens of volunteers were everywhere, aid stations manned by enthusiastic workers.
Finland will be held in August next year and this place will be rocking. Imatra has a major league baseball team and you will not believe Finnish baseball. The trails and lake are beyond great – women’s winner Louise Fox said it was the only swim she was ever in where she could drink the water !
St. Petersburg, Russia is only a few hundred K away and the Russian Border only 10K. Get your VISA now. Simply a great experience.
ELITE RESULTS Xterra Finland Men Pos Time Points 1 Pavel Andreev (RUS) 02:32:25 75 2 Jan Honza Kubicek (CZE) 02:36:42 67 3 Panu Lieto (FIN) 02:39:11 61 4 Oivind Bjerkset (NOR) 02:48:57 56 5 Pavel Jindra (CZE) 02:53:12 51 6 Pekka Nieminen (FIN) 02:56:29 47 7 Samuli Heikkila (FIN) 03:02:55 43 8 Jonne Mustonen (FIN) 03:42:33 39 Women Pos Time Points 1 Louise Fox (GBR) 03:08:28 75 2 Cecilia Jessen (SWE) 03:10:25 67 3 Elina Honkavuori (FIN) 04:01:12 61RUZAFA, POOR KEEP LEADING EURO TOUR AFTER SEVEN
No changes at the first 4 places of the elite men’s standings, after XTERRA Finland.
With his 2nd place today, Kubicek jumped to sixth. Bjerkseth, after having an operation in his hand 5 weeks ago, finished fourth and is back in 5th position. Those were the only big moves on the men side.
In the women’s standings, Poor is still leading wth 6 points ahead of Erbenova. Golsteyn holds on the third spot, but the move of the day was from Cecilia Jessen who moved to 4th after her second place in Finland. Fox was able to get some points with her win today and is now in 7th position.
XTERRA EUROPEAN TOUR ELITE POINT STANDINGS
After 7 – 18 June 2017
Men S S S S S S S Pl Name, NAT TOTAL MLT CYP GRE ESP POR BEL FIN 1 Ruben Ruzafa, ESP 300 DNS DNS 75 75 75 75 DNS 2 Francois Carloni, FRA 263 61 47 43 DNS 61 51 DNS 3 Yeray Luxem, BEL 203 DNS 75 DNS DNS 67 61 DNS 4 Xavier Dafflon, SUI 170 DNS DNS 47 DNS 56 67 DNS 5 Oivind Bjerkseth, NOR 156 33 67 DNS DNS DNS DNS 56 6 Jan Kubicek, CZE 149 DNS DNS DNP 39 DNS 43 67 7 Roger Serrano, ESP 142 75 DNS 67 DNS DNS DNF DNS 8 Maximilian Sasserath, GER 128 67 DNS DNS 61 DNS DNS DNS 9 Thomas Kerner, GER 127 DNS 61 33 DNS DNS 33 DNS 10 Rui Dolores, POR 122 DNS DNS 39 36 47 DNS DNS 11 Xavier Jove Riart, ESP 118 DNS DNS DNS 67 51 DNS DNS 12 Jens Roth, GER 117 DNS DNS 61 56 DNS DNS DNS 13 Jan Pyott, SUI 114 56 DNS 25 33 DNS DNS DNS 14 Maxim Chane, FRA 113 30 DNS 36 DNS DNS 47 DNS 15 Julien Buffe, FRA 79 DNS 56 23 DNS DNS DNP DNS 16 Hannes Wolpert, BEL 79 DNF 43 DNP DNS 36 DNP DNS 17 Geert Lauryssen, BEL 75 36 DNS DNS DNS DNS 39 DNS 18 Pavel Andreev, RUS 75 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 75 19 Mark Hamersma, NED 66 43 DNS DNS DNS DNS 23 DNS 20 Stephan Radeck, GER 64 25 39 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 21 Arthur Serrieres , FRA 61 DNS DNS DNS 61 DNS DNP DNS 22 Panu Lieto, FIN 61 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 61 23 Llewellyn Holmes, GBR 58 DNS DNS DNS 25 33 DNS DNS 24 Peter Lehmann, GER 57 DNS DNS DNS 27 DNS 30 DNS 25 Kris Coddens, BEL 56 DNS DNS 56 DNS DNS DNS DNS 26 Bradley Weiss, RSA 56 