Ironman St George winner Heather Wurtele placed second at Ironman Canada, less than 4-minutes behind the winner. Heather kept the race close throughout the bike and run but just came up a bit short as she looks to win the Ironman in her home country.

Rebekah Keat of teamTBB won her second Ironman-distance race in two weeks, with a comfortable 11-minute win at the brutally hot Ironman Louisville. The Australian superstar doesn’t race often in the US, but she made the most of this trip, using Ironman Louisville as a long training day in preparation for the Ironman World Championships. Two weeks ago, Keat was crowned champion of Challenge Copenhagen.

Canadian Catharine Pendrel of the AVIA-sponsored Luna Pro Mountain Bike team won the UCI World Cup Cross Country race in Windham, New York. With the victory, she became only the third Canadian to be crowned the UCI World Cup Series Champion. The Canadian National Champion was the 4th place finisher at the Beijing Olympics and also won the World Cup stop in Offenberg, Germany. Teammate Georgia Gould finished fourth in the overall standings with her 3rd place finish in Windham.

Magali Tisseyre continues to dominate the Ironman 70.3 series, adding another win at the Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines. She shadowed former World Champion Michellie Jones throughout the swim and bike before outrunning her for the 2-minute victory.

Canadian Angela Naeth won the race within the race as she placed a solid 2nd at the Timberman 70.3 in New Hampshire. She finished well back of reigning Ironman World Champion Chrissie Wellington, but had the day’s fastest bike split, giving her a comfortable cushion over the rest of the field.

The Embrunman Triathlon in France is considered by many to be the toughest iron-distance race in the world, but it was easily tamed by teamTBB’s Tereza Macel. Tez took the lead on the swim, crushed the alpine ride, and ran home to a 40-minute victory. James Cunnama of teamTBB was one of only two athletes to break the 10-hour barrier as he finished in the runner-up spot.

Rebekah Keat of teamTBB overcame a terrible crash in the early stages of the bike leg to dominate the Challenge Copenhagen iron-distance race. Bek lost traction on the wet roads and went down. With a mangled bike and bloody leg and arm, she decided to solider on. She ended up crushing the 112-mile bike in 4:48 and going sub-9 hours again (8:54) for the Ironman distance. On the men’s side, teamTBB teammate Keegan Williams was hit by a car with just 5km left in the bike. He quickly rebounded and ran his way into a very impressive 2nd place.

Three-time XTERRA World Champion Melanie McQuaid grabbed an impressive win at the Lake Stevens 70.3 near Everett, Washington. The off-road specialist has been racing on the roads in preparation for the XTERRA World Championships later this year and has already nailed a number of top five finishes. Using her superior bike strength, Melanie took the lead on the hilly bike course and never looked back. Her only challenge came very late in the race by fellow AVIA teammate, Tyler Stewart of Team Luna, who finished just 20secs behind Melanie.

Team TBB’s Caroline Steffen earned her first World Championship by crushing the women’s field at the ITU Long Distance World Championships in Germany. Caroline posted the fastest swim-bike combo and 2nd fastest run to beat the field by nearly 12 minutes.

Eduardo Sturla scored an impressive runner-up finish at the Duathlon National Championships in his hometown of Chascomus, Argentina. Racing against the country’s best duathletes, the big man crushed the 50km bike in 42km/h and had two very good runs to finish less than a minute behind the country’s number one ranked duathlete.

Canadian and current Boulder resident Angela Naeth continues to impress at the half-Ironman distance. Following up a top 5 finish at the Vineman 70.3 Presented by AVIA, Angela was the runner-up to current 70.3 World Champion Julie Dibens at the Ironman Boulder 70.3.

Team Luna’s Katerina Nash returned to World Cup mountain bike racing with a strong 5th place at the UCI World Cup in Champeray, Switzerland. Katerina used her significant cyclocross skills on the ugly course littered with roots, drops, and shin-deep mud.

It’s winter in South America, so in preparation for a return to the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Eduardo Sturla raced and won the Buenos Aires Duathlon. The shorter distances didn’t suit the big Argentinean, but he didn’t allow that or the cold weather to hamper his strong effort

Amy Marsh of teamTBB added another Ironman victory to her increasingly impressive resume. The rookie member of teamTBB won her second Ironman of 2010, leading wire-to-wire at Ironman Lake Placid. She had a race-best swim, extended her lead with a race-best bike and never looked back on the run. Her time of 9:27 gave her a near 17 minute cushion over second place. Amy also won Ironman China earlier in the year.

teamTBB teammates Rebekah Keat and Tereza Macel placed second and third, respectively, at the Challenge Roth Ironman-distance race in Germany. For the second straight year, Keat went under the elusive 9-hour mark (8:52:10) with Macel not far behind in 9:09:29 on one of the world’s fastest courses.

