LEGAZPI CITY, Feb 10 (PIA) – World champions Bradley Weiss of South Africa and Flora Duffy of Bermuda notch top spot in the Xterra Albay Off-Road Triathlon held in the province Sunday.
More than 300 triathletes from 18 countries raced through rough and rugged terrain by swimming through a 1.5-kilometer shore span, biking across a 32-kilometer single point to point trail and running along a 10-kilometer ATV Trail with uneven track of grassy, sandy and rocky areas including a river bed.
Weiss bested the other racers for the male category finishing the course after 2 hours and 28 minutes followed by Mauricio Mendez of Mexico at 2:28:58, Ben Allen and Broodie Gardner of Australia at 2:33:51 and 2:40:35 respectively and Charlie Epperson of USA 2:51:20.
“Ben and Mauricio were first out of the water with Flora right with them. Brad was not far behind and quickly took control on the bike turning in the fastest time of the day a bit over 2 minutes faster than Allen,” said an international Xterra reporter.
Duffy ranked first in the women category and the 5th among all the racers finishing in 2:43:40.
“Flora was first woman out of the water and kept the lead with the fastest bike and fastest run,” the reported said.
Coming next to Duffy are Jacqui Slack of Great Britain in 2:56:51, Dimity-Lee Duke of Australia in 3:03:18, Mieko Carey of Japan in 3:06:39 and Renata Butcher of Switzerland in 3:12:53.
John Leerams Chicano took the lead for Men’s Filipino Elite category after 2:51:17 followed by Billy Biag 2: 52:04 and Emmanuel Comendador 2:56:25.
For the Women’s Filipino category, Anna Marissa Remigio finished first in 3:47:45 with Noemi Andrea Galeos coming next in 4:01:48 and Angelica Yvonne Limjoco in 4:25:17.
Furthermore, the event organizers were likewise impressed not only of the challenging and impressive sceneries along the race track but also of the warm hospitality shown by local folks and organizers.
“No matter where we go, the hospitality and organization of Sunrise events is simply superb. Every foreign entrant is simply amazed at how easily things flow and the level or hospitality given to the athletes. This includes local entertainers, singers, dancers at the athlete briefing and dinner and even at the awards stage,” the reporter said.
The reporter furthered that the “Philippines is a very happy place to visit and an even better place to race.”
The Xterra Philippines championship race, also called Xterra Albay 2015 by local organizers, is the first of five races in the 2015 XTERRA Asian Tour that will crown series champions at the season finale in Langkawi, Malaysia this May.
It is held in Albay as part of the CAGSAWA Festival 2015 showcasing the route within the Mayon’s perimeter exclusive zone.
The finish line featured the Cagsawa Ruins Heritage Park which also offers a magnificent view of the perfect-coned Mayon volcano as well as the ruins of a town which has become the symbol of the Albayanos’ resilience to nature’s forces.(MAL/SAA-PIA5/Albay)