Julie Dibens of Great Britain holds up the finishing tape after earning
a record-setting third straight victory at the Xterra World Championships
in Maui, HI. AP Photo/XTERRA, Nils Nilsen
Eneko Llanos and Julie Dibens each earned their third titles at the Xterra World Championships on Sunday. Each year, many athletes who have had their behinds handed to them in Kona (and others who may have done well) hang around Hawaii for an extra two weeks to participate in the Xterra World Championships in Maui. Still, it has been 14 years since someone who toed the line in Kona won the Xterra World Champs in the same year. This year, 2008's male and female Kona runner-ups Eneko Llanos (who dropped a dozen places in Kona this year), and Yvonne Van Vlerken (who dropped out of the Ironman due to technical difficulties on the bike) consoled themselves on the Maui course. This year's Xterra world title for Llanos comes half a decade after he defended the title in 2004. Van Vlerken, for her part, won the women's Makena Beach 10km Trail Run which is run concurrently with the Xterra Championships. Absent from Kona but standing tall at the top of the women's Xterra podium for the third year in a row was Julie Dibens of Bath, England. Dibens is the third Brit (along with Chrissie Wellington and Alistair Brownlee) to bring world triathlon titles to the United Kingdom in 2009.
Eneko Llanos emerges from the water in third place on his
way to his third title at the Xterra World Champs.
AP Photo/XTERRA, Nils Nilsen
The Xterra World Champs is an off-road triathlon which reflects its American roots by keeping its measurements strictly imperial: a 1-mile swim, a 20-mile mountain bike, and a 7.5-mile trail run. The terrain traversed by the athletes in Maui includes a 3,000-foot climb and descent on the bike, lava fields, technical singletrack, and deep sand on the run.
The men's race was exciting, with Llanos edging out Nicolas Lebrun of France by less than a minute. Lebrun trailed Llanos from the beginning of the bike, but then dropped back on the long descent. Llanos took the overall lead on the run, while Lebrun fought his way back toward Llanos' heels. “To be honest, I didn’t expect to be this strong,” Llanos told reporters. “Just two weeks ago I was really disappointed in Kona, and now here I am so happy... When I crossed the finish line I couldn’t believe it, how fast feelings change, and something amazing happened and I’m just so happy now.” Adding to Llanos' happiness and his $20,000 prize money is the Hawaiian Airlines Double award he took home for the best combined time Kona and Maui for the fourth time in as many years.
Dibens, on the other hand, made it look easy. After having to make up a 38-second gap out of the swim, she took the lead from Christine Jeffrey early in the bike and built it to over five minutes by the beginning of the run. By the time she reached the finish line, the gap on the second place woman, up-and-comer Lesley Paterson, had grown to over seven minutes. Dibens is the first person ever to win the Xterra World Championships three years in a row. “I was able to ride in control and run smart. I’m delighted to be up here on the podium again and to win this race three times in a row is really special,” Dibens told reporters.
Comments