Team Luna’s Shonny Vanlandingham is having a heck of a season. At the XTERRA Mountain Championships, she blew away the women’s field by nearly 8 minutes to collect her third XTERRA US Cup win and extended her points lead in the overall series. The women of MelRad Racing had a solid day, too, as Sara Tarkington scored a season-best 2nd place and Emma Garrard got on the podium with a fourth.

Just a week after winning the XTERRA France Championships, Nico Lebrun repeated as the XTERRA Mountain Champion in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Nico made the long trip over from Europe and stormed through the competition on the run for the close win. His AVIA teammate and Colorado-resident Josiah Middaugh finished in third, less than three minutes back.

Luna Pro Team rider Georgia Gould took all three races at the Sand Creek International Classic in Colorado Springs. She opened up with a win in the time-trial, followed by a dominating win the cross country race, and closed the weekend with an easy victory in the circuit race. Georgia also won the overall US Pro XCT series.

After an up-and-down start to the 2010 season due to off-season shoulder surgery, Joanna Zeiger put together a fine race to win her hometown Boulder Peak Triathlon. She led start-to-finish but had to hold off a late charge from her AVIA teammate Angela Naeth, who finished a close 2nd.

XTERRA World Championship Runner-Up Nico Lebrun won the XTERRA France Championships in Xonrupt Longemer. Nico came out of the water a couple minutes behind the leaders but powered through the bike and started the run in 2nd place. Nico would overtake Franky Batelier on the run for the victory.

Team Luna Pro Team rookie Amy Dombroski was the surprise runner-up at the Firecracker 50, which hosted the USA Mountain Bike Marathon National Championship in Breckenridge, Colorado. Amy avoided any mishaps and mechanicals and was able to move her way up through field to secure her best ever finish at the Firecracker 50.

Caroline Steffen of teamTBB finished a close second at the Ironman European Championships in Frankfurt, Germany. Caroline held the lead through 34km into the run before being passed. She was able to stay strong and finished just 2:15 back of the winner. Her teamTBB teammate Diane Riesler placed 4th in her first race with the team.

Magali Tisseyre continued her impressive winning streak by overtaking AVIA teammate Heather Wurtele on the run of the Subaru Vancouver Half-Ironman, 4:12 to 4:13. This is the third half-Ironman victory in five weeks for Mags. She also won the Mooseman 70.3 and Buffalo Springs 70.3.

Virginia Berasategui used the home-course advantage to post definitive wins at the ETU European Long Distance Championships in Eneko Llanos’ hometown of Vitoria, Spain. Berasategui pulled away from the rest of the women’s field with a blistering bike and held on for a comfortable four-minute victory.

Canadians and AVIA teammates Magali Tisseyre and Angela Naeth finished 1-2 at the Ironman Buffalo Springs 70.3 outside of Lubbock, Texas. Angela blew through the field with a race-best 2:22 bike-split and had a commanding lead at the start of the run. Magali is one of the top runners at the 70.3 distance and was able to catch and pass Naeth for her second 70.3 win in the month of June.

Eneko Llanos used the home-course advantage to post a definitive win at the ETU European Long Distance Championships in Llanos’ hometown of Vitoria, Spain. Llanos, the 3-time XTERRA World Champion, pulled away late in the run from runner-up Martin Jensen of Denmark to win the title. This is the fourth big win of the 2010 season for Eneko, who was the winner of the Abu Dhabi International, Ironman Lanzarote and TriGrandPrix Basque Country.

Czech-born Canadian Tereza Macel of teamTBB competed in her first race since winning Ironman Brazil and placed second at the SABIC Open Dutch Long Distance Championships. Macel led for much of the race only to be passed by the eventual winner near the end of the run. Both athletes broke the previous course record by almost 10 minutes.

Bella Bayliss of teamTBB won her second Ironman UK 70.3 title holding off rookie and fellow teamTBB teammate Tasmin Lewis. Bayliss used a strong run to move ahead during the half-marathon and held off Lewis by less than two minutes.

