Posts Tagged ‘olivier marceau’
The bike course here in Extremadura is a bit unusual, but its not easy and has some fun sections. (A large part of the bike is between the water and the green/blue pole)
Click here for ITU Cross Tri page from which I borrowed the below piece…
New legends will be made at first ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships
24/04/11 at 8:26 am – Texto en español
A new chapter in ITU history will be written this weekend at the first ITU World Cross Triathlon Championships in Extremadura, Spain.
The inaugural elite world titles consist of a 1km swim, 20km mountain bike and 6km cross-country run, and some of the best triathletes in the world will descend on ‘The Ring’ in to decide the titles.
Spain has assembled an impressive team to lead the charge at home, with over 80 ITU World Cup appearances between the men and women on its roster as well as athletes who specialise in multisport disciplines. But triathletes from South Africa, Canada, Switzerland and the USA are also real contenders to hold one of those two history-making titles aloft come Sunday.
Elite Women
There are a number of women with an elite ITU history in the field, including ITU winter triathlon world champion and European cross triathlon champion Carina Wasle (AUT), former junior women’s world championship winner Marion Lorblanchet (FRA), and 2009 European Cross Triathlon champion Renata Bucher (SUI), but it’s hard to look past the experience of Canadian Melanie McQuaid.
McQuaid has never competed in an ITU race before, but she does have an incredible Xterra triathlon record. Xterra triathlon’s consist of a bike, mountain bike and cross-country run and McQuaid is a three-time World Champion in the discipline. What is even more remarkable is that she has reached the podium four more times, claiming silver medals in 2000, 2004 and 2007 and a bronze in 2009.
McQuaid biggest challenge is sure to come from 2010 Xterra world champion Shonny Vanlandingham (USA) but Lorblanchet, who has also made the podium at the Xterra championships before, Wasle, Bucher and fellow Canadian Christine Jeffrey are also contenders. Jeffrey has competed on the elite ITU World Cup circuit and has finished in the top-10 at the Xterra world titles for the past three years.
There are 26 women and 12 different countries represented in the elite women’s field. Hosts Spain will field the biggest team with five athletes, while Kyrgyzstan will have four on the start line.
Elite Men
The men’s field is full of experienced triathletes but it’s hard to look past two in particular when it comes to favouritism, South African Conrad Stoltz and Spaniard Eneko Llanos.
Both are two-time Olympians, competing in Sydney and Athens, and both came into cross triathlon with an aim to conquer it. So far, they have both done exactly that. Llanos has three Xterra world titles and Stoltz four, including an emotional one in 2007 when he came back from a career threatening bike crash the year before. They are also the two most recent Xterra world champions, Llanos won in 2009 before Stoltz in 2010. Stoltz is surely favourite for the first title, but the battle between these two veterans is set to be thrilling.
But the men’s field is so strong that Stoltz and Llanos can’t expect to have the podium all to themselves. There is one three-time Olympian, Switzerland’s Olivier Marceau, who has also reached an Xterra worlds podium before, while Josiah Middaugh (USA), Paul Embrechts (BEL) and Victor Manuel Del Corral Morales (ESP) could all play a part. Then there is the evergreen 53-year-old Rob Barel (NED). He initially retired after the Sydney Olympics, but made a comeback to triathlon in 2007, winning the European men’s cross triathlon title in the 50-54 age-group. But Barel then stepped up to the elite men’s field in 2008 and won that too, he’s sure to give the race a shake.
There are 35 in the men’s field, with 17 different countries represented. The USA will have the biggest team with six. Spain’s three-time Olympian Ivan Rana was a late withdrawal from the field.The championships will be the first international event at the “The Ring”, in Extremadura, an International Innovation Centre for outdoor sports.
Find more details about this event – 2011 Extremadura ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships
7 XTERRA World titles right there. Chatting with fellow Avia athlete and Spanish ace, Eneko Llanos on the “bike course”
Was great to see the other old timers from my ITU days: Dutch legend Rob Barel, swimming ace Richard Stannard on a fully rigid 29er, and my Sydney Olympics break away buddy and XTERRA podium regular Olivier Marceau.
When giving everything is not enough
2009 XTERRA World Champs podium by Rich Cruse
From L to R: Olivier Marceau (4th), Micheal Weiss (3rd), Eneko Llanos (1st), Nico Lebrun (2nd), Conrad Stoltz (5th)
Yes, I am disappointed. (Thanks for the nice e-mails. True friends are the ones who cares no matter the result) I did everything in my power to get to this race in top form and win a 4th World title. My equipment was faultless. But I was 5th best that day. I gave 100% in preparation and execution. I am content with that knowledge.
