Ned's Race Report

The Xterra World Championships was last Sunday in Maui. I managed a fourth place finish which was one place better than last year. I figure if I improve one place every year I will win it again when I turn fifty, I promise I will retire after that.

The big news was Conrad Stoltz opening up a 50 gallon drum of whup-ass on the entire field. He crushed us and he did it with the fastest bike split of the day. Conrad received a new S-Works FSRxc about five days before the race so he didn't have much time to get used to it. He only rode it three times before the event, but evidently it was enough to get it dialed. We also sent him a pair of new BG Pro shoes. He dug the fit, and he hasn't even heard Andy Pruitt's rap about the Varus Wedge.

Conrad came out of the water less than a minute behind the fastest swimmers and went straight to the front on the bike leg. By the start of the run he had over five minutes on second place, Jimmy Riccitello. I came out of the swim in 45th place and made it up to third with the second fastest bike split. But I didn't have enough time on Kerry Claussen who caught me in the run and went on to catch Jimmy to take second place.

The bike course was in terrible shape with deep silty soil over loose lava rock. I was frustrated because I had to dismount at least five or six times to run up steep climbs. I can put more time on the other triathletes when I can ride the hills. Conrad has raced mtn bikes in South Africa and ridden motocross bikes so he's not afraid to hang it out on the downhills.

The prize list this year was the biggest of any race I have ever done, with 20 large going to the winner.

Hey, Conrad! In America, we split the prize money with our team mates!!!

Ned

X-Terra Mtn Bike Triathlon
Lake Tahoe, CA
September 23rd, 2001

In the Half Moon Bay race last month, I had a weak swim, which means your house cat would have come out of the bay in front of me. Fortunately I am a better cyclist than most house cats. In the bike leg, I worked my way up to seventh and held that position in the run.

The final race in the series was last weekend at Incline Village on Lake Tahoe. It was a great course. Starting with a swim in the crystal clear waters of Tahoe, it was a shock to see the bottom of the lake 50 feet down when most the other Xterra swims have had visibility of about six inches. The swim was followed by a bike course that climbed 2000 feet up to the Flume trail and then another 700 ft. climb up to the Tahoe Rim trail. It was hard to concentrate on the trail because of the spectacular views. The run course circled through the hills by the old production set of the TV show "Bonanza". It brought back memories of 1965, when I was in the fifth grade living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. One day my dad brought home a TV set. There was only one station and the only show we got was "Bonanza". The whole family was glued to the tube every week for a dose of Americana. On the bike I made it up to third behind Kerry Claussen and Conrad Stoltz. I held onto that position through the run. In the overall points: Conrad Stoltz (South Africa) first, Nickolas Lebrun (France) second. I was third and the first guy from the U.S. so I got the National Championship title.

Next stop is the Xterra world championships in Maui on Oct 14th

Ned

X-Terra Mtn Bike Triathlon
Keystone, CO
July 29th, 2001

Dang, this sport is getting hard!

There have been two regional races in the Xterra Mtn Bike Triathlon point series. One in Richmond, VA in June and one in Keystone, CO in July. The Richmond race was not horribly hot for a change. I was in better position than usual exiting the James River after the 1K swim and was making good progress up through the field on the mtn bike leg (30K) whenI was caught from behind by Steve Larsen (current National Mtn Bike champ) I jumped on Steve's wheel and we took turns crashing in front of each other on the tight, wooded course with slippery stream crossings. We came into the bike-to-run transition together in second and third. Canadian Mike Vine still had a few minutes on us and he was about to increase that lead in the run (10K). I thought I was looking good for second place because I had run faster than Steve last year at the Half Moon Bay race. But Steve ran away and then two new guys to the Xterra circuit, Conrad Stoltz (Olympic triathlete from South Africa) and Nickolas Lebrun (World duathlete champ from France) ran by Steve and I so fast it was embarrasing. When they passed me, I pretended I was a local tobacco farmer out for a Sunday jog along the river. I hung on for the last podium spot at fifth. Thank God for five man podiums.

