Caveman wins XTERRA Grabouw.  2012 is looking good so far. 4 races, 4 victories. (some small and some lucky but a win is a win)

The biggest XTERRA in the world! 2000+ participants. Had to be held over 2 days (Lite and Full distances) to fit everyone in! Testament to great organization, sponsorship and media coverage but also South African’s love for adventure, nature and suffering…

Believe it or not, Caveman 1st individual out the swim. Must be that hectic swim training-click for blog.

Stunning bike course. Other than the all rocks and single track, I really like the Fynbos here. (Indigenous Western Cape vegetation) Checked it out on the pre rides as, there are more rocks and sand here than on the back of the moon.

Long, hard bike and run courses, so I loaded up on fluids and carbs- extra bottle with Clif Electrolyte behind seat and 4 Clif Shots taped to frame.

The night before the race we talked strategy and I asked my coach Ian Rodger: “What are the repercussions of taking too many carbs during the race?” His answer sums up his witty sense of humour: “Winning?”

JB, our own Specialized South Africa videographer shot footage from the chopper. JB also edited the GoPro footage of this bike course in a previous blog. Fanus Oosthuizen from Oakpics.com shot this and most others from his Honda CRF 230. (adorned like a Xmas tree with photography stuff and doodads- and much to my worry- sometimes my wife dangling and bouncing precariously on the back)

Looi hom Fanus!

I had a 2 minute lead on Dan Hugo going into the final single track, but he chafed the sidewall on his rear tire and lost air and time the last few minutes. Too many rocks and ugly high speed sections to safely ride light weight Sworks tyres. A lesson learned before methinks.

The 1st split I got on the run was “4 minutes to Phitzenmeier”, so I largely lost interest in speed and pain and saved it for another day. (like tomorrow (4 days after XTERRA)- SA TT Champs- check next blog…)

I ran with frozen BEX Runners in my hands to manage the dry heat.

Behind me there was a mad scramble for the podium with Stuart Marais blitzing the run for 2nd, Dan in 3rd and Nico Pfitzenmeier just seconds behind. IM legend, whom I have raced since 1989- Raynard Tissink finished a solid 5th.

The best part of finishing!

The great news - Doping Control was there to test the top 3 men and women and the 1st Juniors. The bad new- for once, instead of the proud stream I usually celebrate with within 5 min of checking in, I produced a few puffs of dust… You need to give at least 90ml. I gave a paltry 30ml. So I started to drink water. 3 Liters of it. Thats 3/4 Gallon. I waited and waited and eventually feeling like the dam was about to burst, another disappointing 30ml- at this stage every drop counts. More endless documentation, checking of numbers, signing, stating supplements and asthma medication. You’re not allowed to leave your “sample” unattended, so you carry it around (see through cup) and miss all the fun outside. No chatting with friends & fans. Wave hi and bye to my inlaws through the window. Haven’t had a single carbohydrate since 6km on the run. Bo n k   i    n       g  . .  .     ..     .

Water was all they had. (You’re not allowed to eat or drink anything other than the sealed bottles they give you)

After 2 hours, felt like 4, just in time for prize giving, the dam did burst, my cuppeth overfleweth and so it did on the entire drive home.

A pic from 10 days ago, checking out SA TT course in Nelspruit aboard below mentioned “funny, uncomfortable road bicycle with dangerous wheels.” In fact, its my Specialized S works SHIV TT - UCI legal and all. Finally quite comfortable and able to deliver decent Watts.

Since January- 7 weeks, 4 races, 4 wins.

Time to really turn the screws: 1 week, 3 races, 3 disciplines. (technically 5)

Race 1, Feb 26: Sunday: XTERRA Grabouw. 1st. See previous blog

Monday: Fly to Jozie, drive 4hrs to parents farm near Lydenburg. Ride TT bike on trainer to flush junk out of legs. Visit folks and take this mundane pic of sunset from stoep:

Roodewalshoek farm- view from stoep.

Tuesday: On the farm. Drive tractor and ride trainer. Try to flush junk out of legs. Downhill running is a beech. Roll on foam roller. Francois Retief, ek mis jou.

Wednesday. Today: Spend half the day blogging. Quads still sore. Trying Colostrum for recovery. Sounds like Caveman food. Would love to take the KTMs for a spin, but manage to leave them alone- may get a little sore. Or even a lot…

Thursday 1 March: SA TT Champs Nelspruit. (Explanation: 40km Time Trail South African Champs. Time Trail, also known as “the race of truth, a done on a funny, uncomfortable road bicycle with dangerous wheels. Its contested over 40km, one rider by himself, against the clock. The fastest time wins. This is the most painful thing you can do by yourself to yourself.

Havent looked at the start list, but the man to beat is Radio Shack rider Daryl Impey. Last year I had a disappointing ride at 395W and finished 4th at SA TT Champs- 1 minute behind Daryl, but only 2 seconds behind 2nd place. This course is really hilly, hot and humid, but for a change I’ve spent a fair amount of time on the TT bike. Excited.

Thursday pm fly Nelspruit to Cape Town. SEE MY WIFE AGAIN! Our 1st time apart. Its not going to happen again anytime soon! How soon is “never”?

Friday: Breakfast in bed. Spin MTB to try flush junk out of legs. Try borrow a dirt bike and check out the bike course for:

Sunday 4 March: Argus MTB Boschendal 65km. 2 years ago I stunned everyone by racing this one on a 29er. Aluminium Specialized Epic. The top tube had a sticker “Test Bike. Size XL” I still ride this early prototype bike on the farm. I “scorched” the field as the blog says. But this year there will be Christoph Sauser, Burry Stander, Dan Hugo and more- all on 29ers. Wonder how “scorched” my legs will be?

Liezel and I got engaged on one of the (smaller) house boats in the

bay. How can you blame me?! Such a romantic place. OK for triathlons

too.

Click for more…

Taking a stab at road tris on my UCI legal Specialized SHIV.

(Prison term for “home made knife”) Didnt have a great ride- still

fiddling with the saddle height. Of course, EVERYONE has an opinion, so

I’m only posting a head on pic…

This is one of the most scenic run courses I have ever done.  It’s about 90% off road and about 80% beach- so pretty slow going

with a short tar strip to smoke the tyres.

I won this race in 2010 as well, wrote a cute story but never got to the race report.

James Cunnama (2nd) is back after ITB surgery in November and getting ready for a big 70.3 season in the overseas.

Wild trophies! (Pun intended) Caveman 1st, James Cunnama 2nd, and Stuart Marais -

controversial 3rd. Stuart was leading by about 40″ on the run, but took

a wrong turn and was demoted to 3rd… Much more to come from this

talented Stellenbosch athlete.

Check out my Movecount.com profile of my heart rate (and speed on the run) recorded on my Suunto Quest.

One of the most scenic (and toughest) run courses…

Kids race…

The Cavefamily styling it

Inspiring photo opportunities

Race HQ and village

a romantic sunset and Savanna stroll with Liezel to the bird watching hide

Room with a view…

The TV crew also got some cool shots. Will keep you posted on the Super Sport viewing times…

Thanks a lot for Paul Ingpen and his crew for a fun weekend. Also

title sponsor Aca Joe, and some personal favourites: Specialized, Oakley

and  Stuffitts…

Caveman wins XTERRA Buffelspoort 2012 despite a broken zipper.

Stoked to kick the season off with a win. The Festive Season on the farm is over, so is the twice weekly splash in the dam, but the never ending honeymoon is full steam ahead.

Even though its the start of the season, I’m happy with a solid performance - set up by a reasonable swim. I’m busy fixing my swim stroke (again) and just started real THRICE weekly swim training- tailor made by Mikael Mendonca.

The bike leg was quite eventful early on- about 10 minutes in I was pumping it, and there was no one in the rear view mirror. I then came upon a closed gate as the road forked. The arrow pointed towards the gate, but in my disbelief I went the other way. It was a 6ft game fence with bladed wire rolls on top. How can the route go there?! But I knew it saw the right way, and turned around, opened the gate, just as the 2nd guy and Dan rolled up. 5 Min down the road there was another closed gate- this one had a lock on it. I got off the bike and started to look for a place to throw my bike over. Was still pondering the consequences of climbing a bladed wire fence in white Lycra. (and how 500 other guys in Lycra would fare) I took a last look at the lock- the shackle was not clicked in. A loud “BLIKSEM” helped it open quicker - a minute gone - I hopped on, just in time to have Dan and Theo velcro onto my wheel. Ah, a pretty swim wasted. I had to rebuild a new lead, and got off with a 2 min 30 gap.

My bike training has been pretty solid as we’re getting ready for SA Time Trail Champs. (last week my coach discovered the event is March 1 and not next week!) This time I have been spending more time testing and getting comfortable on my UCI legal Specialized SHIV - we’re up quite a few watts from last year, but I bet so is everyone else…

The run course was really really tough, (I ran 53min for the 12km) - it has 3 huge climbs per lap and equally steep downhills. It was hot, and felt slow, but it turned out everyone was slow. Even Stuart “Flying Feet” Marais battled on the run. Hats off to the Warriors battled on till way past lunch time.  I’ve been doing a lot of Biomechanical correction work with my physio in Stellenbosch  Christoff Smit, and I’m looking forward to increased mileage and a more rounded game.

Top 10 Pro Male results:

My new not-so-secret weapon

Even checking the bike course to make sure the bridges are Caveman proof…

I quote from the XTERRA race report:

STOLTZ AND VAN HUYSSTEEN SECURE ANOTHER XTERRA BUFFELSPOORT VICTORY

Reigning individual men’s and women’s champions, Conrad Stoltz and Carla Van Huyssteen expected nothing less than a battle when they returned to Buffelspoort Dam on Saturday, 28 January 2012 to defend their titles at the grueling TOTALSPORTS XTERRA Buffelspoort Full presented by REHIDRAT® SPORT. Although competition was tough, both Stoltz and Van Huyssteen proved to be unstoppable on the day, railroading to victory in a finishing time of 02hours20minutes08seconds and 02hours52minutes55seconds respectively.

According to Stoltz, the 2012 XTERRA Buffelspoort was a fun season opener. “The event was really scenic with a great atmosphere. I had a good swim and made a gap on the mountain bike discipline right away. I really enjoyed this leg as it featured a bit of everything. The run was tough with some big hills, this combined with the heat and humidity on the day made it quite a challenge. I take my hat off to all XTERRA warriors who spent up to 5 hours out there. I dont think anyone had an "easy time" out there. I am really happy to start the season off on a good foot and am looking forward to XTERRA Grabouw. I am thankful to have my wife, Liezel support and help me on every level. I’m usually a little late for my races, but this morning I was on time and even had warm breakfast in bed! I could relax and take it easy before the start all thanks to her. Married life really is better than what I imagined possible, I'll never leave home without my wife!” says Stoltz. Dan Hugo came in second, while Stuart Marais finished third.]

