Richmond, Virginia, 2001. Fresh from the Sydney Olympics, bored with road triathlon, I jumped into my first XTERRA. It was love at first dirt! That was before the Caveman was the Caveman. (few called him the Crazy Russian. Boulder Peak Triathlon commentator in 2000 looked at “RSA” behind my name and decided it will be “Conrad Stoltz from Russia.”)

The Richmond bike course used to be hectic!- I was inspired to try XTERRA by a magazine picture of Steve Larsen- running his bike through this stream crossing a year before. I borrowed a Softride (from Joe Umpenhour at the OTC) with Flexistem, alu beam “suspension”, road shoes and pedals, sweet yellow Python tires, (with tubes)  hip style Camel Back, and of course the evergreen triathlon favourite – the speedo…

I loved it! Finished 2nd behind Mike Vine, just ahead of Steve Larsen and Ned Overend– legends I did not know at the time. They were so nice and welcoming, asking me about my future plans, complementing my fast run and of course “that bike.” I was fishing the chain out of the spokes when they zoomed past me.

Here we are, my 10th XTERRA Richmond. (Only missed one- I was out of the country (semi- deported!?) in 2002)  I guess I won around 7 or 8. Lots of stories since then-

1) Due to floods a duathlon –  Nico LeBrun (4x World Duathlon Champion podium) loved it!

2) Another year, this amazing story about fixing a flat, Caveman teeth and ingenuity. Story here.

3) 2010, I almost cut my foot off on a piece of underwater steel and still won. Story here. And if you really have hair on your teeth, you can view the surgery pics here.

After 14 years in Richmond we have something truly ground breaking…

Thanks to the amazing local company Luck Stone, the XTERRA Richmond presenting sponsor, we have live satellite tracking of all athletes!

I just clicked on the link to my timing chip, and I can see on the map here that its in storage outside Houston. Sunday morning 8am EST, it will be on my number belt on my waist and you’ll be able to follow my and all the other pros’ progress live during the bike and run legs.

I quote from the newsletter:

WATCH IT LIVE AT XTERRA.LUCKSTONE.COM
Luck Stone, a presenting sponsor of the XTERRA East Championship, has a comprehensive slate of coverage planned for Sunday’s pro race at 8am EST, that can be found at http://www.luckstone.com/xterra-world-tour-2012

On one screen they’ll bring you live video feeds from eight spots around the course. On another they’ll showcase a social media (GIS) map of the course with detailed positioning and tweets from strategically positioned spotters and finally, in a first for XTERRA, they are equipping every elite with a GPS tracking device that will allow followers to see their every movement.  The “myathletelive.com” device reports location, speed, distance, and elevation.
Google Chrome seems to be the best browser for viewing, but fans can use any web enabled cell phone or handheld device such as an iPhone or Droid. Just go to the website xterra.luckstone.com, and follow the various links. Home viewers can do the same from their computer.  Our suggestion is to open up multiple browsers and have fun.

And, for those on-site at Brown’s Island Luck Stone will have four 70-inch big screen TVs broadcasting the coverage. Those on-site are encouraged to share their experiences, from here and afar, via twitter with hashtag #xterraRVA
On Sunday, click on the name of the athlete to go directly to the specific URL for that racer.

Happy spectating!

Conrad

2003 XTERRA USA Champs: Steve smashing it…

2004 Xterra USA Champs- Lake Tahoe

When: The night before the race.
Where: Hyatt, Lake Tahoe.
Who: Steve Larsen and myself.
What: Watching TV.
Which show? 2003 Xterra USA Champs, Lake Tahoe.

The year old images on TV brought back strong memories of last years’ epic battle. Steve Larsen, Mountain bike legend, Ironman champion and kicker of my ass at our previous meeting (Xterra Keystone 2003) was tearing up the bike course, setting off alarm bells in my head. I rode as hard as I could to keep him within striking distance, throwing all caution in the wind concerning pacing, the 500ft cliffs, the trees and the rocks whizzing by. Even my “if all else fails, I’ll catch him on the technical down hill” theory got blown out the window. I started the run 90seconds down- a tall order, even on a good day. The dueling on the bike was so fierce; we dropped the rest of the field by more than 6 minutes.

