Caveman wins by 5 minutes. Extraordinary conditions makes racing even MORE fun at XTERRA Denmark.                      Photo credit: Martin Paldan. I'm borrowing from XTERRAPlanet.com: [Conrad Stoltz and Kathrin Mueller captured the XTERRA Denmark Championship in “Viking weather” at the beach and forest of Tisvilde. The ominous gray skies opened up just as the race started at 1pm.  The cold North Sea, somewhere around 17 degrees Celsius (63 Fahrenheit), was just the start of the challenge Mother Nature dished out for competitors.  To follow was slick roots, soft sand, biting trees, treacherous, relentlessly steep hills, pouring rain and slinging mud that made for blinding conditions. Nobody handled better than the “Caveman” – seven-time World Champ Conrad Stoltz who won his second major in as many weeks (it was XTERRA England last Sunday).  By midway through the two-lap bike course he was up by almost two minutes and by transition it was more than four. Interestingly, the last split he got was still 1:40 (from after the first lap on the bike) so he figured he better lay down the hammer early on the run lest he might get chased down by the younger guns behind him.  As such, he made even more time after the first lap on the run, until he heard he was five minutes for the good. “I got off the bike and heard I had 1:45 on three people, and thought I’m gonna have to run hard because who knows how fast guys like Ben are going to run. I didn’t know I had that time,” explained Stoltz, who collected his unprecedented 51st career XTERRA Championship win. He shared his thoughts after the race, saying “During the swim the rain came pouring down, which changed everything.  It made a relatively easy course quite technical, which made it fun for me.  Today was much more technical and slippery than yesterday.  I crashed one time and I could hear my neck go “crraaacck”.  I just clipped a pedal because you can’t see with all the water and mud in your eyes.  It was just a little bump in the trail and my pedal caught it and I went flying and I could hear my neck wrench. And the run course was very challenging, long sections sliding down my backside, holding on to trees.  This was my first time here and I really enjoyed it, and would love to come back and support the sport here.  People here are passionate about the outdoors and it’s great to be a part of this event.  It’s really true to the XTERRA tradition where you can combine a great country and experience with exceptional racing.  I think the race was fantastic.  Muddy and cold and wet, you really have to thank the volunteers for braving these conditions as well.  Hopefully it grows from strength to strength and XTERRA builds roots here in the Viking country.” Behind Stoltz was a marvelous duel for 2nd, with Dan Hugo (7 World Tour wins this season), Ben Allen (2 World Tour wins this year and 7 last) and Francois Carloni who captured his first major in Greece this year. Allen led out of the water, followed by Hugo and then Stoltz.  About 6K into the bike Stoltz passed Allen, then Hugo caught up and those two rode together until Carloni went flying by during the second lap and took a one-minute lead on Allen and Hugo heading into the run.  Ultimately both Allen and Hugo caught and passed Carloni (as did Jan Pyott to take fourth down the finish chute) with Allen finishing runner-up.]   Whatever you do- dont touch the roots! Stay off the brakes, go straight, or go through the air- or option D- "all of the above." I did cheat a little- by running a new super sticky Specialized rubber compound called #Gripton on the front tire:

 

Ducking wet branches & staying low with the Command Post seat dropper.  

Going from dense forest to beach in 10 seconds.

Long, soft beach run x2 to amp up the pain.

Trying to find traction. Each lap had 5 really steep, short hills- and down hills. Hard enough after the sandy run and pedally bike, but in the wet there was no grip on the trail- you had to go find it in the leaves and grabbing onto trees

The muddy parts of the run course were also the steepest parts. Really really steep. Knowing it might be "a bit damp," I beefed up the grip on my Hoka Huaka racing shoes by putting 5 short screws into the sole of each shoe. But by the time we were on the course, it was much wetter than anyone anticipated, and no amount of crews could stop me from going down at least half of the 10 little hills on my backside, out of control…  

How could road running ever be "fun" again?!

Finally putting the good form I've had all year to good use. XTERRA Championship win #51  

I thought I "washed" my face with the water from all the soggy pine branches, but apparently not…. Pic by #PrincessHotstuff

My race kit is officially trashed. Europe has been wet this year: 3 of the 4 European races I did has been in the rain. (Italy, Germany & Denmark were mud baths while XTERRA UK was summery)

Hats off to Steen Aagaard and his XTERRA Nordic crew for the big effort and fine details. Also Specialized Nordic who brought the Test the Best fleet. The #Fatboy was by far the most popular test bike.

With the XTERRA Europe Series drawing to a close, there was some tooth and nail racing! Well done everyone.