The next race was in Keystone, Colorado. I have won this event the past two years and its my best shot at a win because of the long, technical, high altitude climb on the bike. The swim is at 9,200 feet and the Mtn bike course climbs to11,700 feet and back down a rocky descent. After a frigid swim, I was 25th out of the water. I caught and passed the two race leaders about one third of the way up the climb (Mike Vine and Conrad Stoltz). Then, before the next single track section, Conrad surges up along side me trying to dive into the singletrack ahead of me, I was thinking "What u talkin bout, Willis?". He must have been watching the 1985 NORBA Nationals where I did that to John Tomac, to keep Johnny from getting away in the technical stuff. I was leading coming into the bike-to-run transition, but not by enough. Mike Vine ran by me and then the French guy, Lebrun. I held onto third. Fourth and fifth went to Conrad and Michael Tobin (last years series winner). My swim and bike times have been faster than last year on the same courses. But these guys are "taking me to the woodshed" in the run. I ordered a video on running technique and drills. Thats how desperate I am, I am actually paying money to watch a video of a guy running. I hope it has a good soundtrack! Maybe they will trade for one of my Mtn Biking videos. The next Xterra is in Half Moon Bay on August 19th.

Ned

This is the first year that USA Triathlon has sanctioned a Winter Triathlon National Championships. For several years there has been a sanctioned World Championships and the International Triathlon Union is trying to get the sport in the 2006 Winter Olympics. The race was a 10k run, 20k mtn bike and 10k x-country ski at Winter Park, Colorado. There were some notable racers from a variety of sports competing. RyanBolton who was a US Olympian in Sydney on the triathlon team, Mike Kloser, 2000 Eco Challenge winner and multi time champ of the Idita-bike 200-mile MTB race on snowpacked trails in Alaska (stupid-a-bike?). Kloser and I had some classic mtn bike duels in the good old days. At the European World Mtn Bike championships in 1988, Crans Montana, Switzerland, I had been leading the race, when I ran out of calories and bonked, Mike caught me and gave me a half eaten Power Bar before dropping me, which was just enough calories for me to hold off Tim Gould of Great Britainfor second. At 40 years old Mike is still just a baby. Trond Nystad, a Norwegian member of the Solomon XC ski team was someone you did not want close behind going into the final ski leg. There were other winter tri specialists, fast road triathletes and some Xterra pros looking to bag the National title. I figured Ryan was the guy to beat, he is capable of running a sub 30 minute 10k on the pavement, that alone would put him 4 minutes ahead of me, and I know he can apply the pressure to the pedals, but this run was on snowpacked ski trails and with 6 inches of fresh snow overnight and heavy snow during the race, leg speed was less of a factor and strength was more important. Kloser was dangerous because he lives in Vail at 8500 feet where its winter about six months of the year. I was able to stay within a minute of Ryan on the run but I couldn't get away from Kloser who has less leg speed than I, but more strength then anybody. The fresh snow made the bike section technical, it was mostly on snowpacked dirt roads with a few sections on packed ski trails. There were several tight turns, climbs and descents where "saving it" when the front wheel began to slide meant you didn't lose time picking yourself up off the ground. On the bike, Kloser and I overtook Ryan who was struggling on some of the slick downhills but motoring on the flats and climbs. I pulled out a 30 second lead on Kloser, my tire setup was hooking up a little better and I was going all out, worried that he was a better skier. The soft conditions on the ski course favored my lack of technique. Kloser is a former pro bump skier so he has great balance, which means increased glide by balancing on a flat ski, the faster the conditions the better for a real skier, but a slog through deep snow with your heart rate jammed through the roof, veins bulging in your forehead, slobbering all over yourself from effort, that's my specialty. I opened up a couple minute lead on Mike in the final ski leg to take the win with Ryan Bolton coming third. I couldn't totally relax until after my nine hour drive back to Durango on icy, snow packed roads.

Ned

Xterra World Championships Maui

My first day in Maui I read in the local paper "Woman Attacked By Tiger Shark While Snorkeling". This happened a few miles up the coast from the race sight so it gave the competitors something to think about while we were out practicing the swim course. Everytime I went swimming my neck got stiff from trying to look in all directions.

Race day:
Even a superior equipment setup was not enough to get me to the front in this years Xterra championship. My climbing legs failed to appear in Maui. After a swimming exhibition defining mediocrity, I emerged from the Pacific in 58th place. I came out of the water only a few seconds behind eventual winner, Michael Tobin. I realized pretty quick Michael was on fire. He rode to the front of the pack and then posted the fastest run time of the day to take his first championship title. I rode up to fifth place and held onto that position through the run, which is still better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

Al Clark (Specialized tire Guru) lost some time, (trying not to look like a sea turtle, favorite food of the Tiger shark) during the swim, but he made up for it with a strong bike and run, to take second in his age group.

