Bucher, Hugo draw first blood

South Africa?s Dan Hugo and Switzerland?s Renata Bucher pose for a photo after racing in XTERRA Philippines in Cebu last Saturday. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS)

Seven-time XTERRA Saipan winner Renata Bucher surprised herself and her rivals in the kickoff of the XTERRA Asia Triple Crown after winning last Saturday’s 2014 XTERRA Philippines in Lilo-an, Cebu.
“I was not expecting to win this race,” said Bucher, who clinched the women’s title after completing the 1.5-kilometer swim, 36K bike, and 10K run in 3:24:59.

“Before coming to the Philippines I raced in New Zealand, the longest XTERRA race on the circuit. It took me 4:38:00 to finish and I came out at second place. So when I went to the Philippines, I was not fresh at all. I was nervous going into last Saturday’s race,” said Bucher.

However, there was no trace of fatigue when the “Swiss Miss” started the race, as she even finished the two-loop swim leg ahead of Jacqui Slack, who is recognized as a better swimmer than the former. Bucher timed in at 23:48 to lead Austria’ Carina Wasle (24:08), former Saipan pro Mieko Carey (23:24), Slack (22:08), Dimity-Lee Duke (24:59), and Darrelle Parker (25:27).
Ahead by less than a minute against the diminutive but determined Wasle, Bucher gained more distance over her closest pursuer in the two-loop bike race, as the Swiss pro submitted 2:03:31, the fastest among the women’s pro. Wasle recorded a field-third best with her 2:08:48, just several seconds behind the 2:08:03 of Slack.

Wasle, who had a bad crash in the 2013 race and did not finish XTERRA Philippines, then caught up with Bucher past the halfway mark of the up-and-down run course. However, Wasle failed to keep her distance and settled for a bridesmaid finish, as the exhausted Austrian pro hobbled and nearly fainted in the last 300 meters of the race, according to organizers.

Wasle finished less than a minute behind Bucher after timing in at 3:25:18. Carey rounded out the Top 3 after registering 3:27:34, while Slack, the defending XTERRA Saipan champion, had another fourth place finish in the Philippines with her 3:29:19.

Bucher attributed her good start in XTERRA Asia’s Triple Crown to nice pacing.

“Today (last Saturday), I paced myself. The course was hard and it was very hot, so some participants fainted. I am happy, I made it through. I hydrated well and had good nutrition and there really helped a lot,” said Bucher, who is looking forward to XTERRA Saipan, the last stop of the trifecta. XTERRA Guam will be the second leg (March 29) of the Asian Triple Crown.

Bucher bagged her second XTERRA Philippines title in three years. She was runner-up to Leslie Paterson last year.

In the men’s division, XTERRA Philippines has a new champion in South Africa’s Dan Hugo, who defeated compatriot Bradley Weiss and erstwhile champion Ben Allen of Australia.

Hugo completed the grueling race in 2:48:48, wrestling the lead from Allen in the bike leg, as the Australian was slowed down by a crash and a couple of flat tires. Hugo clocked in at 19:56 and was third out of the water in the men’s pro behind Allen (18:57) and Weiss (19:51). In the bike leg, the XTERRA Saipan runner-up finished more than 20 minutes ahead of Allen, timing in at 1:43:26 against the later’s 2:11:17. Weiss posted 1:50:37 to move up to second place. A men’s pro-field best 45:26 in the run leg secured Hugo’s victory, as crossed the finish line about eight minutes ahead of Weiss (2:56:39) and more than 30 minutes ahead of Allen (3:21:52). Guam’s Charlie Epperson (3:30:07) and Malaysia’s Shahrom Abdullah (3:32:58) rounded out the Top 5.