Carla van Huyssteen had to wrestle free from her torn wetsuit in the middle of the lake, (it started parachuting wildly) but stayed calm and strong. Good luck

with the European XTERRAs this year!

I rolled my beloved Specialized Sworks Epic 29er with fast Renegade Control tires on this undulating, sandy, rocky and lumpy course. Raced with GoPro camera, which will hopefully provide some footage for the XTERRA TV shows.

In order to get the Caveman some real splits, Liezel even braved the back seat of Fanus Oosthuizen’s* very unique dirt bike - with real bells and whistles!! - the price to pay was shooting B-roll with the fish eye lens at 60km/hr through the veld. Thanks Fanus!

*Official Oakpics photograher and Roof of Africa hopeful.

Russell White - aged 55 - dirt bike legend and coach - also triathlon ace (he taught me my 1st Motocross Start right after the 2000 Olympics - and rolled with laughter when I flipped the bike). He aced the Lite race by such a margin and speed, the camera man wanted to know if it was the leader of the Lite race, or a pro warming up for the full. I’m with you Russ - age is but a number…

The bike transition was PACKED.  A lot of new people to the sport: The story of the day though was the record field of 1500 athletes combined in both events. Wow! It is so cool to see how our sport has grown - a testament of the importance of TV, good, fun races and especially the way Stillwatersports has managed the sport and the brand the past 8 years. Looking forward to racing more XTERRAs in more places soon.

Like I said, PACKED:  Lite race start - there is barely space for water in there!

Lite swim finish… at least now you can see some water in spaces

Getting a tweet from Lance Armstrong on race morning is always nice… thanks Lance!  Hope to see you at the XTERRA SA Championships in Grabouw end of February…

Looking at my wife… I’ll have to work on my 6-pack a bit harder… Thanks to Oakley who pimped us earlier this week. I raced with the “Radar” with XL lenses and Liezel is rolling the “Immerse”

Did I mention the hills on this nasty 2×6km “run”? (I also sauntered them on lap 2)

Did I mention the heat? These are the more serious athletes cooling down. I took a similar little dip here and vowed to never go to a race without my Bex Runner cooling devices again - no matter what the weatherman says…

Some had cooling strategies of their own…

Great to see XTERRA family from all over. Got to hang with the Namibians quite a bit. What a fun group of people. Patrick, (de Goede) we missed you this time, thanks for the biltong, and God bless…

Traveling by rental car, my wife, my bike and I miss our Thule bike racks and Kelfords Ford Fiesta TERRIBLY.

We’re currently on the farm visiting my parents. We recently heard my dad’s cancer is terminal. He is not getting further treatment. He walks most mornings, I hobbled along on sore legs. Happy to share a mile and a story. If people ask him how he is he’ll say: “I’m dying, but otherwise I’m fine thank you.”

Specialized Trivent TERRA. Finally!

They are here!* Now you too can wear the Caveman’s custom XTERRA

specific shoe. Over the past 5 years or so, I have been lucky enough to

have Specialized shoe engineer John Figueiredo build me custom shoes for

XTERRA use. Basically we needed a Trivent triathlon shoe for quick

transitions, but married with a mountain bike sole for those hike a bike

sections and also strutting around coffee shops without falling on your

backside.

* If I could have $5 from every person who asked me “When will the shoe be production?” Now is your chance to geddum.

Here are a few specific design changes we made, aside from the

original S works shoes’ BG features  and FACT carbon midsole with 11.0

Stiffness Index:

- Lengthened velcro strap for easier foot entry on the fly

- Thin, super breathable mesh upper. Doesnt get too heavy when wet, cool in hot climates, lets water through. (See ITU Cross Tri Worlds report)

- Thin neoprene liner in heel cup and strap for comfortable sock less

wear. Also its thin and doesnt absorb water or sweat. No extra weight

or smells…

- Huge heel tab for numb dumb fingers after those cold swims.

- The “piece de resistance”: the Easy arch fixing point for flying

starts: See pic below. Its basically a little plastic nub on the inside

of the heel/arch area. The production nub may look a little different,

(more sturdy) because mine is an early prototype:

How the thing works: You attach your thin elastic rubber band to the

fixing point and on your Specialized Brain adjuster knob (sorry non

Specialized riders!) in order to keep your shoes horizontal while

sprinting out of T1. With a bit of T1 practice, you’ll be pedaling with

your feet in your shoes within 5 meters.

Note the huge entry hole- enough to swallow a Caveman foot without the usual squeezing or even aiming…

The replaceable green insole is the Specialized BG+++ foot bed for

extra high arches. The stock insole may be the BG+ for “normal feet”,

but the front half of the stock Trivent insole is completely riddled

with big holes for ventilation and drainage.

Read here about my Specialized Trivent TERRA shoes in action at ITU Cross Tri Worlds 2011.

"Soul riding” is what makes the Caveman tick. It is what drew me to triathlon and later XTERRA. It usually consists of fun technical riding in scenic surrounds, and when Ian’s training programme says something like: “easy 1h30 doodle on MTB with 10×20″ sprints” This is “winter” on the South African south coast- stunningly beautiful, nice temps and great whale watching.

Check out Caveman's full story with accompanying images at his blog.

Caveman at Urban Rage 2010

After fighting the 9hr time change and jet lag that comes with it, I

think I’m ready for XTERRA Las Vegas, the USA Season opener. The form is

good, I had great legs and won the Vigne a Vigne MTB race in South

Africa on sunday, (despite a puncture and a bit of a tumble) but the

question is, is 5 days enough time for acclimatization?

I was stunned by the number of 29ers on the course today. The kiddie

wheeled bikes make up maybe 25% of the people pre riding today. I’d like

to think I put the 29er ball on the roll (I raced on a Stumpy 29er for

the first time 4 years ago). Of course the Specialized 29ers are head

and shoulders above the rest- you just cant argue with the level of

engineering that went into the Epic. Speaking of which, I ordered a set

of race wheels and was going to race on my Maui Swork Epic, but when

Fedex came, the box looked a bit big, and contained an brand spanking

new Sworks 29er, All built up with my favourite parts, the right tires,

so sweet! Thanks to Garth and the crew at Specialized HQ.

How sweet are these Avia AVI STOLTZ’s?! They look wickedly fast - even in the box.

A sneek peak at the Specialized TERRA shoe we’ve been working on for

the past few years. Rumour is, they’ll be on the shelves later this

summer…

Did a photo session with the wildly talented Nils Nilsen:

And lastly, I’ve had some requests for autographs on funny things and funny places, but this is my first top tube autograph…

This is what someone who wants a CS autograph on his top tube looks like…

There a lot of new pros on the block this year. Will have to watch the rearview mirror. Or maybe out the windscreen!

Borrowed from www.xterraplanet.com:

OLD SCHOOL vs. NEW SCHOOL IN VEGAS

[Two worlds collide Sunday at the XTERRA U.S. Pro Series season opener at the West Championship in Lake Las Vegas, Nevada.

The wisdom of experience is on one side; and youthful exuberance on the other.

Representing the old school; Stoltz, Middaugh, Wealing, Lebrun,

Evans, Waite, Rakita, Kelsay, Glavin, Thijs, Henestrosa, Zoller, and

Smith – 13 pros with nearly 100 years of collective XTERRA off-road tri

experience.

On the flip side; Ganter, Jackson, Madsen, Michalak, Mielke,

Stehula, Valentine, and Wirth– eight young guns with a grand total of

eight races under their belts as XTERRA professionals.

The infusion of young and new talent is not only a great sign for

the sport, but a fist-pumping tribute to the master’s who have made

getting dirty and suffering look so darn compelling.

“I want to win XTERRA Worlds in the next five years and go after

my hero Conrad’s record for XTERRA Worlds wins,” wrote Karsten Madsen, a

19-year-old from Ontario, Canada, in his racer bio form.

Today, as KVVU Fox 5 News interviewed Conrad “the Caveman” Stoltz

in the lobby of the Aston MonteLago Resort, Madsen stood nearby fresh

off an eight-hour drive from his training grounds in Arizona with all

the excitement of a kid entering the Magic Kingdom.

In stark contrast, Stoltz was calm, collected, the consummate

professional, no doubt methodically preparing to win his record-breaking

38th career championship on Sunday.

The diversity creates excitement and the battle for the top seven

spots, for who gets paid and who does not, will be hotly contested. 

The “old-timers” will have to earn it, especially with so many

up-and-comers looking to prove their worth.

Three on the men’s start list are making their pro debuts –

Michalak, Mielke, and Valentine – but aren’t new to XTERRA.  Two-time

XTERRA USA amateur champ Jason Michalak would’ve won prize money in 2010

had he been a pro, Patrick Valentine will likely be the first racer out

of the water, and Mielke – a trail running madman– had never even done a

triathlon at this time last year.  The future is bright for those

three.

You’ve also got Chris Stehula, who won the Collegiate National

Triathlon Championship last year, and his Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

teammate Chris Jackson who is entering his first year as a pro.

The experienced newbie is Adam Wirth from Boise, Idaho, who

accounts for half of the newcomers eight pro races mentioned above. 

Wirth has shadowed friend and former XTERRA World Champ Nico Lebrun

across America competing in XTERRA's, and finished as high as 5th at

XTERRA Canada last year.

Indeed, there’s a lot of new talent mixed in with the proven

XTERRA pros here in the desert, but with all the hope and promise the

fresh faces bring they’ll still have to run like Josiah Middaugh, bike

like Brian Smith, and swim like Seth Wealing to have a shot.

It’ll be a fun Sunday on the XTERRA Planet to see just how it all shakes out.]

I’m a little behind with the blogging, so I’m trying to quickly squeeze a few topics into one blog.

The Good:

Long, easy mountain bike rides on the Highveld. Drinking water straight from the spring. (Fountain)

You may have to fight a frog, a tadpole and a cow pat for the freshest water,

but as long as you lock the gate, no one gets hurt…

The Bad:

Getting ready for the South African Time Trail Champs on Feb 3. Lots

of painful stuff happening in 1 place. Putting some miles on the Elite PowerMag trainer and Powercranks at 1400m altitude- probably the 3 most painful things you can do at one time.

I poured concrete flooring all day so had to train at night. Usually I dont need an excuse to train at night…

No real electricity here- so no cooling fans. But afterward I did a few laps in the sweat puddle to cool down…

See those little spikes in yellow? Each spike feels like putting your hand in the fire.

Anxiously awaiting a fast, flat bike with low bars that pedals itself. Like Fabian’s.

For once Fedex stuffed it up. How many countries does a bike have to

visit before hitting Africa? And what did it do in Memphis Tennessee for

5 days? (Visit Elvis?) I’ve been to Tennessee, you can see it all in 1

day.

The Ugly.

Did an 8hr Enduro ride with my mate Wayne. He is training for next years Roof of Africa already…

One of the best parts was going up this stream for about 2km. Hard work!

Was totally worked. Stopped counting the crashes after about 5.

Was A LOT of fun.

