Josiah Middaugh defended his XTERRA Mountain Championship with a dominating performance and Chantell Widney of Canada outran U.S. star Emma Garrard to win the men’s and women's titles on the challenging course on Colorado ski resort terrain that tops out at 9,000 feet altitude. .
Middaugh quickly overcame his usual swim deficit – 1:55 on this day - to Gavin Anderson with a devastatingly swift 1:09:32 mountain bike split that was 7:18 faster than contender Mauricio Mendez, 4:30 better than Ironman 70.3 star Ben Hoffman, and 3:29 better than strong XTERRA newcomer Ryan Petry. Middaugh, who lives and trains in nearby Vail, continued to press his local knowledge to post a race-best 37:30 split on the hilly run to secure a comfortable 5:07 margin of victory over runner-up Hoffman and 5:59 better than 3rd-place Mendez.
Widney started with a 4th-best women's swim that was 3:03 behind Christine Jeffrey and 12 seconds better than her chief rival Emma Garrard. Widney hung close to the lead with a 4th-best bike split that was 54 seconds slower than fellow Canadian Danelle Kabush and 15 seconds better than Garrard, who was eager for a win after three straight runner-up finishes to series leader Flora Duffy. However, Widney’s 43:32 run shut the door on Garrard and brought the Canadian to a 57 seconds margin of victory, with Kabush 3rd, 1:06 behind Garrard.
XTERRA Mountain Championship
Avon, Colorado
July 19, 2014
S 1.5k / B 22k / R 6.2 k
Results
Men
1. Josiah Middaugh (USA) 2:07:22.
2. Ben Hoffman (USA) 2:12:29
3. Mauricio Mendez (MEX) 2:13:21
4. Ryan Petry (USA) 2:14:22
5. Alex Modestou (USA) 2:15:16
Women
1. Chantell Widney (CAN) 2:30:12
2. Emma Garrard (USA) 2:31:09
3. Danelle Kabush (CAN) 2:32:15
4. Shonny Vanlandingham (USA) 2:34:18
5. Jaime Brede (USA) 2:35:18
All photographs © Timothy Carlson
Christine Jeffrey (45) led the swim and much of the bike leg before fading to 11th. Chantell Widney (47) took the lead a few minutes after this photo – and went on to win.
A big hug for mom before the start.
Getting a precise fit for the swim cap.
Ryan Ignatz gives a smile to his wife Maia before the start.
Age group swim start at Lake Nottingham.
Age group swimmer.
Pro swim exit.
Age grouper bikes out of the woods.
Josiah Middaugh leads Alex Libin and Louis Tafuto into T1.
Chantell Widney.in the lead midway through the bike leg.
XTERRA newcomer Ryan Petry of Boulder, Colorado posted the 2nd-best bike split of 1:11:17 and finished 4th.
Josiah Middaugh posted the race-best 37:30 run split on his way to the win.
Mauricio Mendez, the 19-year-old Mexican XTERRA phenom, ran a 2nd-best 38:01 run split and finished 3rd.
Age grouper Dan Rowe had the 9th fastest 41:36 run.
Pushing up one of Beaver Creek’s unrelenting hills.
Emma Garrard had the second-fastest women’s run - 44:01.
Defending champion Shonny Vanlandingham ran 44:55 and finished 4th woman.
Left to right – Ben Hoffman - 2nd place; Ryan Petry – 4th place; Mauricio Mendez – 3rd place.
Chantell Widney (47) and Emma Garrard (41) congratulate one another.
Emma Garrard celebrates her finish with her young child.
