Wealing, Vanlandingham win XTERRA Mexico
Press Release / 09.08.2011
XTERRA Managing Director "Kahuna Dave" Nicholas was on site for the race and brings us this report...Unbelievable. The awards ceremony and after party standards have hit a new high. The entire village square of Tapalpa was transformed into XTERRA Village. About 7:30pm the announcer started awards and every category from kids to sport to champ racers took the podium with literally thousands of people cheering. The final awards, given at dusk, were to the elites and the roars were unbelievable. Shonny Vanlandingham is the new Rockstar of Mexico. After she stepped off the podium she was surrounded by hundreds of admirers taking photos, signing autographs, shaking hands. Seth Wealing was equally mobbed as were all the elites.
In the center of the square was this huge metal tower which turned out to be a 50-foot high fireworks display. After about an hour of signing autographs and drinking Jalisco’s much better version of a margarita (served in clay mugs) the locals fired up this monstrous display. Even more impressive was a 16-piece Mexican band that played wild music to the fireworks display. The best part was the final and top display which had two cyclists that had fireworks rockets propelling them round and round the huge tower – except the rockets were in wrong and the cyclists went backwards!! We all thought this was the end – but NO.... immediately after, on the upper level of the plaza a huge XTERRA fireworks display burned and lit up the town. Whew, we all thought, that was spectacular. No sooner did we think we should get something to eat but a 10-minute aerial display went off, and exploded right above our heads. The remains of the rockets simply fell down on the crowd and nobody cared. Shonny looked around and said “If this was in the States there would be ropes and barricades and police pushing everybody around."
To say this was an event not to be missed does not do it justice. Anybody who loves XTERRA and the lifestyle simply has to be in Tapalpa for 2012. Forget the sensationalist press telling you about danger; read my lips – there is none in this area of the country. This is not a border town.
Oh, there was a race. I almost forgot all about it.
