Weiss, Poor win XTERRA European Championship Race

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September 2, 2017 – Bradley Weiss from South Africa and Brigitta Poor from Hungary won the XTERRA European Championship elite race titles on a beautiful day in Mons Klint, Denmark this afternoon.

It’s the second win of the season for Weiss and the highest profile victory of his XTERRA career. For Poor, it’s her sixth win this season and third in a row on the XTERRA European Tour.

In the men’s race Jens Roth was the first man out of the choppy water and up the famous 497 stairs from the Baltic Sea to the bike-to-run transition, followed by Sam Osborne, Roger Serrano, Maxim Chane, Hannes Wolpert, Doug Hall, and Bradley Weiss about 1:20 back.

The mountain bike course featured four 7.5km loops on single track through the forest of the Geo Center, and by the end of the first lap Weiss had caught and passed Hall, Wolpert, Chane, and Roth. At the end of the second lap he caught Osborne and Serrano, who were riding together, then attacked and broke away.

“I put my head down and rode really well after that,” said Weiss. “Over the past couple of years I’ve really developed my biking, so my biking is my strength and that’s where I won the race today.”

Weiss posted the fastest split of the day in 1:21:58, followed by Xavier Dafflon (1:22:39) and three-time XTERRA World Champ Ruben Ruzafa (1:23:45) and put just over one-minute on Osborne and Serrano heading out on to the run.

“I thought that probably wasn’t going to be enough of a gap because Sam is such a strong runner,” said Weiss, whose concerns were realized by the end of the first lap when Osborne caught and passed him into the lead.

“I heard him coming but never gave up, because I knew everyone would be tired as we went so hard on the bike,” said Weiss.  “Then on the second lap he started cramping up and I took back the lead, dug in, and was able to finish it.”

While Weiss has won a bunch of XTERRA majors around the world, including a rewarding one on his home course in South Africa two years ago, this one came against a deep and stacked field that included Ruzafa and all of the top 10 ranked men in the Euro Tour.

“I’ve been racing XTERRA for five years now professionally, so it’s about time I won one of these big races,” said Weiss, who had to overcome a broken wrist he suffered in January.  “In the big races, I’ve been struggling and making small errors so to finally pull off a big win means so much to me. This course suited me well, and the riding at the Geo Center here in Mons Klint is unbelievable and so fun. I think it’s one of the best courses I’ve ever raced, and I loved this pro-only format.”

In the end Weiss posted the second-best run split (Danish elite Anders Lund Hansen went two seconds faster) and took the tape in 2:32:20, more than one-minute ahead of Osborne.

“It’s been a while since I’ve won a race,” he said. “It’s special because you can’t guarantee these and the field was super strong.  I’m very happy, and confident now going into the XTERRA Pan American Championship in two weeks.  From here I’m headed to training in Boulder, Colorado with Sam, so the world better watch out for the two of us come Maui.”

Osborne, who led the majority of the first two laps on the bike, said “when Brad caught us on the bike at the start of the third lap he put on a massive attack and we never got him back, but coming out of transition I had amazing legs and was able to catch him super quick.  I got him but then my quads started cramping, and he caught back up and attacked and I couldn’t respond.”

Serrano came into the bike-to-run transition with Osborne but lost 15-seconds during the changeover and never got back in the mix up front.

“I really have to stop making those mistakes in T2,” said Serrano, who held strong on the run to secure third-place and the title of XTERRA European Champion as the top European elite finisher in the race.

“The level of this race was so high.  I’ve been racing with Sam the last four weeks and we know each other, and work really well together on the bike.  It’s amazing going four times the same lap, you get to feel confident in the corners. Also on the run, everyone is cheering.  It’s amazing this format.”

Ruzafa held off Yeray Luxem to finish fourth, Luxem was fifth, Mark Hamersma had his best career finish in sixth, and Maxim Chane placed seventh.

