Pros primed for XTERRA Saipan

The pros competing in tomorrow?s XTERRA Saipan Championship pose for a group photo with race director Bill Sakovich, front row left, and Taga, Inc. president Wolf Mojica, standing right, after a press conference yesterday at the DFS Galleria Office in Garapan. (ROSELYN B. MONROYO)

The plot thickens as pro triathletes shared their insights about tomorrow’s 2014 XTERRA Saipan Championship.
“It will be an interesting and very serious competition,” said South Africa’s Dan Hugo. I and Brad (Weiss) tried the bike course and we we’re slowing down a bit because there are a lot of climbs, plus the hot temperature.”

Hugo will be gunning for his third straight win in less than a month after prevailing in the Philippine and Guam legs of the XTERRA Asia Triple Crown. He is also eyeing to avenge his loss to defending champion Ben Allen of Australia when the former debuted in XTERRA’s Crown Jewel last year. Allen will also aim for this third consecutive XTERRA Saipan victory.

“Hopefully, either of us gets that third straight win,” added Hugo.
Standing on Hugo and Allen’s way for completing the three-peat is Weiss, who is expected to have a wiser strategy after placing only third in his first XTERRA Saipan last year.

“The bike course was a lot longer than I expected last year and I had a bit of a problem in my nutrition. This time, I am working on my nutrition and adjusting to the heat to have a much improve performance,” the South African pro said.

Joining Weiss, Allen, and Hugo in the men’s pro field are New Zealand’s Mark Leishman and Olly Shaw, another South African bet Nico Sterk, Austria’s Markus Benesch, Slovakia’s Michal Bucek, and former XTERRA champion Olivier Marceau.

The two Kiwis tried the bike and run parts of the race last Tuesday for an earlier taste of the technical side of the course.
“It was a rocky uphill climb and tough to go through the single track lanes with the tall grasses,” said Shaw, who was talking of the road toward Mt. Tapochao and the famous South of Music at the backside of the highest peak on the island.

As for Leishman, he pointed out the end of the run course as the toughest.
“It’s hard going up and down those ravines and the caves. It’s horrible to move quickly as you don’t want to hurt yourself,”Leishman said.

Marceau had been through the technical and challenging run and bike courses and he will use the race to warm up for future events
“It’s my first race of the season and there’s no need to rush things. I just want to enjoy doing the event. No matter how many times you did this race, it’s never the same every year,” said the former Olympian
All nine men’s pro and the women’s field met yesterday in a press conference at the DFS Galleria office, joining women’s pro Jacqui Slack of the United Kingdom, Renata Bucher of Switzerland, Carina Wasle of Austria, and Mieko Carey of Guam.

“It will be hard to defend the women’s title this weekend knowing that the girls (Renata, Carina, and Mieko) are here and are used to this technical course and hot weather. However, I love the challenge, I love this course, the technical stuff, and the climbs,” said Slack, who lost to Bucher in XTERRA Philippines and missed XTERRA Guam as she did two races in Australia last month.
Beside ruling XTERRA Philippines, Bucher also won XTERRA Guam and all eyes will be on her this weekend, as she targets a three-pear and aim to reclaim the XTERRA Saipan he lost to Slack last year.
“I don’t want to pressure myself for this weekend’s race, but I will do my best. It’s always wonderful to win, especially here on Saipan, but you’ll never know what’s going to happen. Sometimes, you need some luck,” Bucher said.

Winning on Saipan is also Mieko’s long-time goal.
“I lived on Saipan for 10 years and it’s my dream to win here. I hope I can make it and reach the finish line with a smile. I want to hug my Saipan friends when I finish the race,” Carey said.
Carey placed second to Bucher in XTERRA Guam and ahead of Wasle, who will be competing in her fourth straight XTERRA Saipan and third straight race in less than a month.

“We’re all in good shape despite going through a lot of races. The triathlete with more power and more energy to go fast will have the edge,” said Wasle, who is favored in the 12-kilometer trail run part of the course.

Tomorrow’s XTERRA Saipan will start with the 1.5K swim leg at Micro Beach at 6:30am, followed by the 30K run race on the northern side of the island.