I rode the 2001 S-Works XC with our 2blissRoll model tires. It was the ideal setup because the Mtn bike course on Haleakala volcano is super rough. If you are using tube-type tires the sharp lava rock makes it necessary to pump your tires up rock hard and hope you don't pinch flat. With the 2bliss I could run less air and not worry about going fast over the rocks.

Peter Reid (riding his 2000 S-Works XC) finished tenth and won the award for the fastest combined times for theXterra and the previous weekends' Ironman. Peter was preoccupied during the Xterra, he was busy thinking of how to spend the $70,000 that he made for winning the Ironman. Wow! Congrats, to Peter and Lori Bowden for her second place finish!

Ned

X-Terra Mtn Bike Triathlon
Boston, MA
June 11th, 2000

X-Terra Mtn Bike Triathlon
Richmond, VA
June 18th, 2000

X-Terra Mtn Bike Triathlon
Keystone, CO
July 23rd, 2000

I apologize for slacking off on my race reports, here is a condensed update:

In May I took 5th place in the Ironhorse road race. The 18th time I've lined up for that event. The Ironhorse is a classic mountainous race that goes over two 10,000+ foot high mountain passes on its way from Durango to Silverton CO. The most notable part was being outsprinted by Walker Ferguson, who went on to win the World Junior Mtn Bike Championships two weeks later in Spain. I guess that makes me a pretty good junior.

In June I took 2nd place in a Mtn bike marathon/festival in Garmisch Germany. On the way back from Germany I stopped in Hopkinton, outside Boston for the XTerra, where I squeaked onto the podium in fifth. I then traveled back to the east coast the following weekend for the Richmond Virginia XTerra. I managed fourth there on a brutally hot, muggy day. Al Clark (Specialized tire Guru) was competing there in his first XTerra and he dominated his age group. That qualified him for the Championships in Maui on October 22 . I hear Al has been practicing the Hula in anticipation of the Hawaiian event.

Last weekend I pulled out a win at the XTerra in Keystone, Colorado. First a swim in 55 degree Duck Doo-Doo pond, then a winding ascent of Keystone Mtn, 2600 feet up to the 11,600 ft summit. I had a great climb, pulling ahead by three minutes and padded it a little on the downhill. Our new 2bliss tires were the hot ticket on the descent. It is surprising how much quieter the whole bike is with tubeless tires. Even on high speed rocky descents the bike bounces less so there is not as much chain slap, deraileur bounce, water bottle rattle, etc...I had three guys chasing me on the run which is an ugly situation to be in. The run was at an elevation of 9,000 feet. You didn't experience leg fatigue as much as chest fatigue from trying to supply oxygen that just wasn't there. The best part is I took four minutes off my time from last year (2nd place) most of it in the bike leg. We all know I couldn't be getting any faster so it must be the 2bliss tires and the 2001 Andy Pruitt Design shoes. Or maybe I had extra fitness from chasing the media around the Dolomites during the Specialized 2001 product launch in Italy the previous weekend.

Ned

Nashville, TN
May 7th, 2000

The X-Terra MTB triathlon series started out with a couple of back to back weekends in Ruston, Louisiana and Nashville, Tennessee.

In Louisiana we swam in a murky swamp in Lincoln Parish Park. A Water Moccasin was spotted by the shoreline but the locals assured us they were a very "shy" breed of snake.

I think the hard work I have been doing in the pool has dropped about fifteen seconds off my swim time and added a minute and a half to my bike split. It's one of the tricky balances of triathlon training, how to get faster in one discipline without giving it back in another.

Kerry Claussen, an incredible swimmer, strong biker, and this year a strong runner, won both races with Canadian Mike Vine and last year's series winner Michael Tobin filling in the 2nd and 3rd place positions, which left me in fourth place both weekends.

The courses in both cities were similar with short climbs and twisty, tight singletrack, the kind where a moments loss of concentration will send you off course, hugging a tree or bushwhacking through the Poison Ivy.

