Ruzafa, Paterson win XTERRA France
Complete Results
Xonrupt, Gerardmer (July 3, 2016) – Ruben Ruzafa and Lesley Paterson captured the XTERRA France Championship titles in Xonrupt this afternoon.
The win is Ruzafa’s third straight on the European Tour this year and his 22nd XTERRA major victory in 27 races since winning Worlds as a rookie in 2008. For Paterson, the win is her second major this season (she won XTERRA Tahiti back in May) and the 14th of her career.
“I like this course and I like this race,” said Ruzafa, who has won it three years in a row now. “It is very technical and this is where I am at my best. I rode very good today and was able to control everything. It was almost perfect for me.”
In the men’s race Aussie Ben Allen had the fastest swim of the day followed by Veit Honle from Germany, and those two got the early lead on the bike but by the halfway point it was Ruzafa in the lead thanks to his race-best 1:02:37 bike split. By the bike-to-run transition Ruzafa had more than five minutes on South Africa’s Bradley Weiss, and cruised into the finish line with a winning time of three hours, seven-minutes flat.
Behind Ruzafa, Yeray Luxem from Belgium was powering his way to the fastest run of the day and overtook Weiss to finish as the runner-up.
“This course is good for me,” said Weiss. “I came out of the water with Ruben but he was so strong on the bike I could not keep up with him. Then on the run Yeray surprised me. He was going so fast and when he passed me I knew I must settle for third.”
Honle finished in 4th for the second week in a row and Damien Guillemet finished in 5th.
In the women’s race it was all Lesley Paterson, who has proven time-and-time again that when the going gets tough, she gets going.
“XTERRA France lives up to its reputation…the beauty, the true toughness and the unbelievable organization and support,” said Paterson, who owns two XTERRA World Championships, an ITU Cross Tri World Title, and was the European Championship race winner last season.
“I felt great all day and just so grateful to be able to compete against great gals and in one of the best XTERRAs I’ve ever experienced! Roll on the rest of the summer!
Jacqui Slack took the early lead out of the swim, with Tour leader Brigitta Poor and Paterson close behind, but once Paterson got in front ‘that was that.’
“I knew this was a long race so I took it very easy on the first lap of the bike,” said Paterson. “I heard Renata was close to me so I pushed really hard on the second lap and got a good gap.”
Bucher did have a great bike, cut into Paterson’s lead and worked her way into the second position where she stayed through the finish line.
“I was so disappointed and sad after Switzerland,” said Bucher, who finished 4th in her home country last weekend. “I rode good today and the race was long, so I was able to make enough time to keep second place on the run.”
Erbenova, who finished in third, had a good run to make her way to the podium, but thinks she fell too far behind during the opening swim leg.
“My swim was just terrible today,” said the reigning European Tour Champion, who came out of the water four-minutes behind Paterson and two-minutes behind Bucher. “I worked hard to move up into third, and am very happy with it.”
Brigitta Poor held on for fourth and Myriam Guillot-Boisset finished in 5th.
Elite results:
Pos Name, NAT Time Points 1 Ruben Ruzafa, ESP 3:07:01 100 2 Yeray Luxem, BEL 3:12:50 90 3 Bradley Weiss, RSA 3:13:57 82 4 Veit Holne, GER 3:18:19 75 5 Damien Guillemet, FRA 3:18:39 69 6 Arthur Serrieres, FRA 3:18:46 63 7 Henry Sleight, GBR 3:19:48 58 8 Peter Lehmann, GER 3:20:13 53 9 Bartosz Banach, POL 3:20:19 49 10 Christophe Betard, FRA 3:20:58 45 11 Kris Coddens, BEL 3:23:56 41 12 Francois Carloni, FRA 3:26:21 37 13 Maxim Chane, FRA 3:27:51 34 14 Llewellyn Holmes, GBR 3:29:25 31 15 Anthony Flinois, FRA 3:32:00 28 Also: Boris Chambon, Felix Schumann, Martial Schmidt, Ben Allen, Rich Sumpter, Pascal Faivre-Pierret, Florian Luquet, Izar Van Gool, Valentine Genewe, Pos Name, NAT Time Points 1 Lesley Paterson, GBR 3:38:30 100 2 Renata Bucher, SUI 3:42:48 90 3 Helena Erbenova, CZE 3:48:04 82 4 Brigitta Poor, HUN 3:51:57 75 5 Myriam Guillot-Boisset, FRA 3:53:03 69 6 Carina Wasle, AUT 3:54:37 63 7 Jacqui Slack, GBR 3:57:16 58 8 Sandra Koblmueller, AUT 3:57:42 53 9 Maud Golsteyn, NED 3:59:13 49 10 Morgane Riou, FRA 3:59:41 45 11 Sanne Van Paassen, NED 3:59:56 41 12 Kara LaPoint, USA 4:03:16 37 13 Jessie Roberts, GBR 4:05:31 34 14 Kristina Nec Lapinova, SVK 4:11:41 31 15 Louise Fox, GBR 4:13:15 28 Also: Lenka Cibulkova, Belinda Hadden
DESANTIS 16 IN 2016 HITS HALFWAY MARK
XTERRA Warrior David DeSantis knocked off race No. 8 of 16 at XTERRA France with a little help from his good mate, XTERRA elite Ben Allen from Australia.
