Pro Xterra triathlete Mattieu Signoretty and two-time Olympic cross-country skier Brittany Webster proved their mettle as the fastest off-road athletes in the land by winning the 2014 Xterra Canmore Triathlon on Sunday (Aug. 17) at the Canmore Nordic Centre.
It was Webster’s first full Xterra triathlon, but likely not her last, given she blew away her competition on the run and mountain bike portion. The Canmore resident is still riding high from her Sochi Olympics experience, and to win her first full triathlon was icing on the cake.
“It was really awesome. I didn’t expect this, but we trained hard for it. It’s been really fun to do running training again, which I haven’t done in forever, and a little bit of swimming training, which definitely paid off,” Webster said.
She survived the swim, where she was the 38th athlete out of the water for the 1,500 metre swim at Quarry Lake. From there, she recorded the 16th fastest time on the 22 km mountain bike (and fastest female time), and fourth fastest 10 km run time – her specialty – to finish the race in 2:53:10.
“I definitely wanted to hammer the bike a little bit, but realized if I hammer up those climbs, my legs would be toast for the run,” Webster said.
Heavy rain the night before kept the rocks and roots slick, which slowed down many of the competitors, however, Webster used that to her advantage.
“Because it was slippery, it gave me time to relax, knowing people wouldn’t fly by through the single track,” Webster said. “I found every time I got tense, I lost more time. The key is to relax.”
Webster’s expectations were low heading into the race. She posted a video online of her awkward transition practice the day before the race, but she was much better on race day.
A member of the Alberta World Cup Academy, Webster’s teammates came out to cheer her on. She plans to retire from skiing after the upcoming season and would like to squeeze a trip to the Xterra World Championships in Maui into her ski training.
“This is my last year of skiing and I want to use it as a transition year. I’m excited to get into new things,” Webster said.
Erica Bennett was the second-fastest woman (3:12:21), followed by Kristin Baker.
Signoretty was consistent throughout his race and found himself locked in a battle with Calgary’s Calvin Zaryski. The former competitive swimmer, top cyclist and track athlete was fifth out of the water, first on the bike and eighth on the run to take the race in 2:36:17, less than 30 seconds ahead of Zaryski. At 24, he’s half Zaryski’s age
“I knew he was there. It was a matter of just how much of a gap I could make on the bike, and hold him off on the run,” Signoretty said.
Jeff Krar finished third overall with a time of 2:38:05.
In the sprint distance, Menno Arendz won the race in 1:28:48, ahead of 13-year-old Tate Haugan and Bill Spackman. Sarah Robbins was the top female finisher, ahead of Nadia Van der Merwe and Patricia Tsang.
Canmore’s Heath McCroy won the men’s duathlon, which included a 3.5 km run, 22 km bike, followed by another 10 km run. He cramped up on his final leg, but powered through the finish line in 2:36:32.
“Any race Leighton Poidevin’s not in, I’m happy to jump in,” McCroy said at the finish, chiding his mountain bike partner.
“It was a great day. The rain made for an exciting ride, and the roots were super slick,” McCroy said.
Riding on half-bald tires on his 26er, he had no real trouble on the bike, but had to stop and stretch on the run.
“I think it may have been better to do the swim. The first run catches up with you on the second run.”
Nicki Haugan was the top female duathlon finisher, clocking in at 2:51:18.
The sold out event attracted 330 competitors and acted as a qualifier for world championships in Maui, Hawaii. Visit www.blitzevents.ca for full results.
