Middaugh, Paterson top Tahiti
Nicola Lebrun, the retired top XTERRA competitor who stepped back into competitor at XTERRA Tahiti, put it best: “This is XTERRA – tough, muddy and beautiful!”
On a course which combined beautiful blue lagoons and gnarly trails slick with mud from new rains through an intense green tropical landscape, reigning XTERRA World Champion Josiah Middaugh and two-time XTERRA World Champion Lesley Paterson prevailed.
But as Nico Lebrun, who finished 3rd, put it, “Everyone who finished this race is really a warrior.”
While the 3-loop swim was magical in clear Tahitian water, the mountain bike and trail run legs were brutal.
After a winter spent fighting lime disease, Lesley Paterson said the course was a good first test of 2016. Like everybody she struggled just to finish the bike and “avoid crashing too much” on muddy and slippery downhills which made competitors almost blind with mud.
Middaugh put it this way: “On this course even on the front I had to stay focused to not get hurt. It was a race against Mother Nature, it was one of the most challenging races I've ever done. I had to over gear most of the climb to get traction on this mud, so just to keep moving it was hard.”
If competitors thought the mountain bike section was tough, they were in for a scary surprise on the run.
“I wanted to run everything no matter what, but when you have to climb with ropes I failed,” said Middaugh. “And, of course, I had to walk, even crawl under some trees. It was the most challenging tri loop I have ever done – it was diabolical.”
Paterson said she was pushed to her limit – in her weakened condition fighting lime disease – just to finish.
“The run was something else,” said Paterson. “I never experienced anything like that. There were a few tears – I'm not gonna lie. At one point I didn't know if I was going in the right direction. I thought, ‘There there is no way they are having us climb this cliff'.’ But I saw the rope, so yes they did! And they did it again and again. It was crazy! A real adventure.”
Middaugh finished in 2:55:49 with a 9:59 margin of victory over Christophe Betard of France and 16:58 over the game but very rusty Nico Lebrun.
Paterson, who had no professional women opponents, finished 6th overall in a time of 3:34:19. Competing on a shorter course, local French Polynesian age grouper Alice Bourgeoisat took 2nd in 2:13:07 and Tahitian Yasmina Chenel took 3rd in 2:35:00.
XTERRA Tahiti
Mataiea, Tahiti
May 14, 2016
Results
Men
1. Josiah Middaugh (USA) 2:55:49
2. Christophe Betard (FRA) 3:05:48
3. Nicolas LeBrun (FRA) 3:12:47
4. Cedric Wane (French Polynesia) 3:13:42
5. David Esposito (New Caledonia) 3:27:11
Women
1. Lesley Paterson (USA) 3:34:19
2. Alice Bourgeoisat (French Polynesia) 2:13:07
3. Yasmina Chenel (French Polynesia) 2:35:00
4. Elisabeth Albert (French Polynesia) 2:44:40
5. Elisa Tsing (French Polynesia) 3:08:10