With a knee swollen up to the size of a grapefruit following his race at XTERRA Switzerland last weekend, one of the many unexplainable side effects of chemo, DeSantis smartly decided to watch this one from the bleachers and let Allen carry the torch for his cause to raise funds (goal $32,000) for the Challenged Athletes Foundation.
“Wish I could have finished on the podium for him, but it wasn’t my day,” said Allen. “Gave 100% with what I had on the day and that’s all I could ask for! I’m proud to race for David, he fights the fight of life, everyday! He is a true inspiration to everyone in XTERRA and the world. I admire him as a friend, person and athlete. We have had the best week in France altogether. Home cooked meals, laughter, it’s like a big family! I will remember this trip forever. It’s why I do this sport because of people like David and his wife Kathy!”
Learn more about 16 in 2016 and join the fight at: http://www.desantis16in2016.org/.
All-Time XTERRA France Elite Winners Year Men’s Champ Women’s Champ Site 2006 Cedric Fleureton Renata Bucher Saint Raphael 2008 Nicolas Lebrun Renata Bucher Auron 2008 Nicolas Lebrun Renata Bucher Mondelieu 2010 Nicolas Lebrun Marion Lorblanchet Xonrupt 2011 Victor Del Corral Renata Bucher Xonrupt 2012 Asa Shaw Helena Erbenova Xonrupt 2013 Nicolas Lebrun Helena Erbenova Xonrupt 2014 Ruben Ruzafa Kathrin Mueller Xonrupt 2015 Ruben Ruzafa Kathrin Mueller Xonrupt 2016 Ruben Ruzafa Lesley Paterson XonruptRUZAFA, POOR LEAD XTERRA EUROPEAN TOUR STANDINGS
With his third straight win, including two 100-point scores from Gold races in the last seven days, Ruben Ruzafa has taken a commanding lead in the men’s Euro Tour title chase with five events to go. In the women’s chase Brigitta Poor sits in the top spot with five scoring races, with Erbenova not too far behind. Elite athletes count their best 4 Gold and 3 Silver finishes.
Next up: XTERRA Italy on July 31.
2016 XTERRA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS
XTERRA France was the 20th of 37 events where the fastest amateur athletes from around the world could qualify to race at the 21st annual XTERRA World Championship at Kapalua, Maui on Oct 23.
DATE WORLD TOUR EVENT LOCATION or WINNERS 7-Feb XTERRA Philippines Brad Weiss/Lizzie Orchard 21-Feb XTERRA South Africa Brad Weiss/Flora Duffy 5-Mar XTERRA Motatapu Olly Shaw/Mary Gray 12-Mar XTERRA Saipan Brodie Gardner/Carina Wasle 20-Mar XTERRA Costa Rica Karl Shaw/Myriam Guillot-Boisset 26-Mar XTERRA Argentina Josiah Middaugh/Myriam Guillot 3-Apr XTERRA Malta Roger Serrano/Brigitta Poor 16-Apr XTERRA New Zealand Braden Currie/Lizzie Orchard 17-Apr XTERRA La Reunion Ruben Ruzafa/Carina Wasle 23-Apr XTERRA Asia-Pacific Championship Braden Currie/Lizzie Orchard 7-May XTERRA Asia-Pacific Tour Championship Ben Allen/Jacqui Slack 7-May XTERRA Brazil Albert Soley/Sabrina Gobbo 7-May XTERRA Greece Roger Serrano/Helena Erbenova 14-May XTERRA Tahiti Josiah Middaugh/Lesley Paterson 21-May XTERRA Oak Mountain State Park Josiah Middaugh/Suzie Snyder 21-May XTERRA Portugal Ruben Ruzafa/Helena Erbenova 11-Jun XTERRA Belgium Kris Coddens/Helena Erbenova 25-Jun XTERRA Switzerland Ruben Ruzafa/Michelle Flipo 25-Jun XTERRA Mine over Matter Karsten Madsen/Suzie Snyder 3-Jul XTERRA France Ruben Ruzafa/Lesley Paterson 10-Jul XTERRA Victoria Victoria, B.C., Canada 16-Jul XTERRA Beaver Creek Beaver Creek, CO, USA 23-Jul XTERRA Parry Sound Ontario, Canada 31-Jul XTERRA Italy Lago Di Scanno 31-Jul XTERRA Dominican Republic Barahona 6-Aug XTERRA Mexico Tapalpa 7-Aug XTERRA Poland Krakow 13-Aug XTERRA Sweden Hellsgaarten, Stockholm 14-Aug XTERRA Canmore Canmore, Alberta, Canada 20-Aug XTERRA European Championship Zittau, Germany 27-Aug XTERRA Sleeping Giant Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada 27-Aug XTERRA Korea Daeahn Reservoir, Wonju City 3-Sep XTERRA Japan Hokkaido 4-Sep XTERRA Denmark Mons Klint 4-Sep XTERRA Quebec Quebec City, Quebec 11-Sep XTERRA Woolastook New Brunswick, Canada 17-Sep XTERRA USA / Pan Am Championship Ogden, Utah, USA 23-Oct XTERRA World Championship Kapalua, MauiThe post Ruzafa, Paterson win XTERRA France appeared first on XTERRA.
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