XTERRA South Africa
Riddle, Detering Clinch XTERRA Lite victories in Grabouw
Press Release / 23.02.2019
The 2019 XTERRA racing season kicked off at the Elgin Grabouw Country Club (Western Cape) on Saturday, 23 February 2019 with Jamie Riddle (originally from PE now residing in Stellenbosch) and Linda Detering (Hout Bay) showing their mettle in the XTERRA Lite.
Riddle successfully defended his XTERRA Lite title in an impressive time of 59 minutes 35 seconds. “It was a really good race,” said Riddle. “I came here in good form. I had a good block. I went to Namibia and had a good racing season. The swim is one of my strengths, so I wanted to take it out really hard. On the bike I just tried to keep a strong pace until the guys caught me. One of the guys caught me on the technical part. I tried to stick with him as long as I could. We entered transition together. I broke away at the beginning of the run. I really enjoy this race and use it as training and preparation for my road season. The MTB was more technical than last year, but still doable for everyone while the run was beautiful with nice single tracks. XTERRA Lite is really enjoyable all round. It makes you strong especially on the hills. It’s such a beautiful place to race. I really enjoy the scenery. It feels great to successfully defend my title. It shows form.” Khan Nothnagel came in second, while Maniora Regis finished third.
Making her XTERRA debut on the day Detering claimed gold in the women’s race in a deserving time of 01 hours 11 minutes 03 seconds. “I’m studying in Gemany and just wanted to enter as many events as possible while I’m back home. I’ve heard that XTERRA Grabouw is one of the cool events to do,” said Detering. “I was boxed in on the swim and struggled to get a good stroke in. On the bike my chain came off, so it was a bit frustrating. I just told myself to go all out on the run and gave my all. I loved the XTERRA Lite route. It was so beautiful, just amazing. Winning today was unexpected especially because I had a bad bike and because it’s my first XTERRA. I didn’t have any expectations. I’m 100% doing this event again. It is so much fun.” Hannah Newman came in second, while Susan Kruger finished third.
“Although only half the distance of the Full Race, the XTERRA Lite routes should not be underestimated,” advises Michael Meyer, Managing Director Stillwater Sports. “XTERRA Warriors were faced with a 400m swim in the beautiful Eikenhof Dam, a +- 14km mountain bike (MTB) route and a +- 6.5km trail run route. There was an option to enter individually or as part of a team. The MTB route included its fair share of hills and single track. It is however doable and definitely left lasting memories. The trail run route posed its own challenges, but the effort was rewarded with spectacular views and a lasting feeling of accomplishment.”
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