The atmosphere was tense at the start of the 2014 Totalsports XTERRA South African Championship presented by Rehidrat Sport on 23 February.
Top XTERRA warriors Dan Hugo (South Africa) and Flora Duffy (Bermuda) had the crowd on their feet as they crossed the finish line first in the men’s and women’s races respectively, claiming the coveted title of Totalsports XTERRA South African Champion for 2014.
According to Hugo this is his fourth, but most meaningful, championship title.
“The event doesn’t only keep growing in participants, but it keeps growing in stature too. It’s a global event and I assure you there are a number of international guys following the event via social media. Conrad Stoltz has set the bar for many years and I really wanted to beat him on his course. My plan was to go out aggressively on the swim. On the mountain bike I passed Rory Downie of Scotland shortly after he was named King of the Mountain and from then [on] I didn’t see anyone else.”
“Coming off the bike I was knackered, but my running has gotten better and I believed I could do it. I wanted the win, I needed the win,” said an emotional Hugo, who completed the 1.5km swim, 27km mountain bike and 11km trail run in an impressive time of 2:29:25. The second and third spots on the podium were snatched up by fellow South Africans Stuart Marais and Conrad Stoltz.
“Pro wins are hard to come by,” said a delighted women’s champ Duffy. “I was just lucky to put a good race together today. The course is tough; I struggled a bit in the beginning of the mountain bike discipline, but I managed to hold it together. I’ve been working really hard on my run and was confident that I could pull it together. When I got on the little beach section I gave a sigh of relief. This is a fantastic event, very professional, hands down the best.”
Duffy claimed victory in a deserving time of 2:57:07. Carina Wasle of Austria came in second, while Northcliff resident Carla Van Huyssteen (South Africa) finished third.
Details: Follow XTERRA SA on Twitter: @xterrasa; 086 138 3591; entries@stillwatersports.com or visit www.stillwatersports.com
