Old Boy Bradley Weiss (2007) het op 29 Oktober die XTERRA-wêreldkampioenskapsbyeenkoms in Hawaii gewen. In die volgende artikel, wat met verlof van die Eikestadnuus geplaas word, vertel hy hoe ʼn goeie swem hom vanjaar die wêreldkampioen in hierdie uitdagende driekampsport, wat ook fietsry en langafstanddraf insluit, gemaak het.
Bradley Weiss from Stellenbosch, South Africa captured the 22nd XTERRA World Championship off-road triathlon elite title on a warm, sunny day in Kapalua, Maui, on Sunday 29 October.
It’s the first world title for Weiss.
For Weiss, the day started with a magical swim
“I didn’t lose any time on the swim, which was unbelievable,” said Weiss, who has always been a strong biker and runner, but came out of the water more than two minutes behind the swim leaders last year. “I don’t know how I did it. I just felt so comfortable in the water. I caught a wave at the end and caught up and got past the group. When I stood up on the sand and saw Ben, Flora and the whole group I just thought, what’s going on?”
It’s often been said that you can lose a race on the swim, but you can’t win it, but Weiss thinks he may have proven the theory wrong.
“One hundred percent I won the race on the swim,” said Weiss, perhaps half in jest. “It’s been letting me down all these years. When I stood up out of the water and saw Mauricio and Ben, I thought, ‘Game on, here we go.’ And I think, mentally, I won the race there. I was just so, so confident.”
Weiss finished in 2:23:10 and was a humble champion in his first victory after three attempts on the Maui course.
“The Maui gods definitely looked upon me this year,” said Weiss at the awards ceremony. “I’m so happy to be here standing on the top of the podium. Well done to the guys standing around me. They brought out the best in me and I had to dig deep a few times and try to get a bit of belief going. Even when I was winning, I didn’t think I deserved to be there, but I’m super proud and super grateful.”
After Weiss surprised himself with a great swim, he charged hard from the beginning of the bike course.
“I got on the bike and I knew Ruben and Josiah would be coming,” said Weiss. “And I knew I had to put a gap on Mauricio. He’s proven time and time again that he’s putting the fasted run splits in.”
On the bike course, Ruben Ruzafa, a tremendously skilled mountain biker, caught up to Weiss just before the second water station, but Ruzafa never had more than 30 seconds on his competitor.
“Once Ruben caught me, I thought ‘Hang in there as long as you can,’ ” said Weiss. “I made a little mistake on the last bit of single track and Ruben got away.”
Weiss caught up to Ruzafa about two km into the run and put a charge into it, ultimately, finishing down the chute with his arms outstretched, sharing high fives with the crowd.
Weiss and Duff earned US$20 000 for his victory. The total purse was US$100 000 and the event was filmed for live viewing as well as international distribution.
More than 800 endurance athletes – including six physically challenged athletes – from 52 countries competed in the event, which started with a one-mile rough water swim at DT Fleming Beach, continued with a 32,2 km mountain bike ride that traversed the Wes Maui Mountains and finished with a tough 9.66 km trail run in the hot sun.
There were more than 2 400 m of combined climbing on the technical bike and running courses, which were in excellent condition despite pouring rain on Monday and Tuesday of the week.
Elite Men Results:
- Bradley Weiss, Stellenbosch, South Africa – 2:32:09 (US$20 000)
- Mauricio Mendeza, Mexico City, Mexicon– 2:33:24 (US$12 000)
- Ruben Ruzafa, Malaga, Spain – 2:33:45 (US$7 000)
- Francisco Serrano, Monterrey, Mexico – 2:34:29 (US$4 000)
- Cedric Fleureton, Albigny, France – 2:34:50 (US$2 500)
