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| NEWS FROM PEOPLE ON THE OUTSIDE |
21/02/2010: South Africa
HUGO AND RABIE CLINCH DUESOUTH XTERRA SA TITLES
The South African flag was flying high at the Grabouw Country Club on Saturday, 20 February 2010 when top South African multi sport athletes, Dan Hugo and Mari Rabie took honours at the DUESOUTH XTERRA South African finals presented by REHIDRAT®.
According to Hugo, the course was extremely testing. “Instead of swimming two laps of 750m each, we swam one lap of 1.5km. This definitely favours the serious swimmers as it is more tiring and doesn’t give athletes the opportunity to catch their breath. Kent Horner was approximately 30 seconds a head of me out of the swim and onto the mountain bike leg. This gave me the perfect opportunity to see his condition. I managed to catch up with him and made my move on a steep climb where we were both pushing our bikes. I hopped onto mine before him and just kept peddling. I only realised 10minutes later when I looked over my shoulder that I had managed to open a sizeable gap. The mountain bike route was an awesome combination of cross country and marathon racing. The extreme heat, however, made it impossible to push myself to the max. The run leg was classic and you needed to prepare yourself mentally for it. Racing on my home turf definitely has an advantage with all the supporters knowing who I am and screaming my name. This carries you through the tough times. It’s amazing to see how the XTERRA has grown,” says Hugo who crossed the finish line in an impressive time of 02hours22minutes29seconds. Kent Horner came in second, while Nico Pfitzenmaier finished third.
Mari Rabie wowed the crowed on the day when she crossed the finish line in an awe-inspiring time of 02hours47minutes17seconds. According to Rabi the race started off on a stressful note. “Five minutes before the swim I realised that my mountain bike had a puncture, but luckily my dad was there to fix it. I did, however, have a really good swim and managed to keep up with Dan Hugo. Going onto the mountain bike route I was worried about Carina Wasle and was really surprised when I managed to pull away from her. The heat definitely added a new dimension to the race, but it was in my favour as I thrive in extreme conditions. I felt good on the running discipline and was really pleased with my performance today. It was nice to see how the XTERRA has grown since I last competed in Grabouw in 2005,” says Rabie. Michelle Lombardi came in second, while Hanlie Booyens finished third.
DUESOUTH XTERRA athletes had to complete a 1.5km swim, 25km MTB route and 10km trail run, while DUESOUTH XTERRA Lite athletes had to face a 400m swim, 12km MTB route and 5km trail run. The DUESOUTH XTERRA South African finals presented by REHIDRAT® forms part of the XTERRA World Tour and athletes had the opportunity to qualify for the world championship final in Hawaii later this year.
Athletes have enough time to recuperate before the start of the new XTERRA season. The first leg of the action packed 2010/2011 DUESOUTH XTERRA presented by REHIDRAT® will take place at the majestic PEZULA Private Estate, Knysna on Thursday, 08 July 2010 as part of the hugely anticipated Pick ‘n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival.
For more information on the DUESOUTH XTERRA presented by REHIDRAT® please contact Stillwater Sport & Entertainment on (021) 883 – 2413
Photos Below: Dan Hugo took top honours for the second time at the DUESOUTH XTERRA SA finals presented by REHIDRAT® on Saturday, 20 February 2010 when he crossed the finish line in an impressive time of 02hours 22minutes 29seconds.
Mari Rabie wowed the crowed on the day when she crossed the finish line in an awe-inspiring time of 02 hours 47 minutes 17 seconds.
Photos by: www.oakpics.com
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