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

A group of pros raced a new, fun  event in pouring rain on thursday – XTERRA Super Sprint Relay, filmed by Luck Stone. Was good fun- should have more of those. Also an easier event to attract agegroupers. In the middle- holding the trophy- Maurizio Mendez. 18 year old Neo Pro from Mexico City. Fastest swimmer and fastest runner in the field- watch out for him

My week kicked off a bit rough. On Friday (8days before the race) I though my appendix is either about to burst or has already burst. Rushed to ER, they did tests incl n CAT scan. Lets just say the pain was sygnificant. I dont get in a wheelchair lightly.

It turned out to be a viral gastrointestinal entenites. A virus in my gut. No medication for that, but I was on a clear fluid diet for 2 days, an all liquid diet for 1.5 days and then started a “bland” diet. Cant believe how long it took to get my intestines going again- and get rid of the pain and cramping.

By race day I was still pooping like a pigeon as opposed to a lumber jack.

I went through the usual motions of warming up, but I felt shocking and told Liezel right before the start “I feel terrible.” She (and my coach Ian) said- “just do what you can.”

I was super relaxed at the swim start, sitting on a branch in my favourite brown river.   Pic by Jesse Peters

This swim course was for sure the most fun I’ve done in years.  The current was really strong, but varied according to depth. As you can see below, we had the swift current come from every single angle. You can see the rocks and shallow parts on the photo. And the sandbar (between bouy 1 & 2) where Josiah ran from mid pack to round bouy #2 in first place. He LOVED it- much to the swimmers chagrin. The dotted line is a run up Browns Island.

Other good & fun swims I remember off hand:

– Energade Triathlon in Durban where the surf was HUGE, I was off the back but caught a huge wave just as I turned the last bouy-  and body surfed about 300m to shore! The wave (with me on it) went right over the lead group, and when I stood up on the beach, I had a 30 second lead.

– My first triathlon in France (1992) was a down river swim. (Kevin Richards / Richard de Villiers / Thierry Baron what was it called?) Not being able to understand the briefing, we just swam down stream. It was quite narrow- trees overhanging both sides, and soon it got wider as another river joined. I sighted and saw people standing ON the water, in the middle of the river! I had no idea what to make of it, but they were waving, and obviousy we had to swim towards them. When I got there I realized they were standing on quite a large concrete weir- about 5m long and dropped maybe 2m in height. The swim course went straight down it. The weir had a sheet of plastic over it and these people were shoving us down the weir!  You slid on your stomach. It was quite a rush and came as a total surprise.

Back to Richmond: Lost 30″ seconds in a lacklustre swim, but was surprised when my legs came around on the bike. This course is just awesome- never a dull moment- I wish I had time -and know how- to properly edit the GoPro footage I have.

Picked off the guys ahead and took the lead about 6km in- just before the Tunnels. Really enjoyed this race. Richmond is a “must do before you die”

Really enjoyed the Zoo out there! It was 8 am, and the rocks were not yet slippery with beer.

Slid on some gravel on a narrow wooden bridge and took a tumble – lost some time and skin – and some time.

Some riders use brakes to stop. #Caveman uses his fore arm.

Enjoyed new red Supacaz grips

The Green Car on the course. Doubt its a Green Car in the California way

Got off the bike with a 30″ lead on Dan and 3.30 on Josiah. Craig Evans was in between.  Felt surprisingly comfortble running – all the way to 8km. Havent been running much, mostly rehab with guru Lawrence van Lingen at Rausch PT in Orange County. “OC, NOT LA, I’ve been told”

The river level rose with the 4′ of rain, so  the course changed from last I saw it, and I ended up waist deep in the river, (rookie!) with Dan breathing in my neck- I realized things were about to go pear shaped if I didnt do something pronto.

With 25″ lead and 2 km to go, I thought I had it in the bag, but when we hit hilly and technical section across Belle Isle, my body totally folded. Dan came blazing past in the woods, I tried to pick up the pace and promtly tripped over something. (probably my feet) Did a clumsy Judo roll, scurried after my still rolling new Oakleys, and gave chase, but Dan was gone and my body was empty.

Loved my new Hoka One One Huaka racers! So comfortable, I raced them out the box. Superbe ride quality, comfortable, fast and light. Not as big as other Hokas, but plenty cushy for a racing shoe- thanks to the magic of the RMat midsole.

2nd, but loved it. Nail biting finish. Good to be back racing after some seriously trying times. This was my 1st XTERRA ever (2001- also finished 2nd) and I fully appreciate why this place gripped me – despite the Speedo and borrowed 30lbs Soft Ride bike with road pedals…

My family loved watching this event live on their computers and being able to follow the athletes via GPS tracking. Thanks a lot to Luck Stone for pushing the envelope.

We also remembered Scud.  With his wife Margaret.   (l-rJosiah Middaugh, Margaret, Caveman, Maurizio Mendez (18 years old) Karsten Madsen & Craig Evans)

From XTERRA FB page:

You’ll notice the “Scud” in the background of your racing bib numbers. It’s in honor of long-time XTERRA Ambassador Scott “Scud” Scudamore who passed away on December 28, 2013. The XTERRA Tribe knew “Scud” well for his outgoing and welcoming spirit. He was the prototype XTERRA ambassador. He calmed racers nerves at the start line, fixed their bikes, gave them words of encouragement and helpful tips, was the ultimate training partner, and guided the XTERRA crew every chance he got. He was an icon in the Mid-Atlantic mountain bike scene, built trails, conducted how to ride your mountain bike with confidence clinics, and taught newbies how to ride. Scott was retired but hardly stood still. He was on the local water rescue team and had recently learned how to surf a kayak in white water. His volunteerism efforts were off-the-charts, perhaps most notably his connection with Trails For Youth, a program that connected kids to the natural world around them. He served for 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a captain. He was famous for his fries, for making people smile, as a soccer coach, and a family man. He left an undeniable mark on this world, and he is greatly missed by his extended family within the XTERRA Tribe and far beyond. On Saturday we’ll gather around Brown’s Island for a toast in Scud’s honor at 3pm, and on Sunday his wife Margaret will fire the cannon to get the races started.