South African Conrad Stoltz continued his domination of the XTERRA America Tour by winning his 4th straight regional cup race at the XTERRA East Championships in Richmond, Virginia. He has a commanding series points lead over fellow AVIA teammate Josiah Middaugh, who finished third in Richmond. In the women’s race, Shonny Vanlandingham extended her series points lead with a 2nd place finish. Melanie McQuaid and Emma Garrard finished close behind in third and fourth, respectively. Also representing AVIA, Amber Monforte and Fred Smith (MelRad Racing) were the top overall amateurs.

Eneko Llanos, the 3-time XTERRA World Champion, won the second race of the TriGrandPrix Series in the Basque Country of Spain. Llanos, who lives in nearby Vitoria, surged to the lead mid-way through the run and held on for the win against a strong field.

After dealing with numerous injuries and setbacks in 2009, Conrad Stoltz has an absolute strangle hold on the 2010 XTERRA America Tour. For the third straight race, The Caveman rode away from the competition, easily winning the XTERRA Southeast Championship in Pelham, Alabama. And again, the only athlete to really challenge him was fellow AVIA teammate Josiah Middaugh, who collected his third runner-up spot. Conrad and Josiah are currently first and second, respectively, in the overall series standings.

Team Luna’s Shonny Vanlandingham won her second XTERRA US Cup race of the season by leading an AVIA sweep of the women’s podium at the Southeast Championship. Shonny V used a dominating bike to get and stay ahead of Melanie McQuaid and Lesley Paterson. With the win, Shonny extends her slight series lead over Melanie, with MelRad’s Emma Garrard in fifth and Lesley in sixth (despite not racing in Waco).

Team TBB’s Tereza Macel won her 4th Ironman title in ten months with an impressive victory at Ironman Brazil in Florianapolis. She was near the front all day, never falling beyond 2nd place. Tez entered T2 in second but used a strong, consistent run to grab the lead and the win in 9:19:13. Her TBB teammate Donna Phelan finished in a time of 9:44:45, good enough for fifth place and a spot to the Ironman World Championships. Also snagging a Kona slot was 3-time Ironman Brazil winner Eduardo Sturla, who had a bit of an off day and finished fourth.

Team TBB was busy as Erika Csomor was in an epic battle at Ironman 70.3 Austria. In the end, she would place 2nd in a sprint finish, missing out on the winner’s check by a mere 0.2 seconds.

Melanie McQuaid made the long trek over the pond to Sardinia, Italy for the XTERRA European Championships. Despite the lost luggage and jet-lag, Melanie made the most of her journey with an impressive victory over Europe’s best off-road triathletes. After a couple of cup races in the US, Frenchman Nico Lebrun finished 5th in  Sardinia.

The Luna Pro Team headed down to Austin for the Mellow Johnny’s Classic at Lance Armstrong’s ranch. Despite the opressive heat and humidity, Georgia Gould rode away from teammate Katerina Nash to grab another win on the US Pro XC Tour.

Eneko Llanos of Spain won his second Ironman Lanzarote this past weekend. Llanos used his trademark run to come from behind and win in a new course record time of 8:37:42. Having finished outside of the top 10 in Kona last year, Llanos needed to earn a qualifying spot to the World Championships. With this victory, he’ll be back in Kona in October.

From the Canary Islands to Waco, Texas. AVIA athletes ruled the roost at the XTERRA South Central Championships as Conrad Stoltz led an AVIA team sweep. Conrad grabbed the lead early on the bike and never looked back, “Today, I was feeling much better and I loved this course. It has 300 turns and twists and a ton of sharp uphills and it suits my power.” Close behind The Caveman was Josiah Midduagh and XTERRA World Champs runner-up Nico Lebrun. The women were equally impressive as Shonny Vandlandingham of the Luna Pro Team, Melanie McQuaid, and MelRad’s Emma Garrard went 2-3-4.

Back in Europe, Shonny’s Luna teammates were dominating the UCI Cross Country World Cup in Offenburg, Germany. Canadian Catharine Pendrel got a great win ahead of American teammate Georgia Gould. Pendrel has been extremely consistent to start the World Cup season and is now the overall points leader.