Somehow the coach is not impressed… What?! Skills training!

Wayne halfway into the House of Pain

Too late to worry about a few scratches.

No pedaling required.

The “main road.”

Ok ok, Playtime is over. The thing is winterized and locked away.

Time to chew bubblegum and kick ass

Thanks to my Specialized team mate, Burry Stander I was able to pull the hare out of the hat and win the 94.7 MTB race.

It was only a 1h42 race (50km), so as per Ian’s recommendation I hooked it right from the gun. The pack strung out right away and on the first high speed bumpy downhill, I let the big 29er wheels and the plush suspension on my Specialized Epic 29er do the talking. Of course, the few extra off season kilos (or “pudding bum”) helped with the momentum and I soon had a little gap. Defending champ and all round ace Burry Stander is just behind me and ready to rumble when my tire started spewing sealant. (we went through a building site- I must have picked up a piece of metal or glass) The true team mate, and gent, Burry threw me his tire plug and CO2, (I know, I was badly prepared) and I was lucky to not loose too much time. I set off at TT pace and was surprised to be back in 2nd after a few kms. Catching Burry took ages and lots of hard work. And once on his wheel I needed some time to lick my wounds and try calm crampy quads.

Burry rode his super light XC race set up: An ultra light 8.2kg Specialized Hard Tail 29er with a single chain ring in the front. With about 20 min to go we crested a long drag over super bumpy grassy surface. I looked at his bike set up again and knew the upcoming down hill was my only real chance. I cant climb with Burry, I certainly cant sprint with Burry and I suspect I cant ride technical single track with Burry, so I knew I had to try take him on the high speed bumpy stuff- where my superior power, (disguised as 80kg + body weight) full suspension and 2×10 XX gearing should give me the edge.

I felt bad attacking my team mate after he gave me his only spares, but hell, the race wasnt going to win itself…

I put it in the Big Dog (40×11 on a 29er) and went with guns blazing. At the bottom of the hill- just before I blew a gasket- I snuck a peek and was ecstatic to see him bouncing over the lumps in the distance.

The last 3 climbs were murder, but its amazing how magically pain disappears when you see the finish tape…

This was a sweet win, and hopefully this proves that XTERRA athletes can ride too, and I didnt get those rainbow stripes from a Lucky Packet…

Yet again, my lovely Specialized 29er Epic was the key to success. Pic by Erik Vermeulen

Quote of the day: “I am the least pathetic!” See previous blog here.

I also won the 2010 Argus MTB race on a 29er in April

Will download Suunto HR file on Movescount.com soon

The “professors” at XTERRA University the day before the race. XTU is a 90 min session where a few pros talk about the Art of Xterra, the course, equipment, nutrition and take questions from the audience. Lesley Paterson, Josiah Middaugh and the other guy. Not sure what I was talking about here. (Now that I have 29er wheels, I want tires THIS wide?” Maybe we can have a byline contest?

The last few days before the race was very demanding in terms of press, appearances and meeting and greeting. Not much time for relaxing or yourself. I’m far from famous, but I can just imagine what someone like Lance Armstrong has to deal with on top of trying to win races.

XTERRA.TV interview time. Here is where you are supposed to talk smack/say something profound and recite lines like:”I am xterra”. Then: “I AM xterra” And of course “i am XTERRA.” I’m not the typical back to front baseball cap kind of guy, but the TV crew wont allow sunglasses or shadows in your face. I fact, they fry your eyes and burn even more wrinkles by throwing more sunlight into your face with the silver UFO. I’m not a fan of acting and reciting lines- (as can be seen here) but the XTERRA TV crew is a great bunch, the shows always come out really well (despite the dodgey footage and forgotten lines I dish up) and of course TV is what drives participation and sponsorship.

Specialized “Meet the Pros” time at Binghams Cyclery- the Ogden Specialized dealer. Here Melanie is signing posters and John Harrington and I talked tires and suspension till the cows came home.

Taylor Seavey doing his XTERRA.TV interview. He calls “Amber and Conrad” his “coaches”, but actually Amber does the hard work and I just mentor. (Teaching technical skills, equipment, pacing and mental stuff- which Taylor is really good at- in fact, I learn from him…) Its been great watching him progress and getting a glimpse into this character. I’m slowly learning sign language, but we mostly communicate through his parents Siri And Darian. What an amazing family. Think “live in a self made yurt in Alaska” and “traveling and racing out of an RV for the summer.” Check out his great race report here.

The crew would ask the question to his mom, (Siri, in white tshirt) who would sign to him, Taylor would sign his answer and his mom would translate.

Taylor’s motivational bike decal. He rides a Niner 29er

Speaking of decals, I just had to snap this sticker on the back of a huge, lifted truck…

Finally, race day:

I stole this pic from Taylor Seavey’s site. Taylor is in the orange cap, ready to jump on my wave (Blue cap) when the gun goes…

Photo by Genespix

Not much down hilling on this course, so I had to make every bit of altitude loss count. Fortunately with the Brain suspension on my Specialized Epic 29er, I could stay off the brakes and in a lot of places, put some watts into the ground.

Nice fall colours. Photo my GenesPix

Pic by Eric Wynn

That “Koos Kakebeen” jaw, is me whistling for a 21k runner to get the hell offa the trail. Already bleeding and havent even hit the downhill yet.

When I designed the Avia AVI Stoltz shoe, I had this rocky run course in mind- perfect shoe for this run.

Both run pix by Genespix

My next project is making a good racing visor. I bought a few (in case I screw up) and took a sharp knife and scissors to them. Any company interested in helping make a quality Caveman Racing visor, lemme know. I already have the plan, the knife & the scissors…

As far as the race- my form surprised even me- I had a 5min20 lead off the “anti Conrad” uphill bike, and won by 5min despite very little run training. Obviously my coach, Ian Rodger is great at crisis management. This week he has been coaching me (and managing crisis’s) for a full year. Ian, NEXT year I’ll try cut back on crisis and it’ll be plain sailing- Thanks for the hard work!

TOP 15 PRO MEN

Pl Name Age Hometown Time Pts Purse

1 Conrad Stoltz 36 Stellenbosch, South Africa 2:24:03 100 $2,500

2 Nicolas Lebrun 37 Digne, France 2:29:02 90 $2,000

3 Josiah Middaugh 31 Vail, Colorado 2:29:38 82 $1,500

4 Dan Hugo 25 Stellenbosch, South Africa 2:29:44 75 $1,200

5 Felix Schumann 28 Tuebingen, Germany 2:30:03 69 $900

6 Seth Wealing 31 Boulder, Colorado 2:32:17 63 $700

7 Branden Rakita 30 Manitou Springs, Colorado 2:36:41 58 $500

8 Cody Waite 31 Lakewood, Colorado 2:37:29 53 $350

9 Will Kelsay 28 Boulder, Colorado 2:37:40 49 $200

10 Matt Lieto 32 Bend, Oregon 2:40:47 45 $150

Also: Adam Wirth (41), Scott Gall (37), Craig Evans (34), Brad Zoller (31), Justin Hurd (28)

Fastest Swim: Seth Wealing/Branden Rakita (20:44)

Fastest Bike: Conrad Stoltz (1:25:11)

Fastest Run: Scott Gall (35:13)

After a huge breakfast and a look a the papers with the Letendre family, my Ogden home stay of 5 years,

we hit the 8hr drive home. We have 2 days to paint the house and there is lots of paint scraping to do…

With a radar detector, 4×4 decal (fake), and Wal Mart compression socks, we blitz by the Bonnyville Speedway salt flats.

Conrad Stoltz -my 1st Cyclo Cross experience. On a mountain bike. Ok, a Specialized Epic 29er, but still a mountain bike.

If you were expecting the XTERRA USA write up, its coming. Actually, this is the 1st of a 3 part series of the 10 days leading up into XTERRA Nationals, explaining my interesting preparation, but mostly just mouthing about how amazing my 29er Epic is- which I did all 3 races on.

When I rode my 1st 29er it was love at first sight. I was so impressed with its rock riding ability I put this bad video on youtube in 2008 and it has over 36 000 views already. Wish I was smart enough to put some voice or music over it.

Then I was all fired up for 29ers, I wanted to race them. 1st time I did was at XTERRA South Africa in 2008.

Then I got onto to those poor MTB engineers at Specialized, I started nagging at them for a race 29er for over 4 years, and I bet when they see me coming they quickly duck behind a planter or into the ladies toilet. But finally the bike came, and frankly, it blew the doors offa my expectations and Specialized is yet again, THE leader in the industry.

Back to the story:

I decided to jump into the 3rd leg of the much lauded Thrilla CX Series in Bend, OR. Bend is a bike crazy town- half the community watches these midweek ‘cross (that the cool way of saying it) races and the other half races. And I leanrt that a true ‘cross fan can be a scary thing….

I felt like a bit of a doofus on the start line with my mountain bike with balloon tires, Command Post and water bottle. Suspected I’d be booted into touch, seeing that I have only once ran a barrier before and ended up in ER…. (another sad eggbeater pedal story) Thus I lined up 2nd row- behind Adam Craig sporting a proto Di 2 mech and carbon sew ups on a “$10 000 ‘cross bike”. I was eyed suspiciously, like an escaped leper. Then Ryan Trebon yelled “Hi Conrad” from the front and I felt better.

We took off, and once I found my pedal, I made up places with a mix of “power through the bad line, brake late and cut in last minute” moves. I hung with the 1st group. Trebone took off. I just had to show off my mad skills by losing my front wheel in a loose corner, and with my one foot out moto style, did a wild “tank slapper” move which involved my inner thigh getting burned by the front wheel?! I saved it, (not sure how) but 80% of the field saw it and I thought: “Man, I ruined it for XTERRA athletes world wide”

I also realized bunny hopping the fences (the ones in the pic above) in practice is one thing, but doing it in a race is something completely different. There is a reason no one else does it. After a few laps I got the hang of this cross thing and attacked the pack of 6. Those 1.95 Renegade roll like crazy. (although they dont corner like crazy in loose gravel- so pick your battles)

Soon I caught up to Ryan Trebon, whom I know as (the other tall guy) from mountain biking, but someone told me he is actually the ace at ‘cross. Like National champion and stuff. I thought that way my Specialized team mate Todd Wells. Anyway, the guy is shit hot, 2 inches taller than me and has less fat than a can of Diet Coke . I was surprised how easy it was to keep up with him. In fact I went around and started putting more wood on the fire in front. Then we hit this really steep hill, you have to run every lap (a lap is about 8min and the race is 45min plus 1 lap) I run up this powdery wall, baby steps, huffing and puffing, carrying the bike, good thing I’m a triathlete, I can run. Then Ryan comes FLYING past me, chuckling at me for not “shouldering my bike.” (always thought “shouldering” is an illegal rugby move) When I got to the top Ryan was gone. Even the dust has settled. He probably made 20 seconds on a 30 second run. Thats when I understood why he went so “easy” back there. I got 2nd by 11 seconds, but somehow I think he just played with me…

Thrilla Cyclocross results - Men A

1 Ryan Trebon 51:35

2 Conrad Stoltz 51:46

3 Chris Sheppard 52:00

4 Cody Peterson 52:31

5 Brennan Wodtli 52:34

6 Eric Martin 52:55

7 Adam Craig 53:51

8 Tim Jones 54:05

9 Brig Brandt 54:36

10 Ben Thompson 54:44

Is it Beer O clock yet?