Once in my running shoes, I took off as if it was a 5k. Hoping to gain time quickly and trick Steve into thinking it’s my 10k pace. The pain was immense, the atmosphere was heavy with suspense, and the crowd went nuts. TV loved every second of it. The race for USA Champion was really close, and until the final moments nobody knew who was going to win*. Reality TV can only dream of this stuff.

Here we are, one year later, Steve, now my sports agent, and I, the athlete, sitting (very) upright in bed, (each his own, thank you) reliving last years’ epic dual. Who would have dreamt the turn of events in one year? From fierce rivals to team mates in 364 days.

For me, the 2004 edition of Xterra USA Champs was much less spectacular. My form lacking from too many months of racing (a common disorder known as Olympicqualificationiitis) and too few months of training, plus an almost comical “broken” collarbone scare**, 5 days before the race. I did what I could to work a small miracle. In order to win my 4th consecutive USA Series title, I had to win the race, and Sylvain Dodet had to place no better than 4th. I put all I had on the line- Lost a little time on the swim, a little on the bike and slipped from 3rd to 5th in the final kilometers of the run. Finishing 5th in a sport where one has had a 2 year winning streak is no fun, 3rd place in the series standings is just not good enough, but those are the realities.

I played the cards I had.

* I won.

* * Out of curiosity, I did a lap of this cyclocross race I was watching Steve and home-stay Michael race. On the football field there were two knee high barriers to negotiate, I approached them at all of 10mph, and dismounted cyclocross style to run the barriers, only problem was, the release angle on my new pedals was bigger than usual. I couldn’t get my foot out of the pedal in time and next thing earth was coming closer fast. I remember Ned’s advice- “Tuck and Roll” so I tucked and I rolled, but didn’t have enough speed to finish the roll, so I landed on my upper back and neck- bones crunching and joints popping. The crowd went wild- there were about 150 cyclocross racers and fans watching. I had broken a collarbone before -also falling on my back- and I know what it feels like. This thing felt broken. Within 30 minutes there was a huge lump and we were off to ER. X-rays showed no break, but the doc said it’s probably dislocated, with or without torn ligaments. Perfect preparation, 5 days before one of biggest races of the year. Next morning the swelling went down and it turned out nothing was broken, nothing dislocated or torn- just a big hit. Note, it was a big hit on a grassy football field, going 10mph, in front of 150 people. Funny, earlier that same day I was going 30mph down a rock strewn mountainside, weaving between trees, jumping logs, on an a trail I’ve never seen before.

Stoltz, McQuaid still perfect

at Southeast Champs in Pelham

Shelby County, AL (May 23, 2009) – Another state, a wildly different course, yet the same result as Conrad “The Caveman” Stoltz and Melanie McQuaid roll to their third straight regional championship victories, this time at the XTERRA Southeast Cup at Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham, AL.

At about the same time the endurance community celebrated the life of cycling and triathlon great Steve Larsen (who passed away on Tuesday) with memorial rides and runs in his hometown of Bend, OR, many of Larsen’s friends in sport were riding and running in honor of him in the southern woods of Alabama today.

Leading the charge was Stoltz, who said “the technical parts are usually my strengths, but today I couldn’t focus. I did feel like I had amazing strength today though. This was a great victory for Steve.”

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XTERRA Las Vegas 2 weeks ago

Steve Larsen passed away in training Tuesday night.

A huge loss to cycling and triathlon communities, friends, but especially his beloved family.

Triathlete article here.

Viva Las Vegas!

Pic by Rich Cruse . Check out more race pics on Rich’s Twitter.

I had a good season opener, despite a few hic- ups on the bike. (a small crash and a twisted chain)

Josiah Middaugh from Colorado had a 1.15 lead after a phenomenal bike, but to my surprise I slowly reeled him in on the 1st (of 2) super hilly run laps. On the 2nd we dueled head to head, and with 2k to go I attacked and got a little gap on Josiah. I told him afterward if he had worn the Avia AVI Stoltz racing shoes, he would have won…

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