Elite Men’s Results

Pos Name Country Time Points 1 Bradley Weiss RSA 02:32:20 100 2 Sam Osborne NZL 02:33:41 90 3 Roger Serrano ESP 02:35:37 82 4 Ruben Ruzafa Cueto ESP 02:36:12 75 5 Yeray Luxem BEL 02:36:44 69 6 Mark Hamersma NED 02:38:01 63 7 Maxim Chané FRA 02:38:39 58 8 Xavier Dafflon SUI 02:38:51 53 9 Honza Kubicek CZE 02:39:04 49 10 Rui Dolores POR 02:42:48 45 11 Arthur Serrieres FRA 02:43:33 41 12 Doug Hall GBR 02:43:39 37 13 Peter Lehmann GER 02:43:47 34 14 Anders Lund Hansen DEN 02:44:02 31 15 Francois Carloni FRA 02:45:41 28 16 Jens Roth GER 02:47:32 17 Geert Lauryssen BEL 02:50:25 18 Guillemet Damien FRA 02:56:47 19 Anders Bregnhøj DEN 02:58:13 20 Joost Christiaans NED 03:04:16 21 Xavier Jové ESP 03:09:20 22 Jörg Scheiderbauer GER 03:16:05 23 Caimin Stevens NED 03:22:30 DNF Hannes Wolpert GER – DNF Tomas Kubek SVK – DNF Krzysztof Kokot POL –

POOR PROVES EURO TOUR DOMINANCE

In the women’s race Nicole Walters had the fastest swim followed by Carina Wasle 1:30 behind, then Brigitta Poor, Anna Pauline Sasserath, and Lizzie Orchard.

Walters was strong on the bike and held the lead the entire way.  Poor and Wasle rode together in second and third early on before Poor, who posted the fastest bike split, charged into second and ultimately got on Walters wheel heading into the bike-to-run transition.

The newly crowned XTERRA European Tour champion passed Walters at the beginning of the run and posted the fastest run of the day to take the tape in 3:01:31, more than two-minutes ahead of Walters.

“I’m so happy, I worked so hard for this,” said Poor. “It was a tough race, a tough day, and Nicole and the other girls were very strong.”

For Walters, an accomplished road triathlete who won a bronze medal in the Rio Paralympics as the guide to Melissa Reid, it was her best-ever race day in the dirt.

“I love this sport, it’s great to come out and do something different,” she said. “It’s all so very new to me but I had a very good race so I’m pleased and I’m looking forward to coming back next year and doing some more.  It was a really fun course. I love sea swims, the steps are very, very hard, especially that last time up on the run, and the bike course had a bit of everything.”

Lizzie Orchard had the second-best run split of the day and finished in third.

“I really enjoyed the bike because I got more and more familiar with the corners each lap, so every time I was getting a little bit better even though I did clip a tree and take a tumble out there,” said Orchard, who spent much of the early part of the season recovering from injury.  “It took a long time for me to get healthy this year but looking at the long term I feel good.  I’ll come back stronger next year and see what I can do.”

Carina Wasle finished fourth and Helena Erbenova, who had the fastest bike split of the day, finished fifth to secure her fourth XTERRA European Tour title.

ELITE WOMEN’S RESULTS

Pos Name Country Time Points 1 Poór Brigitta HUN 03:01:31 100 2 Nicole Walters GBR 03:03:45 90 3 Elizabeth Orchard NZL 03:04:27 82 4 Carina Wasle AUT 03:06:20 75 5 Helena Erbenová CZE 03:08:21 69 6 Angela Niklaus SUI 03:17:27 63 7 Sabina Rzepka POL 03:22:55 58 8 Louise Fox  GBR 03:24:05 53 9 Anna Pauline Sasserath  GER 03:27:51 49 10 Nicoline Sørensen DEN 03:30:53 45 11 Tanja Hultengren Larsson DEN 03:37:48 41 12 Lucie Materova AUT 03:41:20 37

