Bucher, Hugo near three-peat

XTERRA Guam champion Renata Bucher is flanked by Saipan?s Tyce Mister, left, and Kanae Quinn during a group photo at the finish line area of last Saturday?s race. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Pros Dan Hugo and Renata Bucher moved one win away from completing a three-peat after ruling last Saturday’s XTERRA Guam Championship. Hugo, who also topped XTERRA Philippines early this month, was the overall top finisher in the Guam race, completing the 1.5-kilometer swim, 35K bike, 8.2K run in 2:28:40. He beat nine others entered in the pro division, including fellow South African triathlete Bradley Weiss, who clocked in at 2:35:43 The two South African bets were neck-and-neck after the swim leg in the waters off the Ports Authority Beach with Hugo timing in at 19:39 and Weiss posting 19:41. Hugo then gained cushion in the bike leg after registering 1:24:41 against the 1:29:02 of Weiss and the former went on to cross the finish line about seven minutes ahead of the former after completing the run leg in 44:20. Weiss had a flat 47:00 in the last part of the race, the third best in the men’s field, as eventual third place Olivier Shaw (2:39:12) of New Zealand had a faster run split (46:03). In the women’s division, Bucher, survived a tough challenge from Guam pro Mieko Carey, to reclaim the XTERRA Guam title she lost to United Kingdom’s Jacqui Slack. Slack and her boyfriend Ben Allen of Australia missed last Saturday’s race, as the couple joined the XTERRA Great Ocean Road in Australia yesterday. Bucher, who kicked off her bid for XTERRA Asia’s Triple Crown with a win in the Philippines, made it to the finish line in Guam just less than a minute ahead of Carey, as the Swiss triathlete timed in at 3:03:52 versus the latter’s 3:04:33. Carey got out of the water first with her 22:17, while Bucher was second at 23:09, more than a minute ahead of eventual third placer Carina Wasle (24:21). The Guam pro kept her lead after the bike race, recording 1:44:41 against Wasle’s 1:44:00 and Bucher’s 1:47:15. However, Carey got lost a bit along the run course, wasting precious minutes, as she clocked in at 57:55 in the last part of the race. Bucher had the best time at 53:58, while Wasle, who is the strongest runner among the three, surprisingly logged 1:06:50. With Butcher and Hugo winning in Guam, they have a chance to claim XTERRA Asia’s Triple Crown this Saturday in XTERRA Saipan. Both Bucher and Hugo finished runner-up in the Saipan race last year, losing to Slack and Allen, who will be back to defend their respective titles. 3 Saipan finishers in XTERRA Guam Meanwhile, three Saipan triathletes completed XTERRA Guam. Tyce Mister competed in the pro division and tallied 3:37:08 to place 10th in his category and finished ahead of Kanae Quinn (4:43:19) and Brad Ruszala (5:08:27). Mister timed in 24:44 in the swim leg, 1:54:13 in the bike race, and 1:17:11 in the run part to place at No. 23 overall among 102 finishers. Quinn joined the 45 to 49 age group and had split times of 29:40, 2:45:29, and 1:28:10, while Ruszala was in the 40 to 44 division and clocked in at 31:25, 3:03:40, and 1:33:22