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Batelier, Bucher win XTERRA Czech Championship

Press Release / 09.08.2010

A thunderstorm rolled into Spindleruv Mlyn yesterday afternoon and never let up but neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet could stop Franky Batelier and Renata Bucher from winning today’s XTERRA Czech Championship.

“I have only one word to say about today,” said Batelier, winner of three of four XTERRA European Tour races this season and 7-of-8 dating back to last year. “MUD!”

While Mother Nature let her presence be known it was perhaps the swim-to-bike transition that made all the difference in today’s race. Batelier clocked a 12:51 swim split, second only to Mikko Vastaranta of Finland, and zipped in and out of transition in 31 seconds. Eventual runner-up Felix Schumann was just 11 seconds back out of the water but took 30 seconds longer than Batelier to get out on the bike, and in the end finished second by just 36 seconds.

“It wasn’t so much the transition but the downhill on the bike where Batelier won this race,” said Schumann (pictured on the bike). “He was so fast, so fearless on the very steep, slippery downhill that I could only watch in amazement.”

“The XTERRA bike course mirrored the UCI World Cup downhill course for about 80% of the last mile,” explained XTERRA managing director Dave Nicholas. “Fortunately the mountain operations crew allowed us to take out the radical 5' high jumps and ramps near the end but still, the steepness and rocky corners are very different from what XTERRA riders are used to.”