Double champs pleased with effort

By BRAD E. RUSZALA
REPORTER

ours after crossing the finish line for their second grueling race in seven days, all of the top triathletes who competed in the XTERRA Saipan Championship and the Tagaman Triathlon arrived at the Pacific Islands Club on Saturday night to revel in their accomplishments in the water, on the bike, and along the roads.
For the third year in a row, two-time Olympian Olivier Marceau was the first to complete the 2-kilometer swim, 60-km bike, and 15-km run of the Tagaman Triathlon. This year he muscled out the course in a ridiculously fast time of 2:52:54.
The man who ruled the CNMI’s headlines for the past couple of weeks explained how his knowledge of the course has enabled him to better plan for the challenges that Saipan’s climate imposes on multi-sport competitors.
“It was tough. I think probably because of the heat and it’s a long run course. I really enjoy the swim in the lagoon, the bike course around the island, and the run was good. I’m used to this race now. I know the whole course and it’s always a pleasure to race the Tagaman,” said Marceau.
While the sweet taste of success was worth the trip to the Marianas, Marceau said that this time was especially satisfying to race on Saipan because his loved ones were here to share in his island experience.
“This time it was special for me because I could bring my family with me. We spent two weeks at the PIC. It was very good for my wife and my little boy that we could have two weeks of rest after my good training in Australia,” he said.
With the Marianas Visitors Authority still mulling over the fate of what its board members consider to be “One of the most success events in the CNMI” Marceau said that he aims to return for his PIC Double title in 2007.
“It’s my best wish to return to Saipan. I really want to come back. It should not be too hard for me to come back from Australia so it should be easy for me to come back next year,” he said.
Marceau is not the only one looking to return in defense of the PIC Double. Three-time XTERRA Saipan champion and PIC Double winner Jamie Whitmore is hoping for another shot at winning the “Crown Jewel” of the XTERRA Series.
While she didn’t take the tape at Tagaman, an under the weather Whitmore was still able to best Renata Bucher by a mere 27 seconds to reclaim the Double crown that eluded her in 2005.
“I’ve had better days. It really was a good race. I’ve learned that in my job that there really are no sick days. You can have a sick day in training but you can’t have a sick day when you have to perform. It’s something that I knew I had to do and probably the only thing that would have prevented me from racing is if I had been throwing up violently or something. I was very happy with my performance. I have no quorums with the way I raced. I did the best I could,” she said.
The 2004 XTERRA World Champion said that though she was not feeling 100-percent due to an illness, that she never considered staying in bed and missing out on Tagaman.
“You just have to do the best you can, and me being a person who wants to go out there and do the best I can I’m not going to let a little stuffy nose and sore throat keep me from what I know I need to do. Usually I find that it all works out,” she said.
It worked out well for Whitmore, and while she flew on the run with a time of 59:33, she said that she was hindered by a lack of power on the bike.
“I actually biked about five minutes slower last year because I just didn’t have the power, and that’s where I really have to put the time into Renata [Bucher] and the other women. I actually got out-biked by [Kate Bevilaqua] and normally I’m a lot stronger. Courtney even beat me for crying out loud,” said Whitmore.
As for her time on Saipan, Whitmore said that her 2006 experience has been the best yet and that she can’t imagine missing out on a race in the Marianas after all of the pleasurable moments over the years.
“Courtney [Cardenas] and I really think that this year has topped all of the past years. With the way that the Sportsfest has been growing and the different kind of activities that go on, we got to spend time with the local people, being on the radio show—we love that kind of stuff. We come here to support the lifestyle of what triathlon is and to try to spread that to everyone. I would love to see more locals [involved]. We already see more locals out just riding and running and that’s really awesome. When we came out here five years ago people looked at us like we were crazy. Now they kind of honk at us and wave. They know who we are and that we’re coming to town for two weeks, so that’s a really neat thing. I have a lot of police officers [cheering me on]. It’s a really neat thing because we really feel like we’re locals.”