All-time XTERRA European Championship Race Winners
Year (Location) Champions
2017 (Mons Klint, Denmark) Bradley Weiss, Brigitta Poor
2016 (Zittau, Germany) Ruben Ruzafa, Michelle Flipo
2015 (Cranleigh, England) Ruben Ruzafa, Lesley Paterson
2011 (Zittau, Germany) Olivier Marceau, Marion Lorblanchet
2010 (Sardinia, Italy) Franky Batelier, Melanie McQuaid
2009 (Klopeinersee, Austria) Franky Batelier, Renata Bucher
2008 (Sardinia, Italy) Olivier Marceau, Sibylle Matter
2007 (Sardinia, Italy) Olivier Marceau, Eszter Erdelyi
2006 (Villacidro, Italy) Nicolas Lebrun, Renata Bucher

Ruzafa, Karaskova-Erbenova win XTERRA European Tour

Ruben Ruzafa and Helena Karaskova-Erbenova captured the 2017 XTERRA European Tour elite titles.  It’s the third in four years for Ruzafa and the fourth in six years for Erbenova.

New this year, every race counted in the points tally on the European Tour. Ruzafa won six of the eight races he did and collected 640 points.  Karaskova-Erbenova raced 11 events this year, won XTERRA Greece, Spain, Belgium, and Italy, and finished with 789 points – the most of any racer on the Tour this year.

“Today in Mons Klint we had not only the European Championship, but also the final race of our 2017 Euro Tour,” said XTERRA European Tour director Nicolas Lebrun.  “It was a long journey of 14 races starting in Malta early April and finishing here in Denmark.  Helena won this Euro Tour, but by only two points!”

By finishing 5th Karaskova-Erbenova won the title.  Had she finished 6th, Poor would have won it.

“Brigitta won again, her third in a row.  She couldn’t be any stronger, she just needed an extra race to win. Carina, after a great season in the Asia Pacific Tour, finished 3rd in Europe. Nicole Walters made a big move with her 2nd place finish today, moving up two spots from 6th to 4th.  Maud Golsteyn, who didn’t race the finale, lost one place and ends up 5th. Louise Fox gained one place to move into seventh and Morgane Riou dropped from 5th to 8th as she focuses on the Pan Am Tour.  Cecilia Jessen lost one place to 9th by not being at the start, and in a good move made by Angela Niklaus she went from 15th to 10th,” said Lebrun.

In the men’s chase Ruzafa had the tour title wrapped up before the race started, but Osborne made a big jump into the No. 2 spot.

“Sam went from fourth to second with his runner-up showing today,” said Lebrun.  “He didn’t start the season until the end of June, so this is really impressive. François Carloni lost one spot today, but finishing 15th he did get the last points he needed to save his place on the podium. Xavier Dafflon also lost one place, and missed the podium this year, but for his first season as a pro it’s an amazing result. Rui Dolores kept his 5th place standing. He was consistent all season and deserves this top five. Maxim Chane, just 21-years-old, improved a lot this season and showed big potential. He stays 6th. Yeray Luxem gained one place and ends up 7th in the tour, and Roger Serrano moved up two places today in the ranking, from 10th to 8th. Arthur Serrieres lost two places with his results during this final to end up in 9th, and Bradley Weiss made the biggest move of the day coming from 14th to 10th with the win.”

Top 25 Final Elite Men Points Standings:

Pos Name/Country Total Points 1 Ruben Ruzafa, ESP 640 2 Sam Osborne, NZL 465 3 Francois Carloni, FRA 446 4 Xavier Dafflon, SUI 438 5 Rui Dolores, POR 391 6 Maxim Chane, FRA 369 7 Yeray Luxem, BEL 362 8 Roger Serrano, ESP 352 9 Arthur Serrieres , FRA 335 10 Bradley Weiss, RSA 313 11 Jens Roth, GER 291 12 Jan Kubicek, CZE 251 13 Peter Lehmann, GER 250 14 Arthur Forissier, FRA 233 15 Oivind Bjerkseth, NOR 217 16 Pavel Andreev, RUS 201 17 Hannes Wolpert, GER 177 18 Xavier Jove Riart, ESP 171 19 Maximilian Sasserath, GER 159 20 Mark Hamersma, NED 157 21 Jan Pyott, SUI 145 22 Doug Hall, GBR 134 23 Thomas Kerner, GER 127 24 Tomas Kubek, SVK 108 25 Pavel Jindra, CZE 105

