Ruben Ruzafa of Spain took four years off the XTERRA circuit after winning the world title in 2008, then came back from a sojourn in World Cup mountain biking and ruled the XTERRA world again today, outpacing inspired runner-up Asa Shaw of Great Britain by 1:27 and 3rd-place Ben Allen of Australia by 1:50.
"This championship is a very, very good feeling for me," said Ruzafa, who won three XTERRA championship races in 2013, his return to XTERRA this season. "I think this time my bike is not as good as 2008 because back then I was competing in mountain biking World Cup on a regular basis, which keeps you on a high level. But in swimming and running I am better because the more I swim and run I improve. So my transition back to XTERRA racing has been less stressful."
Nicky Samuels, a New Zealand Olympian who says she spent just three weeks training on a mountain bike preparing for this race, passed Bermuda Olympian Flora Duffy in the first mile of the bike and held on the rest of the way for a 2:26 margin of victory over two-time defending champion Lesley Paterson and 5 more seconds over surprise 3rd place finisher Flora Duffy of Bermuda.
When asked how she pulled off this victory after so little time on the mountain bike, Samuels said, "My strength in ITU racing is cycling, especially on hard, hilly course." She proved that with her 5th place finish at the super steep Kitzbuhel World Triathlon Series race this summer, which featured 20-degree climbs. "That kind of strength on a road bike can cross over to a mountain bike. Honestly I am surprised and thrilled, but I did think I could win if I came off the bike first."
Samuels added that one of her ITU World Cup wins, at Guatape, Colombia, was achieved on a pavement course with similarly tough hills and hot, humid tropical conditions which prevailed at Maui.
The Men
Leonardo Chacon of Costa Rica led the men out of a choppy, current-plagued swim in 18:32, followed closely by ITU star Courtney Atkinson of Australia (18:39) and Richard Stannard of Great Britain (18:48). But the key figures in the day's drama were a bit further behind. Ben Allen (19:12), Conrad Stoltz (19:52), Asa Shaw (20:00) were within reasonable range, but Ruzafa (21:30) and Josiah Middaugh (21:54) had some work to do to get back into contention.
By Mile 5, Leonardo Chacon led across a high altitude ridge, followed 10 seconds later by Ben Allen, then Asa Shaw. Lurking in 8th, Ruzafa was already starting to work his mountain bike magic. By Mile 15, in the midst of a new, tricky, technical section, Ruzafa arrived at the lead and Allen, still stung by last year's broken chain debacle at Maui, hung on desperately in the Spaniard's flying wake while Chacon fell back and Middaugh worked his way toward the front.
"Soon as I got to that single track, Ruben came past," said Allen. "Ruben and I had a battle at XTERRA Spain and I said to myself, 'You are not going to lose me this time!' To stay with Ruben, I had to ride like a madman and take as many risks as possible."
By the time they arrived in T2, Ruzafa had posted a race-best 1:31:11 bike split and had a 30 seconds lead on Allen, who rode a 3rd-best 1:36:00. Four-time XTERRA World Champion Conrad Stoltz , who rode a 4th-best 1:36:12, was 40 second further back, while Josiah Middaugh, after a 2nd-best 1:35:36 bike split, had made up a lot of ground and was in the chase along with Asa Shaw, who arrived 6th in T2 after a 1:35:37 split.
While history would show that last year's runner-up Middaugh was the runner to be feared, on this day Asa Shaw, who won XTERRA France and Germany in 2012, was the man on fire and on his way to a race-best 39:24 run passing contenders left and right. Allen, who started the run with his eye in Ruzafa, suddenly went into defensive mode when a missed water bottle led to incipient cramps. Ruzafa, thus freed from immediate danger, went into a conservative cruise mode and rolled to a tied-for-4th-best 39:53 run that brought him to the line in 2:34:34 with a 1:27 margin of victory. Shaw, operating on all cylinders, came up on a defenseless Allen at the 4-mile mark of the run and sailed by to nail down the runner-up slot. Meanwhile, Allen finished his race off with a 41:12 run that was 2 seconds faster than an off-form Middaugh, who trailed Allen by 1:20 to take 4th place. Branden Currie of New Zealand, finishing with a 2nd-best 39:32 run, finished 5th, 1:21 back of Middaugh.
The Women
Two ITU stars with little XTERRA experience led the swim and took advantage of their early lead to make the podium. Flora Duffy of Bermuda, coming off a stress fracture and anemia problems that severely limited her run training for months, led the swim in 19:21, followed 29 seconds later by Nicky Samuels, a New Zealand Olympian who qualified for this race with a March win at XTERRA Motatapu. Two-time defending champion Lesley Paterson, used to a T2 deficit, was 2:15 back of Duffy. Most surprising, ITU star Barbara Riveros of Chile, last year's Maui runner-up, was just 7 seconds better than Paterson.
After passing Duffy in the first mile, Samuels stretched her lead with seeming effortless ease pulling to a 2 minute lead at the 4 mile mark and near 3 minutes by T2 after a 2nd-best 1:52:37 split topped only by Shonny Vanlandingham, the 2010 XTERRA World Champion, who remained out of contention after a 25:42 swim. Riveros worked hard to keep the gap in range, posting a 3rd-best 1:53:52 bike split while Paterson could not muster a charge and stayed in place with a decent but not stellar 1:54:43 split that cut 1:02 from Duffy's advantage after the Bermudan's 1:55:45 bike split.
Much like Ruzafa, Samuels relaxed on the run, posting a 7th-best 45:31 that surrendered 1:36 to Paterson's race-best split. Duffy held on to the runner-up slot until the final kilometer, where her injury and illness-forced lack of run training bit her hard. Duffy struggled hard in the soft sand of D.T. Fleming Beach as Paterson, urged on by her husband who yelled at her "Just seconds of pain!" zeroed in on her prey.
With just 100 yards to go, just about the place where Melanie McQuaid collapsed and did not finish two years ago, Paterson made the pass for the runner-up slot, 2:26 back of Samuels and 5 seconds ahead of the Bermudan, who filled the podium.
Paterson said the stress of racing to the finish through pain sets up an interesting inner dialogue: "You go through so many emotions. You think, ''Yes I can! No I can't. Yes I can! No I can't!' You are exhausted and in so much pain and you just want to finish. Then you see it's possible and you think, ' I can do it!' It is back and forth and all the while I had my dad shouting at me. 'Get your heart sign!' You just have to put it in maximum and give your all - and have no regret."
XTERRA World Championship
Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii
October 27, 2013
S 1.5k / R 30k / R 10k
Results
Elite men
1. Ruben Ruzafa (ESP) 2:34:34
2. Asa Shaw (GBR) 2:36:01
3. Ben Allen (AUS) 2:36:24
4. Josiah Middaugh (USA) 2:37:44
5. Braden Currie (NZL) 2:39:05
6. Conrad Stoltz (RSA) 2:39:31
7. Nicolas Lebrun (FRA) 2:40:57
8. Marvin Gruget (FRA) 2:42:03
9. Leonardo Chacon (CRC) 2:42:08
10. Brice Daubord (FRA) 2:43:00
Elite Women
1. Nicky Samuels (NZL) 2:57:48
2. Lesley Paterson (GBR) 3:00:14
3. Flora Duffy (BER) 3:00:19
4. Barbara Riveros (CHL) 3:01:43
5. Emma Garrard (USA) 3:01:45
6. Chantell Widney (CAN) 3:04:36
7. Helena Erbenova (CZE) 3:05:16
8. Shonny Vanlandingham (USA) 3:05:43
9. Jacqui Slack (GBR) 3:05:52
10. Suzie Snyder (USA) 3:08:32