I may need a bike course with bigger mountains or perhaps some webbing, surgically attached between my toes to increase my swim speed, before I get closer to the top of the podium this season.

The next X-Terra races will be in mid June when the tour travels to Boston and Richmond.

Ned

Played in the surf, went for a little ride in the hills, then a jog on the beach - lets call it a Triathlon and send Mike the bill.

I am happy to report that yesterday I successfully defended my title at the XTerra championships on the island of Maui

I held off Michael Tobin, who has dominated the series this year, by just over a minute. I knew in order to win I would have to beat Michael by about two and a half minutes in the bike leg which would require out climbing him, something I have not been able to do this year. Due to torrential rains the week before the race all the dirt was washed off the 20 mile mtn bike course leaving nothing but jagged lava rock. Michael and I came out of the 1 mile swim together, somewhere around 45th place out of the 400 plus field, he was right behind me as we exited the swim to mtn bike transition. The 2500 foot stair step climb along the base of the Mt. Haleakala volcano was so rough it was hard to establish any climbing rhythm, which made it ideal for full suspension. I had my rear shock set up softer than usual and my tires pumped up rock hard to avoid pinch flats. Slowly I managed to open up a gap on Michael as we both worked our way towards the front of the field. One of the last guys we caught was Peter Reid (second place in the Ironman Triathlon just the week before). Peter, along with his wife Lori Bowden (who won the Ironman), were both riding FSR-XC's. Unfortunately, Peter got a couple of flats and had to finish the mtn bike course on his rim. After opening up a gap on Michael I extended it on the last downhill and started the 7 mile run with about a three minute lead. The run course follows the coastline over sharp lava rocks and soft sandy beaches. I got a stiff neck from looking over my shoulder to see if anyone was catching me, but in the end the old guy stayed out front.

The final event, and one that required considerable endurance, was the post race Halloween party, where many of the triathlete ladies idea of a costume was revealing lingerie (god bless em').

For more coverage (of the race - not the party) look for an article Thursday or Friday in USA Today, or on the web at www.XTerra.net and www.mountainzone.com.

Are boogie board rentals a reasonable race expense?

I raced a NORBA national at this same venue, Mountain Creek, New Jersey in 1987. I remember dueling with Joe Murray on no suspension, friction top mount shifting, bull moose handlebars, etc. Those were the old days, but not necessarily the good old days.

This X-terra course started with a lake swim at the top of a 1500 foot ski mtn in northwest New Jersey. We then rode Mtn bikes to the bottom, back up and down once more where we started a brutal run straight up the face of the ski resort and (worse) straight back down. Michael Tobin who has been dominating the series, beat me out of the water by about 25 seconds. The bike course was very rocky descending and climbing. My slightly better technical skills and bike set up gave me the edge. I passed him on a rocky climb where he had to dismount. After that I was going all out, trying to put enough time on him before the run, which is his strongest sport. At one point in the bike course I was flying down this twisty singletrack and there was a huge black bear right beside the trail. I yelled at it as soon as I saw it and luckily it swerved away from the trail instead of toward it. I saw it too late to avoid it, so as soon as I passed it I just started sprinting I probably gained 20 seconds on Tobin in that next hundred yards. It was one ofthe biggest bears I have seen. Black with thick, shiny fur. I was so close (about five feet away) I could even smell it. It stunk. Tobin was having problems with his seat (which eventually fell off) so I was able to hit the run transition over three minutes ahead of him. I should have won. I was running strong up the hills but on the steep downhills I was in self-preservation mode because I thought I had enough of a time buffer. Tobin passed me on the last steep downhill catching me totally by surprise. Soon after the race it started pouring rain from the leftovers of hurricane Dennis which matched my dark mood of feeling I had thrown away what should have been a win.

Oh Well, The bike show in Vegas will cheer me up - or make me throw up. My next X-terra will be the finals in Maui at the end of October. That's seven weeks to figure out how to swim a little faster, run a lot faster and still climb fast on the bike.

The positive energy from everyone at Specialized and our dealers during the 25th anniversary celebration last weekend, helped propel me to the X-terra win. It was the biggest turnout yet for an X-terra, probably due to the interest in mountain biking and triathlon in the Bay Area and the fact that 10 billion people live within a two hour drive.