Winners look great and when you win a race it feels easy.(ok, relatively easy) Winning means you’re in control, within your limits. Losing is hard, physically. It means you gave 110%, played all your cards and lost. I gave it all, as can be seen here in my rare “Rocky Balboa on the ropes” look…
Pics by Rich Cruse, visit his album here
Too much:
The 2nd half of this season was just too much.
That cut in my foot was too deep, too long and too dirty.
Yes that cut: (Late June at XTERRA Richmond- read race report and surgery report) Dr Moose Herring in Richmond, VA is the coolest surgeon/triathlete you’ll ever come across- have your next surgery with Moose Herring…
Too much hospital time.
Too hard nosed to not race 2.5 weeks later: (with hardly any training, but it helped me win my 7th USA Series title)
The day before XTERRA Vermont. “My foot is fine”
– Too many injuries. When I resumed training early August, the injuries started. Typical Caveman, I thought “once the hole closes, I can carry on as if nothing happened”. This time I was wrong. It feels like I spent more time (and a small fortune) getting massage/ rehab/acupuncture than I spent training. I would fear running sessions, not knowing what was going to hurt next. I havent had a training related injury in ages, and I was reminded about the head games injury plays with an athlete on a deadline.
– Too little time. 3 weeks before USA Champs (7 weeks before Worlds) I realized I was in trouble. I was self coached this year, and knew how to get to Worlds in the right shape if everything went right. But everything was going wrong. I started panicking and needed someone to help me with a quick fix. Like anyone else would, I reached for Facebook. Ian Rodger was a sport scientist at the Sport Science Institute in Cape Town where he did lab tests on my preparation for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. I didnt know him well and it took me a while to track him down on Facebook. (I knew I had the right Ian Rodger when I saw the Ian with the profile pic of a cyclist riding a slimy cobblestone “road” somewhere in Belguim) I havent seen him in over 5 years, but I remember being impressed at how he combined the science of sport with the practical aspect of sport, especially cycling, and how he could look at wattage numbers and get a ton of information form it. First thing he did was to put me on 180mm cranks. A 6ft 3 guy with a 33inch saddle height warrants long levers. The 2nd thing was to lower my saddle to alleviate the lower back pain that has been bothering me for many years. (Was great in training, but in the race it showed up again- so if you see me riding sitting up, with no hands, bouncing through loose lava- its to relieve my QL pain.)
He very much liked the numbers he saw in those tests back in 2000 which instilled confidence in me. (512W Peak power and 430W for 20km) His knowledge of numbers also meant we could to some extent overcome the 12 000mi geographical coach/athlete problem. Ian did damage control during a really tough time for him personally- his mom was dying from cancer.
We only had a handful of sessions “to count” between racing USA Champs and traveling to Kona where I trained in the heat and did some appearances for Specialized and Avia. I knocked out a few good sessions- the last recorded one being 5x 10min hill climbs at an average of 451W. Of course I did too much faffing around at Ironman and subsequently missed a few days fighting a cold. Not much fun spending 3 days in a hotel bed on a tropical island.
I know its a cliche amongst athletes, but I really needed at least 4 more weeks of prep…
Too much of a road race. I dont mean to whine, but this course technically, gets easier every year. Apart from a few patches of loose pebbles, 2 turns and a few steep climbs, its really a road ride with 3000ft of climbing. What happened to laying awake the night before the race, trying to remember which gnarly root section came after the 3ft drop off? Its cool to have 500 people in the same race at the same time, but if the course gets any easier we’ll have to start calling it “Ironman.”
Too bad bad luck strikes all too often: 2 Days before Worlds Ruben Ruzafa (last years champion) crashed on the practice course and got 40 stitches, Brent McMahon was injured last minute and DNSed. Dan Hugo’s season was similar to mine- got hit by an apple truck in the spring, struggled with subsequent injuries and then finally H1N1 finished his season off- bad things happen to great athletes– its the nature of the game. Especially this one.
I fought them on the landings, I fought them in the trenches and I fought them on the beaches, but I was seeing so many stars, I cant even remember on which beach Olivier Marceau passed me for 4th.
Hindsight. After a long, hard and stressful season with seemingly more time on the massage table than in training, a $45k hospital bill (thankfully USAT took care of that), it was nice to wash away the dirt, stress and bad memories of a good season turned bad. And temporary respite from the heavy burden of being the guy who has to win.
Excited about the upgrade to the new Avia AVI Stoltz we have been testing. Firmer midsole