Checking race time and heart rate on my Suunto t6. Been training for a 2h30 event- cant hang out above 160 for too long.

“Somewhat secret” because I borrowed (and modified) the article from my “All” (previous blog posts) page.

• XTERRA is a strong mans race. An endurance event. Don’t let the seemingly short distances fool you. Forget about 400 repeats on the track and all-out sprints on the trainer. Think sustained power evenly delivered over 2.5 hours or more. Getting from A to B as fast as possible is all about even pacing. In this game, a big aerobic engine and a large strength component will take you places. The good news is, both of these components can be built. The bad news is it takes a lot of hard work!

• Its all about The Base: The most important bike workout during base training is a weekly long ride in the mountains. I usually do 3 rides* a week of 3 to 5hrs at 50-75% of max HR. The key is to try and climb as many vertical feet per hour as possible. For me 1400ft per hour is good going. (That includes the down hills and flats) When climbing I focus on a high cadence, (at least 90rpm) smooth power delivery, and keeping a good, relaxed posture.

* Sorry, can’t tell you about the other rides, otherwise it wouldn’t be “The Caveman’s semi-secret XTERRA tips”.

• Running is much the same, two or three months with a weekly long, easy run of about 1h30 and 2 other aerobic runs should set you up with nice base. Again, the braver I feel the more hills I would tackle, mostly keeping my hear rate below 75%. These long, “easy” sessions are key to a long, successful season. Believe me, if you do them consistently and combine it with swimming and cycling, “easy” becomes a relative term!

• Once you have a good base, you may want to whip yourself into shape with some specialized XTERRA training. Note the pun, as this little gem was handed down from Legend to Caveman. Read: Ned Overend to yours truly.

-Find a climb about 10 minutes long. It should be tough, loose and technical. After a good warm up, do the first climb at about 5-10 beats below threshold (AT). Go straight down, hit no2 at race pace (AT), and yes, you guessed it, no3 you grab by the neck and rip its legs off. Oh yes, downhill like you would in a race- you need to get used to seeing the trail through the black spots and shooting stars, and intimately embrace the feeling of starting the next climb with a pair of shocked and jarred legs, filled to the brim with lactic acid.

• As for whipping the running into shape, I believe hill repeats is the best way to build strength and incorporate quality. Its a long, tough workout, but I learnt to love it and now know its probably my most important workout of the week. Its hard to part with this gem…

Warm up and find a nice hill. Dirt or grass is good. Dirt or grass in the shade is best.

Run 6×2minute hills at AT, jog down.

Run 5minutes at AT on the flat

Run 6×1minute hills at AT, jog down

Run 5minutes at AT on the flat

Limp home.

Despite the scant looks of it, this run will be 1h20 or more, so bring our A game.

• Fat burning. Everyone loves this topic, but this technique works for me. I learnt it racing in France in the 90s, somehow forgot about it (!?) and bumped into it again this year. (Hence all the veins) This works best during base phase, only do it once or twice a week, and not when you are feeling fragile. And definitely not before a big race. (or a big day at the office)

Step 1) Skip breakfast

Step 2) Drink a STRONG coffee. Pass on the sugar.

Step 3) Do a long, slow run. Or a long, hard run! (Welcome to drink as much water as you want)

Step 4) Upon completion of run, have some more coffee and try to delay breakfast for a while.

Step 5) Feast!

Expect some serious fatigue later in the day.

What this does is it depletes your body of glucose, which in turn forces you to burn fat more readily. Not only do you lose fat, (duh) but it also teaches your body to use fat as fuel, crucial during longer races. Apparently the feast that follows your run will accelerate your metabolism, which I can’t tell for sure, but it sure feels good!

Dont do this too often, and consult with your medical practitioner before attempting rigorous physical activity or this caffeine trick.*

*side effects may include dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea, and other medical issues.

Important technical skills:

1. Look far ahead. The faster you go, the further ahead you should look.

2. Look where you want to go. Know you are going there, and don’t doubt it for a second. Even just a glimpse at that tree on the side will steer you straight into it!

3. Brake early. Fast riders don’t brake in corners. They brake before the corner, let go of the brakes, just flow through the turn, and exit fast. It’s hard to get your mind around that one, but once you get the feel of it, dragging the brakes through a turn will feel as wrong as going to work in pajamas.

4. Easy does it. A smooth pedal stroke and steady balance is key to climbing the loose stuff. Choose your line before you start the climb, then commit. Move your weight to the nose of the saddle, pick a light gear and turn the pedals with loving care, the rear tire will love you for it and grip nicely.

5. Learn to un-weigh your wheels over obstacles. (And eventually bunny hopping) Example: You’re barreling down Tunnel Creek (XTERRA Tahoe) at close to 40mph. The trail is smooth, fast and straight. BUT, every 300yds there is a big water-bar diagonally across the road. If you just slam into that thing it will send you flying over the bars and into the trees. You have 2 choices: 1) slow down drastically and negotiate it in a civilized manner. Lose bags of time. 2) The right choice: Thrash that thing at max speed, jump right over it, and go win the race. How? Just before you actually hit the water bar, do a well timed bunny hop and fly clean over the hump. This technique applies to any smaller obstacle and is a sure fire way of making heaps of time. Also works well for floating over tire eating rocks at speed, jumping up curbs, finessing over muddy roots, hopping over fallen logs, clearing fallen riders etc. Bunny hopping is easy to learn: “load” the bike by pushing it into the ground and crouching with your body (while standing on the pedals). At just the right moment, release the load by quickly shifting your weight upwards (think “pounce”) and pull up on the bars and pedals. Timing is what its all about, so practice, practice, practice.

A few sayings I’ve accumulated:

- “Hesitation, devastation“. Essentially the same as “5,4,3,2,1!” at bungee jumping.

- “It isn’t a ride till there is blood”. Falling happens often and that’s ok. It is very rare to actually get hurt, usually it’s just a scrape or two and brownie points at the office. Relax. Don’t fear crashing.

- “Speed is your friend” Due to the gyroscopic forces of nature, a slow moving cyclist falls over more easily than a fast moving cyclist. But this saying can be used loosely in many situations. Be it the nonchalant way to explain how you just cleared the 5 foot drop, or maybe someone’s approach to the post race party

- “Low air, big gear, no fear.”

Important mechanical skills:

• You should be able to change a tire with your eyes closed and one hand tied behind your back. Non negotiable.

• You should be able to fix a broken chain. I broke a chain in Milwaukee 2005, fixed it with a Specialized multi tool and a SRAM Golden Link, and still won the race. It wasn’t easy, but a mechanical doesn’t have to mean “game over”.

• You should be able to replace a derailleur hanger. Rear derailleurs get eaten by hungry rear wheels, jumping sticks, and predatory rocks. Its easy replace and shouldn’t take more than 90 seconds.

• You should be able to set your brakes. Rubbing brakes happens from time to time. V brakes rub and disk brakes rub. They are both quick and easy to set. Look and learn.

• You should know what tire pressure you run with which tires on which courses. It sounds complicated and “for the pros”, but the right tire pressure and the right tire choice is probably the most important mechanical aspect of your bike. Get a floor pump with a gauge, and go experimenting.

Some rules of thumb about tires:

- The better your skills, the softer you can run your tires*. And yes, softer is faster 95% of the time. I run 28-30psi (2bar) on most courses. (23- 28 psi on the 29er) A softer tire grips getter, jumps and jutters less over loose stuff, gives a smoother ride, doesn’t get sidewall cuts as easily, and believe it or not- rolls faster over broken terrain. * If you get lots of pinch flats (by slamming into rocks or sidewalks) your skills are lacking. Either improve your bike handling and trail reading, or put more pressure in your tires.

- For most dry courses a 2 inch wide tire with many short knobs works well. (I like the Specialized Fast Trak LK)The muddier the course, the narrower the tire and taller and fewer the knobs. A narrower tire requires higher pressure to prevent snake bite flats.

- Tubeless is undoubtedly king.

- A new tire grips like crazy. If you cant afford a new set of tires before every big race, have a set of “racing tires” and a set of “training tires”.

• I bank heavily on good suspension. Setting your suspension is not all that easy, so if you’re not a mechanically minded person, have someone set it up for you and don’t fiddle. If you are curious to learn, ask someone about the basics, and go fiddle. You cant break it.

• You should be able to pack and unpack your bike from its travel box. Seems obvious, but I heard some funny stories. Go to your bike shop, (or local pro rider) let them show you how to pack your bike safely, then learn how to do it in the dark with one hand tied behind your back.

I always carry:

- A tube wrapped in thick material (funny things happen in a saddle bag)

- CO2 or a reliable pump. Unless you’re trying to win the race, the latter is always safer.

- A good multi tool. Apart from the obvious Allen keys, it should have a chain breaker

- A Golden Link. Enables you to repair a chain quickly. In theory, anyways.

- A spare derailleur hanger

A calm mind is key to fixing trail side problems quickly. Actually, a calm mind is key to most things, including winning races…

Keep it in the big blade

Conrad

Ned Overend won the Single Speed National title. (the big race, not the old man’s race) And he did it on a Specialized Rockhopper 29er! (mid range aluminium frame)

I took this pic at the Specialized 2011 bike launch in Keystone, CO. Not quite sure how he went up that mountain at that altitude with 1 gear?!? (I needed all 20 gears) Maybe that’s why they a call him “Deadly Nedly” or “The Lung.”

One of my favourite Ned quotes: “I only stretch when I’m injured”

Todd Wells took the Specialized 29er theme further and won US Nationals in Granby CO on the new S-works Epic 29er. WaytogoTodd!!! Follow Todd’s entertaining blog here.

Todd Wells rails a corner on his way to winning the “Stars and Bars” National Champ jersey on the new 29er Epic.

epic-29er

Yup, I brought the big dog. This is the perfect 29er course- fast, rocky, rooty and technical.

Specialized Epic 29er.

-Command Post telescopic seat post. (notice dropped seat height for the technical terrain)

-Specialized Fast Trak LK S Works 2.00 tires. 24psi front and 29 psi rear. This course has a super rocky high speed section with some water bar jumps, so I run more psi than I normally would.

-Roval carbon wheels- super stiff and light.

-LOOK Quartz Ti pedals

Blood Rock is famous here on the Oak Mountain, Alabama bike course. On race day, its lined with spectators.

A huge poster of Jamie Whitmore going down Blood Rock. We miss you Jamie…

Lots of log piles. Need to be on top of your bunny hopping to clear these at speed. Otherwise, brake early and just roll over them.