The opening swim in the 59 degree Harbor had me back in 25th place, 1:20 down on Jimmy Riccitello who I figured was the guy I needed to beat. Jimmy had just defeated a fast pro field at a road triathlon in Cleveland the previous weekend. The 18 mile Mtn Bike course was not very technical but it did have some steep climbs up the coastal foothills. The hardest part may have been the 2 mile section from the transition area, that consisted of a flat, grass field that had been mowed but had no real trail through it. It was rough enough to shake off a tattoo. A lot of riders were bumping along in their middle chain rings because they couldn't build any momentum. I set my full suspension bike up with a soft preload front and rear, and the dampening lightened up. Once I built up speed I could bomb along, sitting in the saddle pushing my biggest gear. I took back ten people in the first couple miles. It was an ideal full-"sus" testing field.

I knew I would need to put some time on Jimmy before the run. I caught him halfway through the bike and had a three minute lead starting the run. The run was six miles on the beach with some hard sand and some off-camber soft stuff. Lots of dogs, kids, sand castles and surf fisherman to watch out for so it gave me something to think about besides how bad my calves felt. I managed to hold Jimmy off and win with a couple minute margin.

The sponsors were pleased with the crowds at the Expo area so hopefully they will bring it back to Half Moon Bay next year. I encourage everybody to come out and participate, they have a shorter distance race in the morning and a relay event that runs at the same time as the longer race.

More info can be found at www.XTerra.net

I recently competed in an X-terra series race in Keystone, Colorado, a ski area two hours west of Denver. The lake swim at 9,200 feet of altitude with a water temperature in the mid-50's was a unique challenge. Even though wetsuits were mandatory, it wasn't enough to keep some of us from struggling with the combination of cold and altitude. I found myself unable to catch my breath after a couple hundred yards. So I had to roll over and swim backstroke while I recovered. Michael Tobin, the series leader, was out of the swim-to-MTB transition fifteen seconds ahead of me. Both of us were behind about 30 other triathletes.

We managed to catch them all on the climb to the 11,700 foot summit of Keystone mountain, but to my disappointment, I could not close the gap on Tobin. I knew if I was going to win this one I would have to out-climb him. I did manage to catch and pass him on the 6 mile technical descent to the run transition. But with only a 30 second lead, I knew it was just a matter of time before he caught me on the 7 mile trail run. Michael has the fastest run splits for every X-terra this season. Mine are improving. In the end he beat me by just under 2 minutes. The run finished with a thigh-deep crossing of the frigid Snake River. A stark contrast to the hot, humid conditions of the last X-terrain Virginia.

My next X-terra will be in Half Moon Bay, CA on August 22nd. I am not looking forward to another 1500 Meter swim in sub 60 degree water, but I'm hoping the thicker air at sea level will make it easier.

At first glance it looked like Richmond would be a tame venue in comparison to some of the other Triathlon courses on the X-Terra circuit. The entire course centered around the heart of downtown and the James River. After two hours of racing with the temperature and humidity in the 90's, we found ourselves on the 7 mile run, leaping from granite boulder to boulder and occasionally hip deep in black swamp water when the spaces between were too far to jump across. I was half enjoying the outrageous run course and half wanting to put Dave Nickolas, the promoter, in a choke hold.

In the end, I avoided snapping an ankle or getting bit by the snapping turtles. And after washing the Poison Ivy residue off my body (with Tecnu solvent) and downing 1000mg of ibuprofen tablets, I rushed off to D.C. to catch a flight to Italy for the Specialized 2000 press launch.

Michael Tobin schooled the pro field with the fastest bike and run split, Jimmy Riccitello was second, and I managed to hold off a late charge in the run from John Koenig, to take third. The swim course was unique in that the the James River was not always deep enough to swim in and not clear enough to see the shallow areas. So in spots, the pack was wriggling through the mud on our stomachs looking for deeper channels through the mud. The bike course wound around to different parks in the area to incorporate some technical singletrack sections. One of the parks had a full-on Sunday revival meeting going on, complete with gospel singers and a big band. The singing was reverberating off the hillsides as we were racing.

I ran into Mike Pigg (winner of the 1997 Maui X-Terra) in the airport. He had been doing a clinic on the East coast. Mike is struggling to recover from surgery to repair a broken bone in his foot and he said he may have to scratch this whole season and focus on next year. Either way, when he comes back he's gonna be hungry to win.