According to Stoltz, he was pleasantly surprised by the huge field of athletes that took part at XTERRA Buffelspoort in 2011.  “It was heart warming to see XTERRA growing so quickly in South Africa.  XTERRA Buffelspoort 2011 was my first local XTERRA other than XTERRA Grabouw.   I came straight from my holiday on my parent’s farm, so I wasn’t that well prepared, since there is no swimming pool in Lydenburg.  I did, however, manage to get wet a few times in a nearby dam.   I rode the bike course blind (not having seen it before) which is always a little unsettling, but fortunately I had good legs and made 6 or 7 minutes on Dan Hugo.  

 

The run course was quite scenic around the dam wall area and I was happy to start the season off with a win.  XTERRA Buffelspoort’s mountain bike course is mostly flat to undulating, so high speeds abound which makes for some fun cornering in a few places.  The run course is 2 laps, and quite hilly. Some stairs up and down the dam wall with some boulder climbing thrown in.  There are also a few river crossings to cool you down and make sure your shoes stay heavy.  I love racing and will always look for an excuse to race,” says Stoltz.