After running the last 3.3km (2mi) of the infamous run course (the hairy part- it took me 18min!) I thought I would take a refreshing dip in the lake. But alas, the water temp is 84F (29C), and it feels like you can boil an egg in the top 2 inches.

Here is a little riding tip for the weekend. If you’re an XTERRA male pro, dont waste your time here, its not important.

Cornering:

Like XTERRA Waco, this course has hundreds of turns. With the BUMP and Grind MTB race here last week, the trails are quite ridden out, which leaves the corners slippery at best.

If you look at the picture below, you’ll notice that the gravel gets ridden out and accumulates in the outside of the turn- where you would normally take the corner.

I would do anything not to touch that gravel with my front wheel. In fact, I wouldnt even touch it with Nico LeBrun’s front wheel!

The inside line seems inviting- nice and smooth, but you would have to slow down quite a bit to get around the corner, and there is a tree on the inside- which limits leaning. When I ribbed Greg Minnaar for a cornering tip, (I rode Sani2C with him in 08 and could not believe his cornering ability) he said: “Its all about the exit speed”

The 5 green leaves indicate the line I would take at speed. Great traction, a nice, banked surface and you get to stay off the brakes and rail the outside of the corner- where the old, wise men go…

Speaking of old, wise men, here is my home stay Casey and Andrea Fannin and their new kitten. Casey is many time XTERRA age group World Champion and IM. (Not sure if racing 14 IMs disqualifies you as a wise man?)

We miss you Amber…

Amber and I went for a warm up with Todd Wells, Burry Stander and Christoph Sauser along the ocean path in Monterey.

Short Track starts at 3.15. Its a short lap of off road riding- after 25min the bell rings which signals the last lap. This race is all about raw horse power and gallons of lactic acid. Not really an endurance Caveman game. I think the last time I had gallons of battery acid in my veins was…. um, actually the Specialized lunch time ride I did last Wednesday!

Susi and Burry are 29er virgins- today will be their 1st race on the big hoops. Burry’s Specialized 29er Hard Tail is 8.6kg (18.9lbs)

Last year Specialized made a great showing- Todd Wells won the Short Track and Christoph the XC. I was 8th in the XC and hope to blow the cobwebs out for the opening of an exciting season of MTB, XTERRA and 70.3 racing…

After 3 long months of hard work demolishing my house (while packing away some hard training) I spent a week on my parents farm to say good bye to them and Africa before hitting the US for some serious racing.

Because internet in Africa is slow, expensive and hard to get, this story (and a few to come) are only seeing the interweb now. Also, if you only have a week in paradise with your folks, sitting on the computer is like a prison sentence…

Here are some of the highlights:

My dad would join me on my recovery rides, and let me tell you, I was on the ropes most of the time! Quite something for a 66 year old “ballie” who beat colon cancer 3 years ago. As you can see, he also rides for Specialized Factory Team as he is the one with the REAL genes in the family. My friends calls him “Tarzan”.

My mom and I did some cool stuff too. She is has an acute sense of business, which I try my best to learn, but it somehow doesnt come as easy as carving single track… Finally we got good rains, and here, on our way to town, (Lydenburg) we stopped to take some pictures of the mist on the mountains and the pink Kapokboom… (Dont know the English name)

Of course I had to say good bye to my other girlfriend. (Amber accepts this wild red head into the 3 wife harem, but only just!) Actually, part of my justification is product testing- here I’m testing Oakley Goggles and the Specialized Deviant downhill helmet. As most of the riding I do is low speed, technical riding in hot, humid weather, I love the great ventilation and light weight of the Deviant.

Of course, there was that other, pedally part of training which also had to get done… My coach Ian gave me some big sessions in preparation for this weeks Sea Otter MTB Classic, so I feel much more prepared for the pace changes and hectic start of the Short Track than last year. This is my Africa bike of choice: Specialized Sworks Tricross Carbon.

For the South Africans who dont know what cyclocross is: Its mud, grassy fields, sleet rain, thousands of drunken Belgians… no wait, go Wiki it…

Why this is my fave Africa bike:

- It rides dirt like its smooth road. Thanks to the Zerts dampers built into the frame, a special carbon lay-up and that massive fork- it will eat bumps for hours.

- Mountain gearing. Our farm is in the mountains and with the cyclocross gearing, I can ride up passes as easy as I want- like when recovering from a 10 minute interval.

- Wide tires (which I ride at 50psi for even more comfort) with small knobblies for dirt roads or when that overladen minibus taxi pushes you off the road.

- Its amazingly light- I can not imagine how they make such a sturdy bike so light.

- Good strong V brakes- Like that time the baboons ran in front of me and I had to throw out the anchors to avoid catastrophe.

This day I did a 4 hr ride with 7x 10 minute repeats up a steep mountain. (too bad I dont have the Power Tap anymore…)

Since I’m back with Clif Bar (YAY!) and dont have any product yet, I trained on Caveman energy food: Dried peaches and compressed dates. That block of dates will give me about 6 hrs worth riding and it costs about 80 US cents.

Lastly, before leaving I had to tame the local leopard. No seriously, I was training after dark -like I often do (unintentionally)- this day. It was April 30 and this pic was taken at 10.08- I think I was still training at 8pm. The pic is taken by a game viewing camera we set up to study the wildlife on our farm. There are 3 resident leopards in our part of the valley and this the the male- Called Groot (Big) Gert after my dad. Despite their destruction to my dads herd of cattle (about 15 calves a year) we are happy to have this treasure in our midst.

Since I ate my helmet, (and embraced training technology when we started base training about a month ago.) I have been enjoying training with my Power Tap thoroughly. (Rent your Power Tap today from the folks at Saris/CycleOps, South Africa)

For Valentines’ Day, my coach Ian Rodger gave me 3 hrs at 300 Watts. So romantic. I rode to the top of Franschoek pass, and being new to trying to keep a constant power, I’ll tell you, trying to do 300W downhill through the road works in Pniel or down the main street of Franschoek with tourist drivers, speed bumps and couples on Valentines dates, gave a new meaning to “adrenaline”…

Also, going down the pass I tried to shape myself into a parachute, because the 53×11 was not enough. Fortunately those 28mm Specialized Armadillo tires at 60psi helped slow things down and smooth the road a bit.

I’m really excited about this new way of training, focusing on maintaining a specific wattage and cadence makes for serious concentration. I noted a 15 beat higher heart rate at the same wattage when using Powercranks.

The riding is a lot harder that what I used to do my long rides at and I regularly burn 1000 Calories per hour. Surprised at how quickly I ran out of food. (4 gels and 5 scoops) 2h08 into this particular ride, and things became ugly soon thereafter. I was going to knock out a big sprint at the end, but by the time I got there I could only manage 870W. (As opposed to the 1160W I did at the end of today’s ride…

The task for this ride was: 3h30 with 4 climbs (Hells Hoogte and Franschoek) at 330 W and 75-80 rpm. The flats at 250W and 90rpm. On the flats, include 4 x 10min with Powercranks unlocked. Anyone who knows Powercranks can tell that 90prm at any watts is no joke.

The goal is 450W for 1 hr at 80kg on a 10kg bike. 11.2kg if its a 29er…

Not content with just testing MTB gloves by riding bikes, I took it a step further and tested these (older) Specialized BG gloves while renovating my house.

We're building with bricks, which are very abrasive on the hands, (and gloves) and after hours and hours of testing on single track and on the build site, the only shortcoming I found was a slight lack of material strength in the forefinger. But then, there is nothing some Duct Tape wont fix!

Er, make that “was”…

Will Kelsay and his lovely lady, Shelby, visited South Africa for a few weeks. They spend a few days in Cape Town, then a few days in my house in Stellenbosch before tackling the Garden Route.

I’m busy renovating my house and of course,they got roped into some manual labour:

Will was super excited and went at the double brick wall like a maniac. Go to his blog to learn more about this colourful character.

Shelby can swing a hammer too!

We got to do fun stuff too, like visit Dan Hugos farm for Sunday lunch, and here we went wine tasting at Ernie Els’s wine estate. Yes the golfer Ernie Els

Yes the golfer Ernie Els…

The pros are into pre season fad diets!

Macca urged the Twitter community to join him in his pre season cleansing diet comprising of juices for a week. Matt Lieto just started his Month of Salad…

Now I urge you to join me in my Month Of Mopane Worm Cleansing Diet! Mopane worms are a delicacy in Southern Africa, and feeds millions of people every year. Usually they are harvested by hitting Mopane worm laden trees with long branches, and then harvesting them off the ground, much like one would harvest strawberries…

On day 1 of my cleansing diet I was lucky- they came marching down the Marula tree next to our house…

I hope they are WADA legal. (World Anti Doping Agency)

The Lion King “Super Mario” Cipollini was a delight to follow- on the road and in public. His flair for fashion, clothing and glamour bordered on preposterous. It was delicious. But he was a remarkable sprinter who hated climbing and was quoted “If I wasnt a professional cyclist, I would be a porn star.”

But Mario was an amazing marketing vehicle and his sponsors’ ad campaigns still come up in cyclobablle. His pro career spanned 20 years, he had 42 Giro stage wins, World Champs in 2002, the list is too long, go read it on Wiki.

This is one of my favourite Cipollini photos where he won the 2002 World Champs. Of course he had to wear his Colnago branded Italian team kit, but a clever bit of ambush marketing by Specialized stole the moment and made some waves- but then what was expected of Mario. Just imagine the impact this North Wave shoe ad made on me as a teenage triathlete, fresh out of sheltered South Africa…

My only personal experience with Cipo was when I was training in Stellenbosch around 2002. I saw a Smart car (a rare thing back then) coming down the road from the opposite direction, and being an observant guy, I noticed a bicycle wheel and two feet in the gap between the road and the underside of the car. OK, someone was motor pacing behind a Smartcar. I was dying to see who it was, and when they swooped by, there was Mario in his full glory- working on his tan. No helmet, no shirt, no socks- Just Mario in his chamois (rolled up high), shoes, glasses and his beautiful mane of greased back hair. Now that was class.

“Ciao Mario!”

Open floor questions for Conrad.

(Copied from the Specialized Facebook Fanpage, facebook.com/specializedbicycles

iamspecialized.com: It seems like Conrad Stoltz (http://www.conradstoltz.com) is swinging by the office next week. Does anyone have any questions for him?

Conrad Stoltz is a three time Xterra triathlon world champion

Robert Driskell

Yes I do. How does he compare his fit on his mt bike to relation to on a road bike in multisport activity. How much of a change in his hip flexor angle is there in this relation.

Conrad Stoltz

@RobertDriskell- I have my road bike set up exactly the same as my MTB. Nowadays I only use my road bike for XTERRA training, so I dont have the road time trail position dilemma you mention. I was told by Scott Holtz at Specialized BG Fit that training at least 60% of your base rides in your TT position would actually benefit you MTB riding. (more glute workout)

Harrison Conyers IV

how can I become a pro. I train hard and i have dreamed of either doing xc racing or xterra.

