Llanos & McQuaid win in Maui
Eneko Llanos (26, of Spain) and Melanie McQuaid (30, of Canada) won their respective pro divisions at the 8th annual Nissan Xterra World Championship at the Wailea Marriott Resort in Maui today.
Llanos had the second-fastest swim split (behind amateur Jan Sibbersen of Germany, who also had the fastest swim in Ironman last week) and the second-best bike (behind Steve Larsen) before heading out on to the run where he set the course record last year.
His winning time of 2:32:56 was more than three-and-a-half minutes better than Nicolas LeBrun of France.
While both Llanos (who also won the ITU Long Distance World Championship) and LeBrun (who won XTERRA races in Virginia, Germany, and the Czech Republic this year) were among the favorites.the pre-race hype was centered around the two-time and reigning world champ Conrad Stoltz from South Africa and American star Steve Larsen. Both had bad luck.
“I had five flats and crashed once, that's my story," laughed Stoltz, who struck a big rock and cut a hole in the side of his bike tire which leaked slowly and created more and more problems- he finished in 17th place."I've had so much good luck for so long in XTERRA. The first year I came I used old bikes with bad tires and everything always worked out for me, I always had good luck and today, it caught up to me."
For Larsen it was effects of the flu that kept him from finishing the Ironman last week, and then upon arriving in Maui he was stung by a bee in his left hand and the ensuing allergic reaction caused an incredible amount of swelling. The cartoon-ish looking inflammation in his hand never fully went away, nor did the lingering effects of his sickness.
Despite that he moved from 32nd out of the water to tied for first heading out on to the run. He once again had the fastest bike split, more than three-minutes better than Llanos in 1:27:47. At the bike-to-run transition Llanos got in-and-out much quicker than Larsen and went hard and fast to create a gap.
“I tried to start fast so I could put some time on him so he couldn't see me.my strategy," said Llanos."I knew if he could keep with me in the first section then maybe he could follow me the whole way."
The plan worked and within the first mile he had put a minute on Larsen, and by the end it had turned to six minutes where Larsen finished in fifth place.
“I think I'm capable of a lot better but I just didn't do well," said Larsen."The level is high enough in XTERRA where you have to prepare 100% for this race if you expect to be a world champion. To overcome how I felt this week and end up on the podium is not bad."
For the second straight year the top American was Justin Thomas from Virginia, although this year he placed three spots better in third. It capped a breakout season where he had five podium finishes including the XTERRA Canada Championship.
“I like the heat, I like the technical bike course, and no altitude helps," said Thomas."In this race you need a little luck on your side too, as evident in this race today with Conrad. It's about luck as well as fitness."
Jason Chalker of Australia also capped a great season that included a win at XTERRA Saipan, finishing fourth overall- his best performance yet in Maui.
In the women's race McQuaid put the exclamation point on what has been an impressive few years of racing XTERRA. Last year she won in Half Moon Bay, and this year she won at XTERRA Canada. In between she had three runner-up performances, all to Jamie Whitmore.
“It was a magic day for me," said McQuaid, who set the course record in 2:57:08 despite incredibly hot conditions."Today was just a testament to when you get your peak right. I had a great swim. I was out of the swim right away and on it, and the bike course was really hard and I was ready for it and just felt on fire."
On fire, indeed. McQuaid had one of her best swims ever, coming out of the water in fourth. She blazed the bike course in a record setting time of 1:42:10 (almost five minutes faster than the second-best time of Whitmore), and held on for a four-minute margin of victory.
“I didn't crash on the bike, which helps, and then I got out on the run and it was about eight billion degrees and I was just thinking holy crap am I hot and I just put my head down and I didn't think about it. I was just counting to 10.10 steps, 10 steps, 10 steps, and I don't remember finishing.so I was pretty happy to find out that I won."
Both McQuaid and runner-up Whitmore suffered on the run and needed medical attention to get re-hydrated. Whitmore had a great race and a great season, with seven wins in nine races, but the world title is still the missing link. Whitmore also finished second last year.
Candy Angle, who was looking to become the first woman since the inception of the sport in 1996 to successfully defend her title, was unable to do so but had a solid day (and the fastest swim) to finish in third.
Raeleigh Rogers had another great race in Maui to place fourth for the second straight year and Jenny Tobin equaled her best-ever performance on the Valley Isle with a fifth place finish.
The Maui course, considered XTERRA's toughest and most demanding, consisted of a 1.5-kilometer rough water swim at Wailea Beach, a grueling 30-kilometer mountain bike ride up the slopes of Haleakala (the worlds largest dormant Volcano), and an 11-kilometer trail run from Makena to Wailea.
The race was filmed for a one-hour"CBS Sports Spectacular" that will air on Super Bowl Saturday, January 31, 2004 at 5:00 p.m. EST. In addition, a one-hour feature show will be produced for European syndication.
