Dan Hugo gets first win of 2010
Press Release / 05.02.2010
Although the North West Province was plagued by extremely wet weather conditions on Saturday (Jan. 30), it seemed to have no impact on South Africa’s top multisport and lifestyle athletes when a record field of close to 1,000 competitors swarmed to the magnificent Buffelspoort Dam to test their skills at the second leg of the 2009/2010 DUESOUTH XTERRA presented by REHIDRAT®.Dan Hugo (pictured) was once again in top form to secure the individual men’s title, while Susan Sloan was victorious in the individual women’s category of the event that combined a 1.5km swim, 26.5km mountain bike and 12.5km trail run.
According to Hugo, the course was extremely muddy due to the rain, but lots of fun. “Today’s race was awesome and it was amazing to see how the XTERRA has grown. Kent Horner and Charl Keet swam really well and exited the water about 25 seconds ahead of me. Although the mountain bike route was very slippery, I managed to catch them quite quickly. The course was a little shorter as it had to be adapted at the last minute due to the weather. It was, however, still very challenging with lots of rocky, loose sections. I really enjoyed the run especially the section where we had to cross a stream. Today was a great indicator of where I am in terms of racing condition and fitness. There is still one or two points that I need to work on before the XTERRA South Africa Championship in Grabouw. I am really excited about the South African finals, ultimately this is the one event where I’d like to produce the goods,†says Hugo, who completed the race in an impressive time of 2:16:55. Kent Horner came in second, while Rob Woestenborghs of Belgium finished third.
Top 5 Men - Dan Hugo (2:16:55), Kent Horner (2:24:54), Rob Woestenborghs (2:29:33), Justin Porteous (2:29:56), Charl Keet (2:30:45).
Top 5 Women - Susan Sloan (3:02:44), Sylvia van Tromp (3:07:43), Riana de Lange (3:17:32), Nicky Booyens (3:22:22), Helen Squirrell (3:23:25).
South African Finals – Excitement is mounting as the third and final leg of the XTERRA South Africa Series is just a few weeks away. This awe-inspiring event will take place on Feb. 20 at the picturesque Grabouw Country Club (Western Cape). The local series forms part of the XTERRA World Tour and athletes will have the opportunity to qualify for the world championship final that will take place in Maui on Oct. 24. The XTERRA World Tour spans more than 100 qualifying events in 15 countries and takes competitors to some of the most spectacular and challenging courses around the globe.
