Can Lance run? Will DeBoom stay close enough on the bike? Is there enough technical riding and running to bring out the best in the Caveman? Could this be the race that makes Josiah a household name? Perhaps the Frenchman will peak at just the right time? Maybe Seth will have the magic day? Or is this the race Hugo busts out of the shadow of his mentor and becomes the champion?
Thank goodness races aren’t decided on paper, as the questions on “who can do what” at this year’s XTERRA USA Championship are simply too difficult to answer. One thing is for certain, a pair of 40-year-old XTERRA rookies, Lance Armstrong and Tim DeBoom, ignited a firestorm of interest into what was already off-triathlon’s national treasure.
The other wildcard is a brand new 7+ mile Sardine Peak Trail that extends the mountain bike course to one of the Wasatch Range’s most visible peaks at 7,300-feet. The 360-degree views that span from east to west are nothing short of breathtaking.
Combine more than 1,000 of the world’s best athletes with one of the nation’s best courses, perfect weather, and a community brimming with excitement and support and you have all the right ingredients for an intense showdown at Snowbasin Resort near Ogden, Utah. Yet, intense isn’t the right descriptor – fun is.
“More than a decade ago I saw a picture of Steve Larsen running his bike through a creek in Richmond, Virginia and said ‘wow’, that looks like fun, so I applied my fitness to XTERRA and I really enjoy it,” said defending USA Champ Conrad “the Caveman” Stoltz (pictured above), who is shooting for XTERRA U.S. Pro Series title No. 9 on Saturday. “I think that’s the same thing that draws Lance Armstrong here. I presume he’s coming here to have fun and enjoy.”
It’s most certainly the reason Tim DeBoom is here. “Oh yeah, the fun factor, and you know it’s for real when you see a guy like Conrad stick around the sport for 10 years,” said the two-time Ironman World Champ who is making his XTERRA debut on Saturday.
Indeed, the overwhelming majority of the men’s pro field have been in the mix for years, and it may be that experience – the time put in on racing against each other and at high speeds and on this mountain – that will make all the difference. The humble and soft spoken Josiah Middaugh a true mountain man of all season and the six-time XTERRA National Champ, is certainly hoping so.
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