Conrad Stoltz

@HarrisonConyers. To become a pro:

1)You need the right genes.

2)You need to be physically and especially mentally tough.

3) You need to love living out of a bag and spending time at airports.

4)You need patience.... See More

5)You need luck.

To get there, make sure:

1) You learn the skills while you are young

2) Have a mentor to guide you

3) have fun

4) have fun

5) have fun

Heather McNamara

How many hours a week is Conrad logging on his Specialized right now?

Conrad Stoltz

@HeatherMcNamara. Last week, I logged 0 hrs on my Specialized. I DID log about 6 hrs behind the snow shovel!

Brent Jablonski no questions, just give the man a high five for me! way to go!

Conrad Stoltz

@BrentJablonski. High five! (Is that a quote from Borat?_

Harrison Conyers IV how do you get your parents to support you financially

Conrad Stoltz

@HarrisonConyers IV. When I turned 14, my mom bought me half a road bike for my birthday. I had to buy the other half myself. They supported me like that for the 1st 2-3 years. (where I had to contribute, mow the lawn and show respect and commitment to training)

Then they encouraged me to make my own money to support my triathlon- I cut and sold bamboo and collected stone artifacts from our farm to afford purple LOOK shoes.

But when I turned pro I had to make a living for myself. (my dad reminded me often) It was really hard those 1st 10 years, but then I won World Champs and it got a lot easier to make a living!... See More

Matt Dussartre According to you, what is behind the word "Pro Triathlete"?

Conrad Stoltz

@MattDussartre. "Pro Triathlete" can mean 2 things: 1) You race in the pro category because you are really fast, but you need a part time job, because you arent quite fast enough to pay the bills. (or your bills are huge) 2) "Pro" means you make a living from sports- which is my definition.

In the perfect world, all "Pros" sould make enough money to cover their expenses, but then this aint golf...

Victor C Guido Rivas

Tremenda nave.

Conrad Stoltz

@Victor C Guido Rivas. If you tell me what language "Tremenda nave." is, I can answer you. In Spanish it means "tremendous ship"- in which case- thanks for the compliment

Alex Ziemianski

Tubeless or Tubed? Tubeless for weight savings? Or Tubed to get back on the trail after a flat?

Conrad Stoltz

@AlexZiemianski. Definitely tubeless. You'll save about 100g, but the real benefits are lower tire pressure- which greatly increases traction and ride quality- and greater puncture resistance to just about all thorns, smaller cuts and most snake bite punctures.

If you do get a flat with tubeless, take out the tubeless valve and save it, put in a normal tube, and you're good to go...

Getting tubeless tires to seat can be tough but since 2009 Specialized tires seat so easily you can do it by floor pump while sitting on the couch...

The entry form says AMA championship series, so maybe it was a big race? All I know is I was as green as it gets. The newness of this unfamiliar sport opened my eyes to what athletes new to triathlon and XTERRA experience. Nervous, excited, clueless, scared of the unknown, scared of being last, scared of the mass start, and yes, just plain scared.

I grew up riding a little Yamaha PW 80 on our farm in South Africa, later a YZ 100, but when I got really serious about triathlon, (age 15) I sold the dirt bike in order to fund this new triathlon passion thing. I always promised myself, “the day I retire from triathlon I’m buying a dirt bike.” After winning XTERRA Worlds in 07 I thought “screw that, its been 18 years, I cant wait anymore”, so bought a used Honda CRF450 in South Africa. Visit http://www.conradstoltz.com/a-fun-weekends-dirt-bike-riding/ This summer I bought a new KTM 450 EXC in the US. (my 1st new motorized vehicle ever) Could someone please explain to me how a new top end dirt bike costs the same as a top end mountain bike? How does a huge, knobbly, 30 pound dirt bike rear tire cost the same as a 500g mountain bike tire?

Anyway, Wilseyville is in the scenic Sierra Nevada mountains. Yellow trees everywhere and beautiful country side made for an amazing course on private land. No pre riding allowed, which was quite intimidating.

The C and Ladies class was HUGE. I guess 350+ riders in 7 starts 1 min apart. Apparently in this sport I’m an old dude, (Vet plus) so I was in the 6th row. I thought the C class is the hack class, but I didnt see a single jean pant! Shiny pimped bikes, custom what what, new tires. - I was the only guy with indicators and a cute license plate. At least I could honk the horn to overtake. Mostly people on the ground, and a fat guy cramping.

Our line (30 years and over) was completely full -the biggest class. Maybe 80+ bikes, so I stood behind 2 fast looking guys- half in the Ladies row. Most of the girls were so small they needed a box next to the bike to get on…

I nicely stuffed up the start. Learnt what a “Dead engine shotgun start” was. When the gun shot went and the bikes fired up, the noise was so loud I couldnt tell if my bike was running or not. I think I opened the throttle while pushing the start button- then it wont start. So I panicked, for some reason popped 1st - you’re supposed to start in 2nd- and got off a few seconds late, but at the 1st corner there was a pile up- was quite funny (now) to see a guy rolling on the ground trying to get away with guys riding over him and his bike. Even in the C race these guys will eat you alive. Its a 7 mile lap and you see how many laps you can do in 90mins- funny concept to a triathlete. Imagine doing a triathlon where seeing who can cover the most ground in a fixed time wins…

It had been raining on and off the last few days before the race, so it was slick and muddy. Greasy mud, not sloppy. There was a 400m rocky river section (the only part I was fast at- no whoops or ruts!)) and the exits were super slick, muddy, rocky with more and more roots showing up every lap. And then there was the whoops and ruts. I’ve seen a few whoops on the trails around Reno before, and usually dont really know what to do with them- but these ones were slippery, so if you dont hit them straight, you were knotted. I often went round, but short, not too big sections I could handle.

I have never ridden a single rut before. Before our race, the course was still in good shape, but our race (C Class) was huge so the whoops and ruts got deeper every lap. I did 4 laps (23mi total) in 1h33. If I was 3min quicker I could have done another lap. Was caught in 2 slow bottle necks where a fat old (but fast) dude couldnt start his 2 stroke. Also lost time whenever I heard a screaming 2 stroke come up, I’d pull over or stop to let the fast guys through. (was lapped by about 15 guys. I think 1 may have been a chick)

On the 1st lap rode behind a guy who should have been wearing a jean pant- kind of all over the show, but at least I could see where the slippery parts were, in the river bed I moved up to 2nd last but by then the others were gone.

Just like cycling, I’d learn a lot by following a better rider, but I was completely dropped- so I just putzed away, staying in control and smooth, not knowing the limits or the techniques used for this 40 horse power mountain bike with tires the size of my thigh. I had a mental block on the whoops - some were 3 feet deep, slippery, with open roots and surrounded by trees in places. If that 14 year old girl on the small wheel 80cc could float over the top at high speed it cant be TOO hard? If only I knew the right technique and had the confidence to ride it once, I’d practice and master them. - A mantra I teach new mountain bikers all the time- only I couldnt get myself to do it. For once I was in their shoes and realized the importance of a mentor/coach/ helping friend to hold your hand and guide you up the first few steps of that big, huge technique pyramid.

The scenery is amazing and of course there was no dust. Drove 5hrs there through the snow, so didnt spend much time at the venue, but wish I could to see a bit more. Amber had to work, so no pics or video of me driving Miss Daisy.

I didnt crash, but my hands were covered in blisters, my quads were sore already and on the drive home it felt like my right forearm was broken. Must be from all that hard work keeping the throttle closed…

Being a beginner at a challenging sport was quite an eye opener and it made me appreciate anew novice triathletes’ fears, excitement and enthusiasm. After racing 15 to 35 triathlons a year for 21 years, I could do one in my sleep. I passionate about triathlon, but it took me a muddy day at the dirt bike races to relive and appreciate that special fuzzy feeling beginner triathletes are blessed with. Enjoy it while it lasts. Soon you too could blitz through T1 in your sleep.

09 WILSEYVILLE C SPORTSMEN

RESULTS FOR THE C VET PLUS CLASS. 11/22/2009

| LAP 1 | LAP 2 | LAP 3 | LAP 4 | LAP 5

PLACE RIDER LAPS FINISH DIFFERENCE NAME MPH MFG | POS/ TIME / DIFF | POS/ TIME / DIFF | POS/ TIME / DIFF |

001 475D 5 16:10:13.52 —– JONES, CHRISTIAN 25.97 KTM | 1 / 21:25 / 1 / 20:10 / 1 / 20:19 / —–| 1 / 20:53 / —–| 1 / 21:10 / —–

002 397X 5 16:14:45.31 04:32 JACOBS, DAVE 24.89 KTM | 21:46 /0:21|3 / 20:51 / 0:14| 3 / 20:51 / 0:45| 2 / 21:09 / 1:50| 2 / 23:52 / 4:32

003 618S 4 15:51:13.59 —– TOTH, PAUL 25.43 KTM | 7 / 22:23 / 0:04| 2 / 20:00 / 0:48| 2 / 20:20 / 0:49| 3 / 22:14 / 0:20|

004 322H 4 15:52:23.69 01:10 CHURBY, ALBERT 25.08 YAM | 5 / 22:11 / 0:02| 4 / 20:42 / 0:16| 4 / 21:25 / 0:50| 4 / 21:49 / 1:10|

005 35X 4 15:52:44.20 00:21 DOWD, JOE 24.98 KAW | 8 / 22:34 / 0:11| 8 / 21:46 / 0:06| 6 / 21:26 / 0:04| 5 / 20:42 / 0:21|

006 155D 4 15:53:49.23 01:05 BLASQUEZ, DAVID 24.67 KTM | 3 / 21:52 / 0:06| 6 / 22:19 / 0:02| 7 / 21:44 / 0:09| 6 / 21:38 / 1:05|

007 714E 4 15:53:52.31 00:03 JESBERG, CHRIS 24.66 HON | 4 / 22:09 / 0:17| 5 / 22:00 / 1:16| 5 / 21:33 / 1:24| 7 / 21:54 / 0:03|

008 271G 4 15:54:46.27 00:54 COGLIANDRO, KEVIN 24.41 HON | 9 / 22:44 / 0:10| 10 / 21:54 / 0:12| 8 / 22:12 / 0:55| 8 / 21:40 / 0:54|

009 778A 4 15:54:51.20 00:05 GOMEZ, ART 24.38 SUZ | 14 / 23:44 / 0:09| 11 / 21:44 / 0:50| 9 / 21:32 / 0:10| 9 / 21:35 / 0:05|

010 375A 4 15:56:06.80 01:15 RABBAT, RALPH 24.04 YAM | 6 / 22:19 / 0:08| 9 / 22:07 / 0:06| 10 / 22:53 / 0:19| 10 / 22:31 / 1:15|