Congratulations to all the Avia athletes who participated in the Avia Wildflower Triathlon! Not only did two of our Avia athletes place this past weekend, but 6 others finished in the top 10! Eneko Llanos and Virginia Berastegui both finished strong in 3rd place. Joe Umphenour placed 7th on the men’s side with a time of 4:09:22. Conrad Stoltz just came off a win at the Xterra West Championship in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago and was also about to round out the top 10 with a time of 4:13:14 at Wildflower. Magali Tisseyre of Canada finished closely after Virginia with a 4th place finish and a time of 4:40:04. Xterra Champ Melanie McQuaid finished 5th with a time of 4:43:28 after finishing 2nd in the Xterra West Championship several weeks ago. And to round out the top 10 on the women’s side was Lesley Paterson of Great Britain who finished with a time of 4:50:31.

Congratulations to Avia’s athletes Eneko Llanos and Virginia Berastegui for taking 3rd in the 28th Avia Wildflower Triathlon! Eneko is a two-time Avia Wildflower runner-up and Ironman Hawaii second place finisher and finished with a time of 4:03:34. Defending Avia Wildflower champion Virginia fought through the aftermath of injuries suffered in a March bike crash and finished with a time of 4:39:46. Congrats to both Eneko and Virginia!

Canadian Heather Wurtele won her second Ironman title at the inaugarul Ironman St. George. Heather basically led from the gun and built up an 18-minute lead on the bike to win comfortably with an impressive time of 9:35:25. Heather and her husband Trevor spent the 3 weeks leading up to race training on the very tough course in southern Utah. She reportedly turned down her Kona slot to focus on winning Ironman Canada later this year.

While Heather was gettin’ it done in St. George, most of the AVIA crew was at the AVIA Wildflower Triathlons in central California. Eneko Llanos and Virginia Berasategui came over from Spain and would end up doing quite well as both finished 3rd. Magali Tisseyre was close behind Virginia in fourth and 3-time XTERRA World Champion Melanie McQuaid had a solid race to nab fifth. AVIA athletes would fill half of the women’s top ten with Amy Marsh of Team TBB in 9th and XTERRA’s favorite Scot Lesley Paterson in 10th. On the men’s side, veteran ITU athlete Joe Umphenour did very well to get 7th, while three-time XTERRA World Champ Conrad Stoltz used a very controlled effort to finish tenth.

A week earlier, Conrad, Melanie and Lesley were down in Las Vegas for the XTERRA West Cup at Lake Las Vegas. Conrad was a beast on the bike and needed to be because another AVIA athlete Josiah Middaugh was right on the Caveman’s tail. They would finish 1-2 to start the US Series. Nico Lebrun made the long trip from the French Alps and finished 5th.

Luna Pro Team’s Shonny Vanlandingham used a crushing bike split and solid run split to get a big 4-minute win. AVIA athletes would sweep the top 3 as Melanie took second and Lesley ran herself into 3rd. The XTERRA athletes will be heading down to Waco, TX in a few weeks for the 2nd stop on the US Cup Series.

Canadian Angela Naeth got her first win of the season at the competitive SuperFrog 1/2 in Coronado, California. SuperFrog is one of the oldest 1/2 Ironman distance races in the US and features a tough open water swim and half-marathon run in the sand of Silver Strand State Beach. Angela, who missed most of last year because of injuries, used a race-best bike split to break the race open and earn a comfortable victory.

Kate Pallardy (Team TBB) had a solid race and placed 4th in the SuperFrog. In the Olympic distance SuperSeal, Tracy Robertson opened her season with a 2nd place finish.

France’s Nicolas Lebrun opened his XTERRA at the inaugural XTERRA Portugal. Despite the World Championship runner-up’s claims of being out of shape, he finished on the podium with a 3rd place. He’ll make his away across the pond for the XTERRA West Cup in Las Vegas at the end of April.

Eneko Llanos of Spain won the inaugural Abu Dhabi International Triathlon, defeating a star-studded field with a time of 6:34:37. The unique race distance of 3k swim / 200k bike / 20k run didn’t seem to favor the 3-time XTERRA World Champion but he was quietly confidentafter spending more than a month preparing in Lanzarote. A large pack of men exited the water together and rode in a pack for much of the ride. Once on the run, Eneko pulled away from heavy race favorite Rasmus Henning and German Dirk Bockel to pocket $50,000.

In the women’s race, Virginia Berasategui overcame a terrible bike accident just a couple of weeks before the race to gut out an impressive 3rd place finish. The diminutive Bilbao resident rode her way through the pack and into third place. Despite nagging injuries from the bike versus car incident, she ran tough and secured the final podium spot. Team TBB’s Caroline Steffen had an equally good performance, finishing less than 3 minutes behind Virginia for fourth.

