XTERRA Winter Worlds Press Guide '09:2007 XTERRA Maui Press ...

2008 XTERRA WINTER WORLDS IN REVIEWMARCH 8, 2008 – Brian Smith, 32, of Gunnison, Coloradojolted past Josiah Middaugh, 29, of Vail, CO, less than 20meters from the finish line to win the inaugural XTERRAWinter World Championship in dramatic fashion atSnowbasin Resort this afternoon.After nearly two hours of grueling racing action thatincluded mountain biking, snowshoeing, running and skimountaineering in snow flurries at 6,000+ feet elevation,Smith pulled off a jaw-dropping come-from-behind victoryby a little more than one-second in 1:58:29.92 (withMiddaugh right behind in 1:58:31.21).“I didn’t think I could do it until four gates before the finishand I saw Josiah snow plowing,” said an exuberant Smith.“I’ve been alpine racing since the third grade so that laststretch was my cup of tea.”Spectators at the finish line remarked that it was the mostunbelievable 13 seconds of racing – in any sport – they hadever seen.“I had goose bumps, it was unreal,” said Mike Caldwell ofOgden, UT. “That’s about as pure and epic a sportingmoment as I’ve ever witnessed.”It went something like this – 200 yards of downhill skiingthrough eight gates – all viewable from the main plaza atSnowbasin. Middaugh comes into sight of the spectatorsand falls rounding the first gate. At this point all he needs todo is stay upright and the race is his. He picks himself upand slowly rounds the next two gates only to fall on his backagain, this time sliding down the hill. As Middaugh gets upand going again Smith, fueled by years of alpine racing anda natural competitive fire, emerges from the tree line like aman possessed. Seconds later and with just two gates togo Smith zooms past Middaugh on the inside and speedsacross the finish line arms raised high.‘I did everything I could do,” said Middaugh. “I thought if Icould make all those gates without falling then maybe I’d beok but I was lying on my back up there half way down.”Middaugh, who is one of the most decorated winter athletesin the U.S. - went out onto the fourth and final stage – theski mountaineering leg featuring 2,200 feet of climbing –with a two minute lead by virtue of crushing the first threestages (he had the fastest run, second best snowshoe, andthird best bike split).Alas, it came down to equipment. Middaugh was usingNordic skis (aka skate skis) that are not suited for steepdownhills while behind him Smith slipped into a randonneeski set-up better suited for both climbing and descending.“If it wasn’t about equipment, Josiah would’ve blown awaythe whole field,” said Smith. “Even on nordic skis I didn’tcatch him until the end. The guy is so strong, just amachine.”Even more amazing is that two-time Winter Triathlon WorldChamp and 2005 XTERRA Off-Road Triathlon WorldChamp Nicolas Lebrun almost made the whole Brian-Josiahmoment a mute point. Lebrun was in the lead just minutesaway from his own crowning moment when he took one ofthe final turns too fast, lost control, one of his skis, and wenttumbling 30 feet down the mountain. He still finished in thirdjust 11 seconds behind Smith.“It was my fault,” said Lebrun. “All I needed to do was justhang on and race safe but I caught an edge and wentdown.”Mike Kloser and Michael Tobin of the world’s winningestadventure racing team came in fourth and fifth, respectively.“Even when I was suffering I was thinking this was a coolevent,” said Tobin. “The snowshoe was fabulous, runningthrough the woods like that was really neat and then at thetop of the skinning, the wind was blowing and you were in ablizzard, it felt like you were way up there.”At the beginning of the race Smith and Kloser used theirwinter tri experience biking on the snow to pull into the earlylead. Once on the snowshoe, Greg Krause (the 2004 U.S.Snowshoe National Champ) and Middaugh put the hurt onthe field and pulled ahead. The pair did more of the sameon the run and headed into the ski more than two minutesup. Kloser and Lebrun had the fastest times up-and-downthe mountain to get back into the race, but ultimately it wasSmith that put all the pieces together.“It was a blast, just tons of fun,” smiled Smith.20