Nico Lebrun and Helena Erbenova won the XTERRA Switzerland Championship race and captured the XTERRA European Tour pro titles on a beautiful day for a sold-out field of XTERRA Warriors in Prangins on Saturday.
Lebrun , a 39-year-old from Digne, France, was seventh out of the water then posted the fastest bike and run splits for a winning time of 2:17:44, just 27-seconds ahead of runner-up Asa Shaw. With the win Lebrun also secured the Euro Tour Championship with 390 points (wins at Italy, Czech, Swiss, and a 2nd place at Germany). Shaw finished second in the series with 380 points (wins at France and Germany, and 2nd place finishes at Czech and Swiss).
It marks the fourth time Lebrun has won the XTERRA European Tour title, and the first time since 2008. The 2005 XTERRA World Champion now has 26 career XTERRA Championship victories since his first at the 2002 XTERRA East Championship in Richmond, VA.
"Today he beat them in their heads," explained XTERRA managing director Dave Nicholas. "There were four guys within 20-feet of each other coming off the bike. That's why he's the professor."
Aussie Ben Allen had the fastest swim and led the bike early before Shaw, Lebrun, and Olivier Marceau caught up towards the end of the bike. On the run Lebrun took over and Shaw passed Allen for second-place. Allen finished third, followed by Marceau and Francois Carloni in fifth.
| Pro Men Results | Time | Place |
Pro Women Results | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nico Lebrun (FRA) | 2:17:44 | 1 |
Helena Erbenova (CZE) | 2:38:35 |
| Asa Shaw (FRA) | 2:18:12 | 2 |
Marion Lorblanchet (FRA) | 2:42:27 |
| Ben Allen (AUS) | 2:18:36 | 3 |
Jacqui Slack (GBR) | 2:43:54 |
| Olivier Marceau (SUI) | 2:21:32 | 4 |
Carina Wasle (AUT) | 2:47:47 |
| Francois Carloni (FRA) | 2:24:24 | 5 |
Lenka Cibulkova (CZE) | 2:56:11 |
| Graham Wadsworth (GBR) | 2:25:16 | 6 |
Laetitia Moreau (FRA) | 3:01:56 |
In just her second year of racing XTERRA Helena Erbenova has become a dominant force on the XTERRA European Tour. The 33-year-old from Balatkova competed for the Czech Republic at the 2006 Winter Olympics, and has turned the grittiness learned from battling the cold into XTERRA success.
In her last six starts Erbenova finished a surprising third at the XTERRA World Championship last year, was second at the Euro Tour season-opener in Italy, and has since won four straight at XTERA France, Czech, Germany, and today - Switzerland.
While Erbenova came out of the water a full three minutes after the leaders - Jacqui Slack and Marion Lorblanchet - she crushed the bike (best split by four minutes) and the run (best run by two minutes) and won by nearly four minutes over last year's Euro Tour Champ Marion Lorblanchet.
After a season spent battling injuries Lorblanchet came in healthy and was impressive for second-place, with XTERRA Italy champ Jacqui Slack in third, Carina Wasle fourth and Lenka Cibulkova fifth.
LEBRUN, ERBENOVA WIN EURO TOUR TITLES
Lebrun and Erbenova put exclamation points on fantastic seasons today in Switzerland. Pros counted their best four finishes in the five-stop Tour. Here's a look at the top five in this years XTERRA European Tour. Complete standings with age group champions will be posted soon at www.xterraeurope.com.
Source: XTERRA
Related Posts:
• Serrano & Bucher Capture XTERRA Mexico Championship Wins
• Lebrun, Slack Win XTERRA Italy Championship
• Allen, Slack Win XTERRA New Zealand Championship
• Stoltz, Bucher Win 2012 XTERRA West Championship
• Allen, Bucher Win 3rd Consecutive XTERRA Championship
