DUESOUTH XTERRA South African Finals
Press Release / 09.02.2010
Top South African multi-sport athlete Dan Hugo will return to Grabouw on Saturday, 20 February 2010 with his eye on his second championship title in the DUESOUTH XTERRA finals presented by REHIDRAT®. The 2008 national champion will hit the spectacular Grabouw course in supreme form fresh off his convincing victory at XTERRA Buffelspoort Dam in January.According to Hugo, he is currently focussing on more speed intervals as a build-up to the DUESOUTH XTERRA SA Championships. “Just having competed at Buffelspoort Dam will definitely better my race-readiness for Grabouw. I was astounded by the record field of close to a 1000 entrants at Buffelspoort Dam on a rainy Johannesburg day. It is amazing to see how XTERRA has grown and I believe there will be well over 1000 competitors in Grabouw. More and more people are realizing what a fun adventure the sport of XTERRA can be. It is safe, welcoming, social and closely intertwined with nature. The XTERRA Grabouw is a legendary venue of great renowned and world-class standard. The course is changed yearly, but always remains testing. I think having the event scheduled in February instead of the customary April slot on the calendar will definitely change the dynamic of the race. All of a sudden, athletes will be faced with summer conditions and a potentially hot, dry day – this will be in sharp contrast to the traditional wet and muddy conditions of previous years. The DUESOUTH XTERRA Grabouw presented by REHIDRAT® is undoubtedly the climax of my local racing season and I'm determined to have my best day there,†says Hugo.
Other top athletes to watch out for include Kent Horner, Rob Woestenborghs (Belgium), Nico Pfitzenmaier (Germany), Mari Rabie and the reigning individual women’s champion Karina Wasle (Austria). According to event organiser Michael Meyer of Stillwater Sport & Entertainment, the increasing number of top international participants bears testament to the profile of the local series. “Over the years, we have seen a steady increase in the number of international athletes competing in the South African events and I think the calibre of these athletes is proof of the world-class standard of our events.â€
The local series forms part of the XTERRA Global Tour and athletes will have the opportunity to qualify for the world championship final in Hawaii later this year. The global series span more than 90 qualifying events in 13 countries and take competitors to some of the most spectacular and challenging courses around the globe. Featuring three disciplines, individual athletes or teams of three can tackle the full challenge of the XTERRA, consisting of a 1.5km swim, 25km MTB route and 10km trail run. XTERRA Lite athletes will need to complete a 400m swim, 12km MTB route and 5km trail run.
There will be no late entries and no registration on the day of the event.
For more information on the DUESOUTH XTERRA presented by REHIDRAT®, race rules or on-line entries please contact Stillwater Sport & Entertainment on (021) 883 – 2413 or e-mail <a href="mailto:info@stillwatersports.com" class="main">info@stillwatersports.com</a> or visit <a href="#" onclick="newsitewindow('www.stillwatersports.com')" class="main">www.stillwatersports.com</a>
