Posted: April 2, 2006

Triathlon: A Swiss Sweep At The 5th Annual XTERRA Saipan Championship

SAIPAN (April 1, 2006) – On yet another magical day in paradise Swiss triathletes Renata Bucher and Olivier Marceau conquered the coral and jungle covered course faster than anyone en route to winning the women and men’s overall championships at XTERRA Saipan.

Azure colored water, a powder blue sky, light island breezes, and a sunny 85-degree day greeted an international field of 200 competitors representing 13 countries to the fifth annual XTERRA Saipan Championship.

A year after stunning the XTERRA world by coming out of virtually nowhere to upset Jamie Whitmore – winner of the first three races here in the Northern Mariana Islands – Bucher defended her crown and solidified her spot at the top shelf in Saipan.

“I was very nervous,” said Bucher, the reigning XTERRA European Tour Champion. “I trained in Australia for two months with Olivier. I went hard, tried to improve my swim and did a lot of running. Sometimes it was not fun, but I had to remind myself that I’m doing this for Saipan.”

The hard work certainly paid off as she improved her time in all three disciplines to post a women’s record time of 2:49:00, good for second place overall behind only Marceau. On the mountain bike, she once again amazed spectators and fellow competitors alike by climbing out of the saddle nearly the entire ascent.

Bucher’s climbing prowess happened at an idyllic spot for the media, who were parked at the top of a swift curving uphill on a coral road with an unobstructed view for 300-yards. First came Jamie, riding swiftly. Then came Renata, standing and blazing a trail in pursuit. When she passed Whitmore, it was like she was dancing – reminiscent of how the great Ned Overend would climb up Keystone Mountain.

“I expected nothing less of Renata, she caught me at the same spot as last year,” said Whitmore, the four-time XTERRA U.S. Champion. “I caught back up to her on the next descent and she pulled away again on the next few climbs. I kept hoping for more descents.”

It couldn’t get downhill enough for Whitmore, who entered the bike-to-run transition about one minute-and-a-half back.

“Going into the last technical section I was really trying to fly through to make up time and just kinda nicked a tree and took some thorns along with me,” said Whitmore. “Other than that I thought I was doing fine, but when I went into transition they told me how far back I was I thought ‘geez, I lost that much time’. Fact is, I had a great race; she just had a better one. For crying out loud she out-split every guy on the bike except Marceau. I went 2:55 and finally broke three hours, so I’m stoked over that.”

Newcomer Monique Sawicki came out of the water about the same time as Bucher – which was more than three minutes behind Whitmore, and couldn’t keep the hard-driving pace on the bike to keep up with Bucher or catch Whitmore. A third place finish behind two of the sports most dominant riders isn’t a bad start.

‘It was a definite learning experience,” said Sawicki. “Jamie and Renata are really fast and XTERRA is a lot different than an endurance mountain bike race. I’m still really happy to be here, meet everybody and to race in such a beautiful event.”

The warm people, warm water, adventurous run and beautiful place comments were the most recurring on this day.

“Ever since last year I couldn’t wait to come back to Saipan,” said Bucher. “I have such a good time here, not just the race, the whole two weeks. Everyday with the sun and the fun.”

Mexico’s Fabiola Corona, who finished fifth, had one of the most arduous travel routes - Mexico City to Los Angeles to Tokyo to Narita to Nagoya to Saipan – but was not disappointed with the final destination.

“Jamie told me this course was one of the best in the world so that’s why we came,” said Corona. “It was very tough. The swimming part I really liked because of the color of the water and the warm temperature. And the bike was really tough - uphills, downhills, single track and the running I really liked because of the rocks and forest and cave and everything. It was like an adventure race, so beautiful and fun.”

Japan’s Mami Saito was the third competitor out of the water behind only Marceau and Taro Shirato, and had a steady bike and run to finish fourth for the second consecutive season.

Marceau Marceau Marceau

Two-time Swiss Olympic triathlete Olivier Marceau (33, living in Cannes, France) made it three-in-a-row in Saipan. His biggest competitor was himself, and Mother Nature.