Top 25 Final Elite Women Points Standings:

Pos Name/Country Total Points 1 Helena Karaskova-Erbenova 789 2 Brigitta Poor, HUN 787 3 Carina Wasle, AUT 535 4 Nicole Walters, GBR 346 5 Maud Golsteyn, NED 343 6 Louise Fox, GBR 296 7 Elizabeth Orchard, NZL 280 8 Morgane Riou, FRA 266 9 Cecila Jessen, SWE 206 10 Angela Niklaus, SUI 192 11 Myriam Guillot-Boisset, FRA 165 12 Isabelle Klein, LUX 155 13 Isabelle Ferrer, FRA 153 14 Kristina Lapinova, SVK 139 15 Kathrin Mueller, GER 134 16 Lucie Materova, CZE 119 17 Diane Lee, GBR 116 18 Pauline Sasserath, GER 116 19 Miriam Casillas Garcia, ESP 110 20 Nicoline Sorensen, DEN 106 21 Renata Bucher, SUI 104 22 Michelle Flipo, MEX 100 23 Laura Philipp, GER 100 24 Daria Rogozina, RUS 100 25 Rocío Espada, ESP 98

All-time XTERRA European Tour Elite Champions
Year – Men’s Champion (NAT) / Women’s Champion (NAT)
2017 – Ruben Ruzafa (ESP) / Helena Erbenova (CZE)
2016 – Ruben Ruzafa (ESP) / Brigitta Poor (HUN)
2015 – Roger Serrano (ESP) / Helena Erbenova (CZE)
2014 – Ruben Ruzafa (ESP) / Kathrin Mueller (GER)
2013 – Hector Guerra (ESP) / Helena Erbenova (CZE)
2012 – Nicolas Lebrun (FRA) / Helena Erbenova (CZE)
2011 – Olivier Marceau (SUI) / Marion Lorblanchet (FRA)
2010 – Franky Batelier (FRA) / Marion Lorblanchet (FRA)
2009 – Franky Batelier (FRA) / Renata Bucher (SUI)
2008 – Nicolas Lebrun (FRA) / Renata Bucher (SUI)
2007 – Nicolas Lebrun (FRA) / Eszter Erdelyi (HUN)
2006 – Nicolas Lebrun (FRA) / Renata Bucher (SUI)
2005 -Olivier Marceau (SUI) / Renata Bucher (SUI)
2004 – Olivier Marceau (SUI) / Jamie Whitmore (USA)
2003 – Royce Kortekaas (NED) / Jamie Whitmore (USA)

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 Arthur Forissier / Michelle Flipo 2-Jul XTERRA France * GOLD Ruben Ruzafa / Laura Philipp 9-Jul XTERRA Victoria # Silver Karsten Madsen / Suzie Snyder 15-Jul XTERRA Beaver Creek # GOLD Josiah Middaugh / Lesley Paterson 30-Jul XTERRA Abruzzo * Silver Xavier Dafflon / Helena Karaskova 5-Aug XTERRA Mexico # GOLD Josiah Middaugh / Suzie Snyder 5-Aug XTERRA Norway * Silver Ruben Ruzafa / Maud Golssteyn 13-Aug XTERRA Dominican Republic Josiah Middaugh / Morgane Riou 13-Aug XTERRA Poland * Silver Sam Osborne / Brigitta Poor 19-Aug XTERRA Germany Sam Osborne / Brigitta Poor 2-Sep XTERRA European Championship Bradley Weiss / Brigitta Poor 16-Sep XTERRA Pan Am Championship Ogden, Utah, USA 29-Oct XTERRA World Championship Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii

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