011 442H 4 15:56:32.52 00:26 TEHANEY, PAUL 23.93 HON | 16 / 24:01 / 0:02| 14 / 22:15 / 0:15| 11 / 21:47 / 0:44| 11 / 22:13 / 0:26|

012 575X 4 15:57:00.83 00:28 GLASS, JOHN 23.81 YAM | 11 / 22:57 / 0:02| 12 / 23:00 / 0:29| 12 / 22:21 / 0:15| 12 / 22:26 / 0:28|

013 137C 4 15:57:41.41 00:41 DAMELE, JD 23.63 KTM | 12 / 23:11 / 0:14| 13 / 22:50 / 0:04| 13 / 22:19 / 0:02| 13 / 23:05 / 0:41|

014 105Q 4 15:59:26.31 01:45 GIBBS, WILLIAM 23.18 KTM | 17 / 24:12 / 0:11| 16 / 22:50 / 0:03| 14 / 22:39 / 1:21| 14 / 23:29 / 1:45|

015 778 4 16:00:15. 00:49 STOLTZ, CONRAD 22.98 KTM | 20 / 25:12 / 0:34| 17 / 22:53 / 1:03| 16 / 22:17 / 0:21| 15 / 23:37

016 300V 4 16:02:14.39 01:59 CHAMPE, DARRIN 22.51 YAM | 19 / 24:38 / 0:13| 15 / 22:21 / 0:43| 15 / 23:02 / 0:20| 16 / 25:57 / 1:59|

017 385V 4 16:05:23.70 03:09 CARLIN, JEREMY 21.79 YAM | 15 / 23:59 / 0:15| 18 / 25:26 / 1:20| 17 / 23:30 / 2:33| 17 / 26:12 / 3:09|

018 772 4 16:05:55.13 00:32 BRYAN, SHERIDAN 21.68 HON | 18 / 24:25 / 0:13| 20 / 25:56 / 0:29| 19 / 24:56 / 0:18| 18 / 24:22 / 0:32|

019 624G 4 16:06:07.47 00:12 BERNA, MICHAEL 21.63 KTM | 22 / 25:57 / 0:20| 21 / 24:27 / 0:03| 18 / 24:35 / 2:04| 19 / 24:52 / 0:12|

020 272A 4 16:07:22.08 01:15 WHIGHAM, KEVIN 21.36 HON | 21 / 25:37 / 0:25| 19 / 24:15 / 0:27| 20 / 25:54 / 0:29| 20 / 25:20 / 1:15|

021 631 3 15:49:45.27 —– LIMJOCO, ANTHONY 19.41 KTM | 23 / 26:44 / 0:47| 22 / 24:50 / 1:10| 21 / 31:55 / 7:43|

022 138R 3 15:52:26.13 02:41 SANDOVAL, CESAR 18.80 KTM | 24 / 27:41 / 0:57| 23 / 28:48 / 4:55| 22 / 29:41 / 2:41|

023 223X 3 16:02:07.31 09:41 MCGABIN, BRENDAN 16.90 HON | 25 / 28:11 / 0:30| 25 / 30:34 / 0:24| 23 / 37:06 / 9:41|

024 605E 2 15:10:30.83 —– FUHRMAN, MIKE 24.42 HON | 10 / 22:55 / 0:11| 7 / 21:19 / 0:03|

025 761 2 15:24:37.38 14:07 KIRKEBY, DAN 18.51 KTM | 13 / 23:35 / 0:24| 24 / 34:46 / 1:52|

Have some work to do before I can get out of Sport C Class, the guy who won Class B did 7 laps in 90 mins- that’s about 10 min a lap quicker then me!

| LAP 1 | LAP 2 | LAP 3 | LAP 4 | LAP 5 | LAP 6 | LAP 7

PLACE NAME MPH

001 ANDERSON, 25.74 YAMAHA | 14:06 14:11 13:31 13:48 13:20 15:07 13:50

After 10 months of focussed training where every session and equipment choice was geared towards winning XTERRAs, it is fun to to try some of the other bikes in the garage.

I've had this S-works Enduro for 2 years now, but until a few weeks ago, it had less than 5 hrs on it. Most of them my friend Mark DeJohn put on it.

Finally it was my turn to ride for no other reason than having fun. And trying fun bikes and toys!

I pimped my 27 lbs, 6' travel carbon Enduro with one of my favourite Specialized products- the Command Post telescopic seat post. A must for any trail bike. In fact, I use it on my XC bikes too- With the push of a lever I can lower my centre of gravity by 2 or 4 inches and rail corners, hit water bars at high speed or do steep drop offs which would usually send me cart wheeling over the bars. At 6ft3 with long legs and a short body, the steep down stuff used to be my achilles' heel.

Another product I have been trying are these Specialized Body Geometry grips. Usually these flared grips come on touring bikes, and I was a little apprehensive about putting them on a trail bike. My dad taught me never to judge a sausage by its skin, and was I wrong about these Winged Wonders as I call them now.

Before I go into why I like them, some background: A few days ago I did my first Hare Scramble dirt bike race. (I was 128th in the Sportsman Class C race. My lap times were almost 10 mins slower than the fast Class B riders! I rode 24min laps and they 16 mins a lap. At

last, a sport I really suck at!) My KTM 450 and I were covered in mud and my hands were covered in blisters. The next 2 days I had to cut a tree and move a vast amount of dirt from our new homes' back yard. Swinging the pick axe and wielding the shovel and chain saw put more blisters in the few places I didnt have blisters already. So when I went on this ride my hands were raw as 2 filet steaks.

I picked Renos new Halo Trail. Its 2 hrs of low speed rock and chop. And this was my first ride with these grips and immediately I noticed:

- Comfort. The "wings" fit nicely in the palms of your hands, distributing the weight over a larger surface. I can see this being a great benefit during long rides and stage races. Or when your hands are covered in blisters...

-Control. This one I didnt expect at all. Once I started rocking and rolling the big travel bike over rock jumps and through loose corners I was amazed at the increased amount of control I had on the bike. Not only does your palms have much more contact with the grip, but your fingers have a lot more contact and leverage underneath the bar. Very handy for lifting the back end of the bike like bunny hopping, jumping and

cornering.

Word is the Specialized engineers are working on a light XC race version....

Yes, I am disappointed. (Thanks for the nice e-mails. True friends are the ones who cares no matter the result) I did everything in my power to get to this race in top form and win a 4th World title. My equipment was faultless. But I was 5th best that day. I gave 100% in preparation and execution. I am content with that knowledge.

Winners look great and when you win a race it feels easy.(ok, relatively easy) Winning means you’re in control, within your limits. Losing is hard, physically. It means you gave 110%, played all your cards and lost. I gave it all, as can be seen here in my rare “Rocky Balboa on the ropes” look…

Too much:

The 2nd half of this season was just too much.

That cut in my foot was too deep, too long and too dirty.

Yes that cut: (Late June at XTERRA Richmond- read race report and surgery report) Dr Moose Herring in Richmond, VA is the coolest surgeon/triathlete you’ll ever come across- have your next surgery with Moose Herring…

Too much hospital time.

Too hard nosed to not race 2.5 weeks later: (with hardly any training, but it helped me win my 7th USA Series title)

- Too many injuries. When I resumed training early August, the injuries started. Typical Caveman, I thought “once the hole closes, I can carry on as if nothing happened”. This time I was wrong. It feels like I spent more time (and a small fortune) getting massage/ rehab/acupuncture than I spent training. I would fear running sessions, not knowing what was going to hurt next. I havent had a training related injury in ages, and I was reminded about the head games injury plays with an athlete on a deadline.

- Too little time. 3 weeks before USA Champs (7 weeks before Worlds) I realized I was in trouble. I was self coached this year, and knew how to get to Worlds in the right shape if everything went right. But everything was going wrong. I started panicking and needed someone to help me with a quick fix. Like anyone else would, I reached for Facebook. Ian Rodger was a sport scientist at the Sport Science Institute in Cape Town where he did lab tests on my preparation for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. I didnt know him well and it took me a while to track him down on Facebook. (I knew I had the right Ian Rodger when I saw the Ian with the profile pic of a cyclist riding a slimy cobblestone “road” somewhere in Belguim) I havent seen him in over 5 years, but I remember being impressed at how he combined the science of sport with the practical aspect of sport, especially cycling, and how he could look at wattage numbers and get a ton of information form it. First thing he did was to put me on 180mm cranks. A 6ft 3 guy with a 33inch saddle height warrants long levers. The 2nd thing was to lower my saddle to alleviate the lower back pain that has been bothering me for many years. (Was great in training, but in the race it showed up again- so if you see me riding sitting up, with no hands, bouncing through loose lava- its to relieve my QL pain.)

He very much liked the numbers he saw in those tests back in 2000 which instilled confidence in me. (512W Peak power and 430W for 20km) His knowledge of numbers also meant we could to some extent overcome the 12 000mi geographical coach/athlete problem. Ian did damage control during a really tough time for him personally- his mom was dying from cancer.

We only had a handful of sessions “to count” between racing USA Champs and traveling to Kona where I trained in the heat and did some appearances for Specialized and Avia. I knocked out a few good sessions- the last recorded one being 5x 10min hill climbs at an average of 451W. Of course I did too much faffing around at Ironman and subsequently missed a few days fighting a cold. Not much fun spending 3 days in a hotel bed on a tropical island.

I know its a cliche amongst athletes, but I really needed at least 4 more weeks of prep…

Too much of a road race. I dont mean to whine, but this course technically, gets easier every year. Apart from a few patches of loose pebbles, 2 turns and a few steep climbs, its really a road ride with 3000ft of climbing. What happened to laying awake the night before the race, trying to remember which gnarly root section came after the 3ft drop off? Its cool to have 500 people in the same race at the same time, but if the course gets any easier we’ll have to start calling it “Ironman.”

Too bad bad luck strikes all too often: 2 Days before Worlds Ruben Ruzafa (last years champion) crashed on the practice course and got 40 stitches, Brent McMahon was injured last minute and DNSed. Dan Hugo’s season was similar to mine- got hit by an apple truck in the spring, struggled with subsequent injuries and then finally H1N1 finished his season off- bad things happen to great athletes- its the nature of the game. Especially this one.

I fought them on the landings, I fought them in the trenches and I fought them on the beaches, but I was seeing so many stars, I cant even remember on which beach Olivier Marceau passed me for 4th.

Hindsight. After a long, hard and stressful season with seemingly more time on the massage table than in training, a $45k hospital bill (thankfully USAT took care of that), it was nice to wash away the dirt, stress and bad memories of a good season turned bad. And temporary respite from the heavy burden of being the guy who has to win.

Here is a run down of my Specialized Epic S-works for XTERRA World Champs in Maui

My Specialized Epic S-works worked like a dream, and this course is infamously tough on equipment. A lot of work has gone into the preparation of the bike for this race in particular.