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 56 DNS 27 Tim Van Daele, BEL 52 DNS DNS 27 DNS DNS 25 DNS 28 Jörg Scheiderbauer, GER 51 51 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 29 Sebastian Neef, GER 51 DNS 51 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 30 Arthur Forissier, FRA 51 DNS DNS 51 DNS DNS DNS DNS 31 Pavel Jindra, CZE 51 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 51 32 Tomas Kubek, SVK 47 47 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 33 Albert Soley, ESP 47 DNS DNS DNS 47 DNS DNS DNS 34 Pekka Nieminen, FIN 47 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 47 35 Pau Botella Tarres, ESP 43 DNS DNS DNS 43 DNS DNS DNS 36 Mattia De Paoli, ITA 43 DNS DNS DNS DNS 43 DNS DNS 37 Samuli Heikkila, FIN 43 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 43 38 Jim Thijs, BEL 39 39 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 39 Dominik Wychera, AUT 39 DNS DNS DNS DNS 39 DNS DNS 40 Jonne Mustonen, FIN 39 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 39 41 Pierre Alain Nicole, FRA 36 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 36 DNS 42 Tiago Maia, POR 30 DNS DNS 30 DNS DNF DNS DNS 43 Guillaume Jeannin, FRA 30 DNS DNS DNS 30 DNS DNS DNS 44 Alejandro Tenorio, ESP 30 DNS DNS DNS DNP 30 DNS DNS 45 Doug Hall, GBR 27 27 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 46 Rafael Gomes, POR 27 DNS DNS DNS DNS 27 DNS DNS 47 Theo Dupras, FRA 27 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 27 DNS 48 Octavio Vicente, POR 25 DNS DNS DNS DNS 25 DNS DNS 49 Callum Hughes, GBR 23 23 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 50 Javier Oliver Vives, ESP 23 DNS DNS DNS 23 DNS DNS DNS 51 Markus Benesch, AUT 21 DNS DNS 21 DNS DNS DNS DNS 52 Zeus Gutierrez Ochoa, ESP 21 DNS DNS DNS 21 DNS DNS DNS 53 Morten Olesen, DEN 21 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 21 DNS WM S S S S S S S Pl Name, NAT TOTAL MLT CYP GRE ESP POR BEL FIN 1 Brigitta Poor, HUN 359 75 75 67 67 75 DNS DNS 2 Helena Erbenova, CZE 353 67 DNS 75 75 61 75 DNS 3 Maud Golsteyn, NED 210 56 DNS 47 DNS 56 51 DNS 4 Cecilia Jessen, SWE 206 39 61 DNS DNS DNS 39 67 5 Carina Wasle, AUT 185 51 DNS DNS DNS 67 67 DNS 6 Morgane Riou, FRA 184 DNS 67 56 DNS DNS 61 DNS 7 Louise Fox, GBR 115 43 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 75 8 Rocío Espada, ESP 98 DNS DNS DNS 51 47 DNS DNS 9 Kathrin Mueller, GER 89 33 DNS DNS 56 DNS DNS DNS 10 Anna Pauline Sasserath, GER 79 36 DNS DNS 43 DNS DNS DNS 11 Nicole Walkers, GBR 61 61 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 12 Miriam Casillas Garcia, ESP 61 DNS DNS 61 DNS DNS DNS DNS 13 Sara Bonilla, ESP 61 DNS DNS DNS 61 DNS DNS DNS 14 Elina Honkavuori, FIN 61 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 61 15 Daz Parker, GBR 56 DNS 56 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 16 Isabelle Klein, LUX 56 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 56 DNS 17 Marika Wagner, SWE 51 DNS 51 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 18 Isabelle Ferrer, FRA 51 DNS DNS 51 DNS DNS DNS DNS 19 Ladina Buss, SUI 51 DNS DNS DNS DNS 51 DNS DNS 20 Kristina Lapinova, SVK 