Germany's Jan Frodeno is the latest in a series of world-class athletes to announce their headed off-road, keen on discovering the "fun" of XTERRA.
The men's triathlon gold medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing recently announced he will join more than 70 other professionals at the 16th annual XTERRA World Championship in Maui on October 23, 2011.
"I´m really excited to try the XTERRA format, realizing though, that there are some specialists who are at the top of their game. It will be hard to beat them, as I´m more focused on having fun right now and have only been training when I feel like it," said Frodeno from Kona, HI where he is enjoying the Ironman World Championship festivities.
"This could be the first time in years that I haven´t lived according to a schedule but rather gone for the odd spin on the bike, some ocean swims and a jog on the golf course. I've done enough not to be last, but probably not enough to push the guys all the way to the line."
Frodeno, who spent his youth in Cape Town and uses Stellenbosch, South Africa as his off-season base - is no stranger to XTERRA nor two of it's biggest stars in Conrad Stoltz and Dan Hugo.
"He went mountain biking with us over this past summer and I can tell you his skill level will not be holding him back at all," said Hugo, who nearly won the XTERRA USA Championship two weeks ago in Utah. "The last time an Olympic Champion raced Maui he won it (Hamish Carter in 2006) and Frodeno is a very rounded athlete and for certain a crown contender."
Hugo also said to keep an eye on another newcomer, Ivan Rana - a two-time Olympian from Spain that was 5th in Beijing and 5th in the inaugural triathlon event in Sydney in 2000.
"Rana is a contender too, if not even more so. His cycling might be strong than Frodeno's."
Other endurance sport icons who have recently discovered the dirty side of triathlon in hopes of having some fun and contending for titles include 7-time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong and two-time Ironman Hawaii World Champion Tim DeBoom, who both raced at the XTERRA USA Championship in Utah on Sept. 24.
Armstrong placed 5th, while DeBoom was 14th in a stacked pro field. Both are expected to toe the line in Maui, although Armstrong has yet to confirm his participation.
The beauty of this year's race is that it will be contested on a brand new course at Kapalua Resort on the northwest coast where Maui Land & Pineapple Company's 22,000 acre backyard stretches from the mountains to the sea.
The race combines a 1.5-kilometer roughwater swim at D.T. Fleming Beach, a 30-kilometer mountain bike on the lower slopes of the West Maui Mountains, and a 10-kilometer trail run.
Here's a look at the tentative pro start list for the 16th annual XTERRA World Championship race to be held October 23, 2011 at Kapalua, Maui.
2011 XTERRA World Championship Pro List*
| MEN'S ELITE FIELD | WOMEN'S ELITE FIELD |
|---|---|
| Conrad Stoltz, Stellenbosch, South Africa Michael Weiss, Vienna, Austria Olivier Marceau, Cannes, France Nicolas Lebrun, Digne-les-Bains, France Eneko Llanos, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain Richard Ussher, Nelson, New Zealand Mike Vine, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Jim Thijs, Huldenberg, Belgium Ronny Dietz, Chemnitz, Germany Jan Kubicek, Chodov City, Czech Republic Branden Rakita, Manitou Springs, Colorado Sam Gardner, Surrey, United Kingdom Cedric Lassonde, London, United Kingdom Cody Waite, Lakewood, Colorado Brad Zoller, Avon, Colorado Felipe Moletta, Sao Jose Dos Pinhais, Brazil Adam Wirth, Boise, Idaho Josiah Middaugh, Vail, Colorado Frederico Zacharias, Cruzeiro Do Sul, Brazil Yu Yumoto, Tokyo, Japan Dan Hugo, Stellenbosch, South Africa Ben Allen, North Wollongong, Australia Jimmy Archer, Boulder, Colorado Brian Astell, Gualala, California Simone Calamai, Florence, Italy Victor Morales, Santa Oliva, Spain Tim DeBoom, Boulder, Colorado Pierre Facomprez, Nervers, France Jan Frodeno, Cologne, Germany Denis Giovannetti, Pistoia, Italy Kelly Guest, Victoria, B.C., Canada Llewellyn Holmes, Bristol, United Kingdom Chris Legh, Lyons, Colorado Jason Michalak, Lakewood, Colorado Antonello Pallotta, Acquapendente, Italy Ivan Rana, Ordes, Spain Will Ross, Anchorage, Alaska Cid Santos, Natal, Brazil Marco Silva Junior, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Richard Stannard, Surrey, United Kingdom Graham Wadsworth, Bristol, United Kingdom Marcel Zamora, Barcelona, Spain |
Julie Dibens, Boulder, Colorado Marion Lorblanchet, Clermont Ferrand, France Suzie Snyder, Stafford, Virginia Carina Wasle, Kundl, Austria Lesley Paterson, San Diego, California Sara Tarkington, Boulder, Colorado Emma Garrard, Park City, Utah Melanie McQuaid, Victoria, B.C., Canada Danelle Kabush, Calgary, Alberta, Canada Mieko Carey, Saipan, Northern Marianas Sabrina Enaux, Taintrux, France Renata Bucher, Lucerne, Switzerland Caroline Colonna, Taos, New Mexico Fabiola Corona, Mexico City, Mexico Kelley Cullen, New Castle, Colorado Elisabetta Curridori, Villacidro, Italy Erin Densham, Melbourne, Australia Catherine Dunn, Wellington, New Zealand Helena Erbenova, Czech Republic Karen Hanlen, Whakatane, New Zealand Brandi Heisterman, Brackendale, B.C., Canada Jessica Noyola, San Diego, California Brigitta Poor, Sopron, Hungary Carla Prada, Sao Paulo, Brazil Brandyn Roark, Seattle, Washington Tanis Tomlin - Cranbrook, B.C., Canada Manuela Vilaseca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
The capacity field of 650 competitors from 28 countries and 42 U.S. States represents the best off-road, multisport athletes on the planet. It is a "winner take all" race, with one of the richest pro purses in multisport at $100,000, and it will be filmed for a nationally broadcast TV show.
A special prime, the Hawaiian Airlines Double, will pay $2,500 to the man and woman with the fastest combined Hawaii Ironman and XTERRA World Championship time and award round trip tickets for two to leading amateurs. Only two weeks and a narrow channel of ocean separate the two events, which each year attract some of the world's fittest endurance athletes.
For more information visit www.xterramaui.com
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- XTERRA World Championship Moving to Kapalua Resort
