Middaugh & McQuaid defend their titles at the XTERRA Canadian Championships
Press Release / 08.09.2011
September 4, 2011 (Nita Lake Lodge, Whistler, B.C.) - The snow-capped peaks of Whistler’s famed Olympic ski slopes and mist over Alta Lake greeted athletes assembled at Rainbow Park for the start of XTERRA Canada’s 2nd annual SportChek National Championship in Whistler, B.C., presented by Nita Lake Lodge.When the gun went off at 9am, the mist had cleared and there was no sign of the cougar that had been spotted on the beach in the early morning hours before the race. The water in Alta Lake was 66 degrees, and it was a typical, beautiful blue sky Whistler day. The swim was two 750-meter laps of a triangular course with a short beach run in between, and the first out and to transition was XTERRA newcomer, Aussie Ben Allen (Wollongong, NSW), followed closely by American Seth Wealing (Boulder, CO) and Canada’s Jean-Philippe Thibodeau (Baie-Saint Paul, QC).
Hot on their heels was Colorado’s Branden Rakita (Manitou Springs) and 4x XTERRA World Champ Conrad Stoltz (Stellenbosch, South Africa). Last year’s XTERRA Canada champ, Josiah Middaugh (Vail, Colorado) was two minutes off the lead pack along with Canadians Mike Vine and Melanie McQuaid.
Competitors faced two 12-kilometer laps on one of XTERRA’s most technical bike courses – complete with a variety of built stunts including numerous bridges, skinny’s (little rails about three feet off the ground), and tight, twisting trails through trees and rocks. A 10km trail run followed leading athletes directly uphill and gnarly downhill sections. The technical nature and difficulty of the course was certainly reflected in the finish times.