47 47 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 21 Aina Picas, ESP 47 DNS DNS DNS 47 DNS DNS DNS 22 Ine Couckuyt, BEL 47 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 47 DNS 23 Renata Bucher, SUI 43 DNS DNS 43 DNF DNS DNS DNS 24 Sheila Marques, POR 43 DNS DNS DNS DNS 43 DNS DNS 25 Jessica Roberts, GBR 43 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 43 DNS 26 Anne-Sophie Marechal, BEL 36 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS 36 DNS 27 Marta Menditto, ITA 30 30 DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS DNS XTERRA Finland was the seventh of 14 races on the XTERRA European Tour, and 21st of 40 on the XTERRA World Tour where amateur athletes from around the world can qualify to race at the 22nd annual XTERRA World Championship in Maui on October 29. Date Race Elite Winners or Location 25-Feb XTERRA South Africa Richard Murray / Flora Duffy 4-Mar XTERRA Motatapu Dougal Allan / Josie Wilcox 18-Mar XTERRA Saipan + Silver Sam Osborne / Carina Wasle 25-Mar XTERRA Argentina # Silver Gonzalo Tellechea / Suzie Snyder 1-Apr XTERRA Thailand + Silver Kieran McPherson / Renata Bucher 1-Apr XTERRA Chile # Silver Felipe Barraza / Barbara Riveros 2-Apr XTERRA Malta * Silver Roger Serrano / Brigitta Poor 8-Apr XTERRA New Zealand + Silver Sam Osborne / Jacqui Allen 9-Apr XTERRA Costa Rica # Silver Josiah Middaugh / Suzie Snyder 16-Apr XTERRA La Reunion Ruben Ruzafa / Carina Wasle 23-Apr XTERRA Danao + GOLD Bradley Weiss / Carina Wasle 23-Apr XTERRA Cyprus * Silver Yeray Luxem / Brigitta Poor 29-Apr XTERRA Langkawi + GOLD Osborne,Allen,Weiss,McPherson/Wasle 30-Apr XTERRA Greece * Silver Ruben Ruzafa, Helena Erbenova 6-May XTERRA Tahiti + Silver Sam Osborne / Jacqui Allen 13-May XTERRA Brazil # Silver Felipe Moletta / Sabrina Gobbo 14-May XTERRA Spain * Silver Ruben Ruzafa / Helena Erbenova 20-May XTERRA Oak Mountain # GOLD Josiah Middaugh / Suzie Snyder 27-May XTERRA Portugal * Silver Ruben Ruzafa / Brigitta Poor 10-Jun XTERRA Belgium * Silver Ruben Ruzafa / Helena Erbenova 17-Jun XTERRA Mine over Matter ^ Karsten Madsen / Heather Pady 18-Jun XTERRA Finland * Silver Pavel Andreev / Louise Fox 24-Jun XTERRA Switzerland * GOLD Vallee de Joux 2-Jul XTERRA France * GOLD Xonrupt 9-Jul XTERRA Victoria # Silver Victoria, B.C., Canada 15-Jul XTERRA Beaver Creek # GOLD Beaver Creek, CO, USA 30-Jul XTERRA Abruzzo * Silver Scanno, Abruzzo, Italy 5-Aug XTERRA Mexico # GOLD Tapalpa 5-Aug XTERRA Norway * Silver Norefjell 6-Aug XTERRA Canmore ^ Canmore, Alberta, Canada 12-Aug XTERRA Quebec ^ Quebec City, Canada 12-Aug XTERRA Parry Sound ^ Ontario, Canada 13-Aug XTERRA Dominican Republic # Silver Barahona 13-Aug XTERRA Poland * Silver Krakow 19-Aug XTERRA Germany * GOLD Zittau 26-Aug XTERRA Sleeping Giant ^ Thunder Bay, ON, Canada 2-Sep XTERRA Japan + Silver Hokkaido 3-Sep XTERRA European Championship (DEN) * GOLD Mons Klint 16-Sep XTERRA Pan Am Championship / USA # D-GOLD Ogden, Utah, USA 29-Oct XTERRA World Championship Kapalua, Maui, HawaiiThe post Andreev, Fox win XTERRA Finland appeared first on XTERRA.
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