AVIA athletes captured five of the top ten spots in the women’s race with Berasategui 3rd, Steffen (TBB) 4th, Lucie Zelenkova 8th, Rebekah Keat (TBB) 9th, and Tereza Macel (TBB) 10th.

Team TBB’s Amy Marsh of Austin, Texas had the biggest win of her career at Ironman China. Marsh was up front all day and refused to relinquish the lead to her competition or succomb to the brutal heat and humidity. Her TBB teammate Maki Nishiuchi was close behind in 4th.

Caroline Steffen of Team TBB continues to impress with a big win at Ironman 70.3 Singapore. Caroline won by nearly eight minutes and her time placed her ninth among the male pros. Equally impressive was the breakthrough performance of James Cunnama. The Team TBB’er gave the reigning Ironman World Champion all he could handle finishing 2nd by just fifty seconds back.

Luna Pro Team athlete Shonny Vanlandingham has been touring the South Pacific for the opening races of the XTERRA World Tour. Shonny V placed 2nd at both XTERRA Saipan and XTERRA Guam.

There were a lot of people in Oceanside asking , “who is that?” as Lesley Paterson had a massive breakthrough race placing 2nd at the Ironman California 70.3. The tiny Scot stormed her way through the field on the bike and run, blowing the doors off the old run course record in the process. The XTERRA World Champs runner-up who moonlights as a writer/film producer/actress/coach finished between two former 70.3 world champions in her first race of the year. Lesley will be a huge player on the XTERRA US Tour this year.

On the other side of the world, Rebekah Keat of Team TBB was having her own great day in Port Macquarie at Ironman Australia. She was battling for the lead all day and half-way through the bike looked as if she was going to the front for good. A rough spot early on the run stalled her move for the win but her effort was more than enough to secure 2nd place.

As expected, it was hot (102 F) and humid (80%) in Langawi for Ironman Malaysia. It didn’t slow down Team TBB’s Hiro Nishiuchi and Jocelyn “The Wongstar” Wong. Hiro came from way back off the bike to run a blistering marathon, earning a hard fought 2nd place in 8:50:52. Despite a slow swim, The Wongstar held strong and steadily moved her way through the women’s field for 5th place (10:20:32).

On the other side of the globe, Angela Naeth was dealing with cold, rainy and windy conditions at the Desert Duathlon Classic outside of Phoenix. She threw down a race best bike-split to finish 3rd among some of triathlon’s best females.

Caroline Steffen of Team TBB scored a huge win at the Ironman 70.3 Geelong in Australia. Steffen, the 4th place finisher from last year’s Ironman 70.3 World Championships, took control on the bike and strode away to a comfortable 5-minute victory (4:14:32). This is the Swiss Miss’s first 70.3 win. Congratulations to Caroline.

Challenged Athletes Foundation poster boy J.P. Theberge did what most able-bodied athletes are unable…he qualified for the Boston Marathon. At the Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach, J.P. ran a scorching 3:06:47, well under the standard. Next goal for J.P., breaking the elusive 3-hr barrier.

The guys from Troy Lee Designs Honda continue to impress with podium after podium. Wil Hahn ended the Supercross Lites West schedule sitting in 3rd in the point series. Unfortunately, Cole Seely crashed in training and broke his hip but hopes to be back for the finale in Las Vegas later this year.

AVIA sponsored athletes Melanie McQuaid of Canada and Nicolas Lebrun of France were named 2009 XTERRA Athletes of the Year by Triathlete. Melanie had an unbelievably consistent year, winning 6 stops on the XTERRA US Tour, as well as the XTERRA USA Championships and placed 3rd at the XTERRA World Championships. Nico got a roll late in the year culminating with a 2nd place at both the XTERRA World Championships and the XTERRA Winter World Championships.

Team Luna’s Katerina Nash finished 4th at the UCI World Cyclocross Championships in her native Czech Republic, barely missing a coveted medal.

Brasil’s Reinaldo Colucci set a new course record (3:52:38) and ran his way to victory at the Pucon Ironman 70.3 in beautiful Pucon, Chile on Sunday…a great way to the start the new year for the Brasilian Olympian. He outpaced 70.3 World Championship runner-up Daniel Fontana and the 5-time winner of the Pucon event Oscar Galindez.