If you took this check to the restaurant, you could buy about 10 beers… A local brew sets you back 80 Kronen – $16 or R160  Not a cheap country, but quite unique and definitely worth coming back for.

Impervious to the cold, (I'm wearing my entire wardrobe) "tough like a Viking"- Organic chef Casper Vulpius served delicious warm food from his modified Airstream all weekend. (I liked the venison, wild rice and chutney)   Racing in the wet is not only a physical and skills challenge, but also equipment wise: After 15km the sandy watery mix had completely worn out my rear brake pads, which encouraged smooth lines and early braking (front only) even more.

Now that is a clean chain. Sand and dirt sticks to Squirt chain lube's wax, which then falls off the chain- leaving the chain clean(ish) even in the harshest conditions. "Dry" lube does not refer to "only use in dry conditions." It means after its applied properly, your chain will feel dry to the touch. As opposed to "oily" – like other lubes. These conditions wreck havoc on your drive train.  Squirt chain lube, official chain lube sponsor of XTERRA, is a wax and water emulsion with no petroleum products added. Petroleum (oil) is what makes the sand (dust in dry conditions) stick to your chain and creates a grinding paste, which quickly eats up your drive train. Not to mention the high friction and noisy chain it causes.  

The course meandered through what seems like little hills and menhirs, (planted stones) but they are in fact Viking graves. Kings and chiefs were buried here- with their servants, to look after them in the after life. And the servants didnt have a choice…   Traditional Danish country home with thatch roof and Danish flag  

Our Danish summer vacation rental with South African braai, and blackberry and raspberry bushes all around.

Did you know? 40% of the Danish population ride their bicycle every day… (as you think about that figure, consider the weather)

On my day off, we visited the town of Helsingor and (above) the castle of Kronborg. Also known as the castle from Shakespeare's' "Hamlet". Even though Shakspeare himself has never been there

Dating from 1500 AC

Sweden on the horizon and the gateway to the North Sea, the Danish King collected a gold coin (each way) from passing ships.

Holger the Dane: "According to the legend, when the kingdom is threatened by a foreign enemy, the stone figure will turn into flesh and blood, and Holger the Dane will rise to defend his country. "

#PrincessHotstuff at the gates

Kronborg Castle B&W #PrincessHotstuff Now visiting family in Treviso Italy, some R&R for a week, then back to USA for the ramp up to XTERRA Worlds in Maui.    

When I planned my racing calendar this year, I decided to only do races I enjoy.  Fun, technical, challenging, well designed, adrenaline filled and true to the XTERRA nature I fell in love with 13 years ago.  I dont necessarily pick races to suit my strengths, (like this one with its 1600m of climbing on bike and 550m of climbing on run) but I like real mountain biking, real trail running, and preferably an interesting destination. That's why I'm still passionate about racing. When I'm having fun, I enjoy doing my job and I'm fast. Unfortunately the XTERRA Italy course changed from last year, and the fun factor was replaced with a "either you can, or you cant" attitude. Not the best way to attract newcomers to the sport, and not the reason I do this. While I'm on the topic: I'm writing this blog at the location of my next race. (Location withheld to protect the innocent.) Even though the course suits me relatively well, I'm quite disappointed with the seemingly hours of boring gravel road, dangerous down hills (only 30 seconds of it)- obviously not meant for mountain biking-  avoidance of single track, and a no-imagination run course. All this when we're riding right through thousands of hectares of stunning pine forests – perfect single track terrain. Maybe I'm a quality course snob, but the poor quality of many XTERRA courses is frustrating and confirms my dreams of sometime soon building a phenomenal course(s) which would redefine the sport. Fun for the hard core athletes, yet accessable to beginners & kids.  Think XTERRA / Urban Rage / Tough Mudder, with a lot of Caveman sprinkled on top…. Anyway, back to Italy:  

Got out the swim with Kiwi Braden Curry and someone else. About 30" behind Roger Serrano the Bearded Beast.

Hoping for rain because that's the tyre I've got.