- Tires. Specialized has been amazingly helpful in helping me find a tire that is truly Caveman proof. Over the past year we have had 2 extensive tire testing camps. (read more about testing on www.conradstoltz.com ) We tried numerous prototypes and found a casing that works exceptionally well. It weighs roughly 630g, rolls well at low pressures, the casing is cleverly assembled to make it supple, but most importantly it is very, very strong. In 8 months of testing I have had 2 flats: One at XTERRA Idaho where a 5 inch nail went through both sides and once when I rode over a broken bottle bottom. The tire will be called the GRID and will come in Fast Track LK, The Captain and some of the free ride tire tread patterns. Importantly, the GRID will also be available in 29"...

Because these sidewalls are so strong, you have to run really low pressure to provide a good, comfey ride. I rolled 23.5psi in the front and 27.5psi in the rear. (on "normal" courses I would go 23 and 26.5psi)

-Wheels: The Roval Controle wheels are light and strong, I can mount my tubeless tires by floor pump (YAY!!) but the coolest feature is the crumple zone. (thats what I call it anyway) If you hit a rock at high speed and low pressure, the rim dents slightly, which saves the tire from a rim cut. I have a set of "tire testing wheels" that has a few dents, but the wheels stay true, strong, and best of all, the air stays in the tire...

-Suspension. 2 weeks before Worlds I got the new Brain shock made by Specialized and Fox. It works really well, and is very reliable. Instead of the usual 180 psi I put in the "old" 2007-2009 shock, I put 210 psi in the new Fox shock. (To achieve 1cm sag for my 180lbs. (80kg))

- 180mm Cranks. My saddle height is 84cm or 33inches, (I'm 6ft3) and with legs as long as that, my new coach, Ian Rodger urged me to switch to 180mm cranks to make the most of the leverage benefit they provide. (We did some power testing at 175, 177.5 and 180mm) The conversion wasnt plain sailing though, and Garth from Specialized HQ had to do some serious squeezing to fit the Truvativ 180s into the Specialized BB.

I recently did an interview and photo session with Jamie from Singletrack.com.

Jamie: Just to confirm, how many Xterra race have you done on the Epic 29er?

Conrad: None this year. I raced Sea Otter (Short Track and XC) and Sierra 100. Last year I raced XTERRA Snow Valley on the 29er Stumpy. Because of my accident and surgery on my foot I havent had any "fun XTERRAs" where I could experiment with equipment- every race was a battle for points.

It sounded like you go with the 29er on “less” important Xterra races (which races did you run the 29er?). Instead, you are using the 26-inch, carbon dually for the big events.

Thats right. The main reason for that is the tires. I'm 180 and have a point and shoot riding style, (which favours the 29er) but last year I had a lot of flats in races. Over the off season we did a lot of tire testing with Specialized and worked on a tire with a stronger "Caveman proof" casing. I have been racing those protoypes (only available in 26") all summer and my only flat was a 5 inch nail which went through both sides of the tire. This strong casing tire is in manufacturing right now and it will be available a number of the Specialized XC tread patterns, in 26" and 29". That would allow me to race the 29er with more confidence.

The 29er Epic is alu and still a bit on the porky side- 26lbs compared to my 23.8lbs 26' carbon 26" Epic- However I 'm not much of a weight weenie and I think those few pounds would only be a disadvantage on a seriously climbing course.

Also, is the 29er more of your off-road training rig and the one you pick for technical rides (either race/training/fun?)

I ride the 29er whenever I can. Especially on technical and loose/rocky rides we have here. I ride the 2.20 Captain tires, and have a Command Post on it, so by lowering the saddle 2 or 4 inches, that bike will go just about anywhere.

I use the 26" bike only when I have to test equipment or make sure the bike is race ready.

Without going into specifics, what is the likelihood of you racing a carbon dually 29er in the near future? Or how practical would be to actually race such a rig compared to a 26er?

Chances are pretty good. I'd race a light dual suspension 29er with good suspension and strong tires at 90% of the races.

Specialized riders, like Todd Wells, are racing XC on 29 hardtails. Why haven’t you gone that direction in the big Xterra events?

The last time I rode a hard tail is 2001. Maybe I should give the 29er HT a whirl. Its such a beautiful bike. There are 2 fast and smooth XTERRA courses in the Midwest where I would consider the HT. The reason I favour the dual sus is the fact that I can ride a "relaxed" steady, TT effort which saves energy for the run. ( ie I just stay seated and plow ahead) Of course your body doesnt get a banged up on the full sus as much and you start the run fresher.

You and Ned Overend mixed it up quite a bit on the Xterra circuit in the early 2000s; physically, you two are quite different. What did you learn from him as far as the bike?

In my 1st XTERRA season 2001 I raced on borrowed bikes like this sweet Softride below- I travelled with my own 2nd hand shoes, cheap pedals and new yellow Python tires and tubes. (and speedo and running camel back!) Then I would just borrow a bike for the race. Ned was hot stuff on the XTERRA circuit then (He won Worlds in 98 and 99) obviously we raced each other throughout the season and he watched with amazement my assortment of borrowed bikes. I won most of the races, and the USA Series. Ned then asked me if I wanted to ride for Specialized. I said "sure" , knowing that usually that kind of talk leads to nothing. A week before XTERRA Worlds in Maui there was a brand new Specialized M5 with tubeless tires AND a new helmet AND new shoes on my doorstep. It was like Xmas!

I took the bike to the shop to have it built and when the guys heard the story they said "then you have to read Neds book. "Mountain bike like a Champion" " They gave me the book, and I only started reading it 4 days before Worlds. Realizing it was full of gems, reading the book was a race against the clock. (I had a lot to learn back then)

I took the book to race briefing for Ned to sign and he wrote: "Conrad, dont read this book, you are already too fast." Surely a prized possession.

I won 2001 Worlds by 10minutes. That new bike felt like a motor bike. Obviously we wanted to ink a sponsorship deal, I had no idea what to ask for, so I asked Ned. He said "ask for X", I asked for X and thats what I got.

For a guy with no sponsorship (expect for Oakley) that was a dream come true. Specialized has been a great sponsor since, and I sometimes feel sorry for the other guys who have to ride other brands.

Ned gave me 2 workouts when I asked him how to become a better climber, he said: 3x10' technical hill climbs. Start #1at about race effort and build #2 and 3 even harder. Downhill as fast as you can back to the start. The other was: find a gradual hill of 45 min and alternate between 5 min at AT and 7 min at medium pace- to simulate the varying pitches at Maui XTERRA

I see Ned at some of the events and sometimes at product testing with Specialized (we tested the current Epic in the spring of 08)- what an awesome guy. Also, he has great stories. When he was young he drove to Vegas to become a blackjack dealer, but hated Vegas so much, he drove back to CO the next day.

He is an incredibly down to earth and approachable guy- fans love Ned.

And considering Ned’s living-legend status even then, what was your strategy against him?

Make 3 minutes in the swim, (it may not be enough) and try to not give him more than 2 minutes off the run...

Especially: Whatever you do, dont race Ned at altitude or in the high mountains.

During our recent training camp in Bend, OR, I had some bike trouble. I took my bike to Hutch's Bicycles in Bend's West side. Despite their wild skills, they couldnt save my ride. I did something Caveman-esque to my mountain bike, (which, this time, not even duct tape or a tightly wound tube could fix) and had to resort to road riding that day.

The next day I borrowed a friends' 5' trail bike and Amber and I were going to ride the epic Flagline. Straight out the driveway Ambers cranks on her S-works Era almost fell off. Turns out her mechanic (also happens to be a certain "Caveman") didnt install ALL the parts required for BB assembly. I towed her to Hutch's. As usaul, he guys were great. They didnt even make too much fun of my wild wrenching skills! They fixed her BB pronto, and when we picked the bike up a little later, I noticed they even replaced the cables and housing. Seems like the Caveman also neglected to install those plastic end cap things that goes at the ends of cable housing...

We had a phenomenal ride, thanks to the cool crew at Hutch's.

When riding the trails in Central Oregon, be sure to visit them. They also rent all kind of Specialized bikes. www.hutchsbicycles.com

I trained in my old home town of Bend, Oregon for about 2 weeks. Back in 2004, as it was the Olympic year, (back then I raced triathlon at the Olympics) I was asked not train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs anymore. From 2000 -2003 I was the US resident teams' "whipping boy" on the bike. Point taken.

My XTERRA rival Steve Larsen persuaded me to move to Bend. I packed all my belongings in the Red Rocket (1987 2 door Nissan Sentra), threw my 3 bikes on the bike rack, and drove the 3 days to Bend. (Back then my "cutting edge" Specialized bike were: Bright red 1st generation S Works Epic with very basic Brain, a very Red S works E5 alu road bike with oval tubing, and 1st generation black S-works alu Transition TT bike I called "the Black Mamba")

Steve let me stay in their guest room for a week, before passing me on to his best friend Michael Nyberg. Who worked for Marketing Sales at Rodale Press before joining Steve under Steve Larsen Commercial Real Estate.

I fell in love with Bend right away. The amazing scenery, the active, laid back people, the training and the smell of Junipers and sight of distant snow capped volcanos when you walk across the tarmac to the terminal. Which was the size of a small house then.

Since then Michael has become family. Whenever I visit Bend, I stay with him. These visits has become especially poignant since Steve's tragic death this summer.

It may be a cliche, but "Live life 100% every day."

Steve did.

Amber Monforte (my girlfriend) won Ultraman Canada this past weekend: Day 1: 10km swim 90mi bike . Day 2: 180mi bike, Day 3: 55mi run.

After taking off work and racing pro XTERRA last year, Amber went back to work and decided to try something new. Ultraman

She didnt train like crazy, but did a few 8 hr rides, a 180 mi road race in the Sierras with 20 000ft of climbing, and the Death ride (130mi). Oh yes, and a couple of 4hr trail runs. And two 2h30 swims in Lake Tahoe. And some stuff in between...

Anyway, to make a long story short, she absolutely killed it. Amber broke the swim record, (but 2 girls in front of her did too) she broke the Day 1 bike record, the Day 2 bike record, and the run record by about 45min. In total, she lopped 3h55 off the old record, which includes Worlds in Kona.

About 3 weeks before Ultraman she got a brand new Specialized Ruby Pro and Women's Specialized BG Pro shoes. She loved it, as the old Giant TCR didnt cut it anymore. Ultraman had tons of climbing and some serious headwinds- 65km at a stretch. So it was a real test for the bike. (and rider!) She especially likes the compact cranks for the big climbs, the shock absorbing Zerts and the comfey fit. As you can see in the photo, she gets really low and aero and can comfortably stay there for 8 hrs. (!?!)

Read more about Amber's Ultraman on her blog: http://ambermonforte.blogspot.com/2009/08/ultraman-canada-day-1.html

Graham and I were the support crew. Quite a process supporting someone for 3 days. (We could run with her on Day 3) Had lots of fun, and leanrt some serious respect, these athletes are amazing.

After the horrific cut and infection to my foot at XTERRA Richmond 3 weeks ago, I decided to race XTERRA North East Cup in Vermont. See graphic pics here and