foto by Rich Cruse

foto by Osamu Chiba

It feels good to be me. I won XTERRA West Championships in Temecula by about 4 minutes.

Here is the story from www.xterraplanet.com

Conrad “the Caveman” Stoltz of South Africa powered through the grueling XTERRA West Championship course at Vail Lake Resort in Temecula Valley in two hours and 28 minutes to win the first of four regional championships on the XTERRA America Tour today.

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound XTERRA machine was in the first pack of racers to finish the 1-mile swim in the warm waters (roughly 66-degrees) of Vail Lake, absolutely crushed the bike with the fastest split of the day in one-hour, 26 minutes, and posted the fifth-best run in 41:23. His winning time was more than three minutes faster than runner-up Mike Vine from Canada.

“It was a great day, a great course,” said Stoltz, a two-time Olympic triathlete. “I felt good today but this result is really surprising. I spent the off-season doing a lot of construction work building a house and a pool. Came into this race at about 80% fitness with the plan to peak for the October races. I’m trying not to get too excited because it’s a long season, but am still very happy with the result.”

The victory reasserted Stoltz’ presence at XTERRA and solidified his stature as the man to beat if he’s healthy. It was also a feel good story for all of those in the XTERRA family that watched the two-time XTERRA World Champ suffer through a 2006 season filled with injuries that culminated with a devastating pre-race crash at the USA Championships in October.

Wow, what a race. Had a good one and won by 10 minutes. As usual- made it all on the bike. For more, go to www.ndorphin.co.za/news/

Picture: 7th day of Cape Epic 2006 by Jacques Marais

Since those first few cautious runs around X-mas time, training has vaulted into super morph mode, and form-wise things are going really well. Almost scary well. Racing season in the US starts in May and is 6 months long, peaking at Worlds- October 28. A long season.

I’m feeling “good and strong” for XTERRA South Africa. Not “fast and furious” yet, but I’m confident I can teach the local lads a few lessons about “good and strong.” The course is the main competitor, and especially here in Grabouw, should never be underestimated. Trail builder William Keith is known for his tough (but fun) courses and at the end of the day even the most tired/ scraped up finisher manages a smile. XTERRA in South Africa has grown in leaps and bounds, as can be seen in the numbers at the various events and also the level of competition in the pro field.The TV shows are great and have been attracting athletes and sponsorships alike.

XTERRA SA will also be the first big race in my new sponsors colours, so it will be nice to kick off the season with a good performance. Read more about new sponsors in “Journal”

Spur is committed to getting kids outside, active and hungry! That’s exactly what happened earlier this morning at Shongweni Nature reserve- just outside Durban.

I was the Spur mascot- just without the Indian feathers and face paint. And was lucky enough to be paired with the National Schools Adventure Racing Champions. Matthew and Jason from Kloof High. They raced as a 2 man team and I was the 3^rd wheel. Kind of a participating spectator. Anyway, what fun we had.

We started with a 100m sack race, but once the giggles were over, we hit the trails on foot, and quickly started gaining some serious altitude. The boys were in the lead and on fire; I was riding the caboose, keeping a close eye. “Shorten your strides up the hills” and “work the arms” were some tips. Soon they got a lecture about pacing. (Start conservative, and finish strong) Just when we got bored of all the huffing and puffing, we hit an amazing kloofing stage, where we waded a long stretch of river, leapt from rock to rock, and tore through thick undergrowth and thorn bushes. I loved it.

At the end of the 5k run we got to a 200m water crossing. Aw, we were going to get our hair messed up after all. For safety sake, each had to cross the dam with a small inner tube, which, once placed just below the hips, made swimming with tekkies and cycling kit quite relaxing.

No relaxing once we got on the bikes! These kids were chomping at the bit to burn some rubber. Cycling is their best event, and so is mine! Between huffs and puffs I managed to give them some tips on climbing, (spin a small gear, keep your upper body relaxed) riding the flats, (turn a bigger gear smoothly) and down hills. (Look far ahead, brake before the turn, practice your skills, and Conrad’s Golden Rule of Speed: let go of the brakes!)

The course was absolutely amazing, a bit of everything- hills, single track, forest and sand. We even saw impala and wildebeest during the race, and afterwards I saw zebra, giraffe, and 4 rhino really close up.

Jason learnt 2 lessons for the price of one: 1) You never have your bike worked on the day before the race. 2) A new chain on an old cassette works nicely on the work stand, but once you ride it, the chain will jump, and you will get annoyed.

None the less, we creamed them all, and rolled across the finish line 1^st, which gave 5FM clown, I mean “announcer”, Kevin Fine, ample opportunity to make fun us, our friends, and our hair. (Mine anyway)

I was amazed at the number of school kids at the event, (big teams from Kloof High and Hillcrest) and wish I had the option of Adventure Racing as a school sport!

Train hard.
Eat right.
Have fun.

See you at Spur Adventure, Tokai. April 15. www.spur.co.za

Conrad

PS. Did I mention my team mates Matthew and Jason were beasts? Team picture:

Real action pictures on www.conradstoltz.com soon.