Early on we did a fun loop through the old town of Scanno. Probably my favourite part of the race- narrow cobbled alleys, down century old stairs,

Watch out for fellow competitors, super slippery cobbles, and maybe an opening door…

Past old ladies in traditional black, where today they watch a different world go by…  

Get off the brakes and bring some speed- faster is easier. After the fun and games of whizzing through town we climbed. And Climbed. And CLIMBED. As you can see below on my Suunto Movescount file, the 1st climb was 700m in one go – 43min for me. Mostly steep, gravelly,  jeep track. I dont mind climbing, but then the down hill must be good. Unfortunately this year it plunged almost straight down the ski slope. In dry training conditions I glazed my brake rotors its so steep.  Yet, going slowly due to the rain, it took me less than 8 minutes to get down. Not a good "Yahooooo!!" rating. (Divide Suffering time by Fun time to get Yahooooo rating: 43/8 = 5.3 Yahooooos)

Click here for full interactive Movescount file. Braden and I climbed together, but when Ruben Ruzafa caught us, Braden went with him and I couldnt respond. My legs were heavy and HR low- an indication that my legs werent rested enough, and I was paying the price for too much pre riding. As can bee seen in "Bar Chart and Curve" section, my avs HR was only 146. I spent only 1hr36 (of 2hr55) going Very Hard (between 146-163),  39min going Hard (127-146) and 16min below 126HR. When fit and rested I can do 3hrs at 155hr avs. As we summited, the rain started coming down in huge drops, and the ski slope instantly became an ice rink. The Yahoooo factor went up.

Loved the Command Post, (now available at your Specialized dealer) dropped the saddle, and the big knobblies on the front Ground Control 2.3 tyre came nicely into play.

In less than 5 minutes, I was in the village down theeeeere. Straight down the ski run in the back ground.  Some sections through the trees were real slippery, the trick was finding traction on the leaves and not in the mucked up "trail". Please dont do this on a under normal conditions on a normal MTB trail. But these were mostly goat trails and I didnt want to make unnecessary cartwheels and have to fix my bike with a piece of wood like this guy…

It was tough tough times for the age groupers! This guy broke his handlebar, found a stick to make a ThereIfixedIt.com #Cavemanstyle plan. Classic!

Coming in with Carloni (FRA), behind a flying Ruzafa.

The run was really challenging -technical, super hilly, scenic & fun.

Stunning sections through Scanno. Loving the new Hoka Huaka racers.

and surrounding hills.

Save some energy for the views.

The rain didnt dampen the crowd's spirits. Braden Curry is a hard core mountain man, and came steaming past me up the last climb to get 2nd behind Ruzafa.

3rd for Caveman, 1st Ruzafa (ESP), 2nd Curry (NZ)   PrincessHotstuff! Still trying to shake the cold she pickup that day- running around in the rain, cheering, taking photos and giving splits at every oppertunity.

Eating lamb sosaties with Kiwis in Italy?!? Sam and Braden Curry & kids. Check out Bradens' adventure race, RedBull Defiance in NZ.

Made many new friends (& touched up my French) here with Ezechiel and family from France.

A super tough race for the age groupers. Bike wash on the swim course – not so much sympathy for the bike after a long day 🙂

Ciao Italia! Grazie mille!!! Guten tag Deutchland und Austria for Specialized Germanic Dealer Event

Make pool time count.                          Photo by Hendrik Steytler

Finding time to train for 3 sports is hard enough as it is.

Last week I was at the Specialized Dealer Event and between riding 2015 bikes with dealers, presentations, expo, catching up with industry friends and bike & run training, I only had 30minutes to squeeze in a quick swim.

I jogged the few street blocks to the local 25yd pool and hit the water running:

Caveman’s Magic 30min swim set:

– Warm up: 8 minute easy swimming, focussing on feeling the water and concentrating on good stroke. Once I start feeling good, I like to throw in some one arm swimming (other arm by the side) and maybe a 100 IM or 2- to get the heart rate up and get some more “feel” for the water.

– Main set: 20 minutes of sprinting 25s. Sounds easy, but the trick is in the rest period: Only 3 breaths “rest.” Between the hard sprinting and short rests, pretty soon I’m at theshold. Its the best of both worlds: I can swim 20min harder than race pace, but  the short rests keeps the effort high,without blowing my arms up. The 3 breaths also teaches you to control your breathing-  focus on breathing deeply and recovering as much as possible in the short time. In a 25yd pool my send off is about 20 seconds, and this work out adds up to about 1800yds. (1600m)

– Cool down: 2 minutes easy with some back stroke to flush the lactic acid.

Of course, if you’re serious about swim performance, this should not be your “bread and butter” swim set, but it works great if you’re short on time, just want to maintain fitness. And after all, staring at the bottom of the pool is only fun for a while.

Make every length count.

When I braved the freezing Santa Cruz waves back in May, I didnt think the pix would end up on a magazine cover. Check out the Sept/Oct issue of  Go Multi magazine in South Africa- featuring an article on Suunto Ambit 2S and other GPS/HRM watches. Also thanks to photo magic maker Markus Berger for the awesome shots.