“Today I tried to go hard but not to hard, to keep a good pace on the bike and the run and not to push myself too hard but just enough to maintain a good lead,” said Marceau, who had the fastest swim, bike, and run of the day. “The sea was a bit rough, the bike was very hot, and the run was very technical. You had to be very careful not to twist an ankle or to crash, and that’s what I did on the downhill on both the bike and during the run. I was very careful.”

Marceau came out of the water nearly three minutes ahead of Japan’s Taro Shirato, and five minutes in front of his most formidable opponent – Ryan DeCook. DeCook, the Michigan-native racing in his first event as a pro, was having a great race and was in second place and climbing strong before taking a spill on the bike portion that left his bike a little twisted, which in turn caused a more severe wreck that all but ended his chances of victory.

“I got off the bike and my thigh was just too bruised. I couldn’t run,” said DeCook - his statement evident in his 2:09 run split.

With DeCook out of the running along came a new face at the front of the pack – amateur James Kennedy from Shanghai, China. Kennedy was in the back half of the pack out of the water – a full 10 minutes behind Marceau, but followed that with the fifth fastest bike and second best run to place 2nd in the men’s race.

“I ride a lot but everything is on the indoor trainer,” said Kennedy, who was a track star at Colorado School of the Mines before moving to China two years ago. “Because of the air and the traffic and everything else, I’m able to get outside maybe two days a week – but mostly I’m watching DVD’s on the trainer.”

Long-time Saipan competitor Yu Yumoto from Japan surged into third place, 2nd pro, for his third top five finish here (he was second in 2003 as well).

At 39-years-old, Japanese pro and XTERRA Japan organizer Taro Shirato placed fourth overall, third pro. Newcomer to XTERRA Margus Tamm from Estonia placed fifth (fourth pro), followed by Noiaki Ito from Japan, and eventually DeCook.

“Such a beautiful stay for me, 10 days at the Pacific Islands Club, two races, good atmosphere, friendly people from Guam, Saipan and everywhere,” said Marceau. “It’s like family coming here for me, and it’s good training too. I never want to miss Saipan.”

Saipan is located in the middle of the Western Pacific Ocean - 1,300 miles south of Tokyo, 1,400 miles east of Manila, 3,200 miles west of Honolulu, and 2,900 miles north of Sydney.

Athletes representing Japan, South Korea, China, Russia, Estonia, Australia, Netherlands, Switzerland, Mexico, Singapore, France, Guam, Saipan, and the United States participated in the event, which consisted of a 1.5-kilometer ocean swim, a 30k mountain bike that climbed 1,500 feet to the highest point on the island, and an epic 12k trail run that took participants through heavy jungle and into caves used during World War II.

The race served as an important Nissan Xterra World Championship qualifier for athletes from Guam, Japan, and Saipan. A total of 27 athletes earned their place at the start line in Maui by virtue of their performance today.

The top overall amateur male was James Kennedy of Shanghai, China with a time of 2:53:52 and the top amateur female was Mieko Motoyoshi of Saipan in 3:55:39. The winning relay team was comprised of Hideo Hatano (swim), Norimasa Kondo (bike), and Kengo Kuroda (run) with a time of 3:23:22 – the best of 10 teams in the championship.

There was also an XTERRA Sport race comprised of a 750-meter swim, 20k-mountain bike, and 5k trail run. The overall male winner was Kevin Perez from Agana, Guam in 2:10:26. The female champion was Heather Morrison from Saipan in 2:42:17. The top relay team consisted of the Austin Family - Dominque (swim), Tom (bike) and Olivia (run) from Saipan in 2:28:46.

Olivier Marceau, Renata Bucher, Jamie Whitmore, Fabiola Corona, and dozens of others will try for the PIC Double award, which goes to the man and woman with the fastest combined XTERRA and Tagaman time. Winners receive $500 in cash, and 6-days/5-nights at the Pacific Islands Club. In between the two races are a whole slate of self-improvement clinics and fun activities for the family.

Complete results at: XTERRA.com.

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