Team TBB’s Tereza Macel of Canada finished 3rd in her opening race of the 2010 season.

In supercross action (yes, AVIA even sponsors a supercross team), Wil Hahn of the Troy Lee Designs / Lucas Oil / Honda team was the runner-up at the Monster Energy Supercross Lites race in Anaheim. Wil is now tied for 2nd in the points series after three rounds. His teammate Cole Seely placed 5th and is currently seventh in points.

The multi-sport season is upon us…already. AVIA is busy with many new projects for 2010 and needs to get caught up on all the athlete news for January.

AVIA XTERRA superstars Melanie McQuaid and Nico Lebrun were named XTERRA Athletes of The Year by Triathlete magazine. You can check out the article in the February issue, which is on newsstands now.

Team Luna’s Katerina Nash is one of the favorites for the upcoming UCI Cyclocross World Championships, having won the World Cup event in Roubaix, France.

Traithlon racing in the Southern Hemisphere is heating up as a number of the Team TBB athletes already have a full Ironman under their race belts. At Challenge Wanaka in New Zealand, Rebekah Keat  and Lisbeth Kristensen finished 2nd and 3rd and Keegan Williams placed 3rd. Good on ya!

Down in South Africa at the Ironman 70.3 in Buffalo City, James Cunnama of Team TBB set a run course record and finished 2nd. Last year’s winner Lucie Zelenkova fought her way onto the podium with a 3rd place finish.

AVIA is almost ready to announce some exciting athlete news. Stay tuned.

The AVIA family grows to include Jo Zeiger, Llanos Bros, Mel McQuaid, Pip Taylor and Team TBB. Official partnership with The Bike Boutique focuses on developing world champions as well as social development to ensure youth around the globe can participate in triathlon.

AVIA sponsors MelRad Racing. Guided by 6x World Champions Melanie McQuaid & Conrad Stoltz, MRR team members will race the XTERRA series.

AVIA sponsors the Forward Motion Elite Race Team. The elite team races 5k’s through Iron distance events and garnered over 100 podium finishes in 2009.

Lucie Zelenkova wins Ironman South Africa & South Africa 70.3.

Jillian Petersen wins the Miami International Triathlon.

Saul Raisin completes New Orleans 70.3. On top of a full racing schedule he gathers support for The Raisin Hope Foundation throughout his travels.

TEAM AVIA kicks off the 2009 season with awesome racing, camping, and celebrating at the AVIA Wildflower Triathlons. Eneko Llanos and Reinaldo Colucci take 2nd & 3rd. Erika Csomor finishes 3rd; Tyler Stewart & Heather Wurtele round out the top 5. UC San Diego wins the collegiate championship.

Eduardo Sturla brings home his 3rd Ironman Brazil title. Reinaldo Colucci, finishes second in his first ever Ironman.

AVIA sponsors the Commonwealth Tri Series & the Texas Tri Series.

Tyler Stewart storms the bike course at Ironman Coeur d’Alene, with a new record of 4:59:35 and overall record of 9:23:51. Heather Wurtele finished 3rd.

AVIA’s Bek Keat posts the 2nd fastest women’s Ironman time ever at Quelle Challenge Roth in an impressive 8:39:24.

Pip Taylor wins Vineman 70.3 presented by AVIA.

Bella Bayliss champions Ironman UK, Ironman Austria, and Ironman Lanzarote.

Shonny V. wins XTERRA Brazil & XTERRA Mexico.

Amber Monforte smashes the overall Ultraman record with a time of 25:45:51.

Tereza Macel wins Ironman Lake Placid; 6-weeks later she wins Ironman Canada.

Catharine Pendrel leads the Luna Pro Team as she claims #1 in the World Rankings after her win at the Pan Am Continental Championships. She brings home Silver from the World Mountain Bike Championships.

Llanos Brothers go 1-3 at the Spanish Cross Championships.

JP Theberge brings home Gold from the ITU World Championships held in Australia.

Erika Csomor wins Powerman Zofingen for the 6th time.

Melanie McQuaid defends her XTERRA USA Championship title. Shonny V. takes second. Nico Lebrun & Conrad Stoltz go 1-2.

The AVI-BOLT II - Troy Lee Designs, Limited Edition and matching bike are showcased in Vegas at InterBike.

Jo Zeiger wins Longhorn 70.3 in record setting time.

TEAM AVIA hits the waves and lava fields on the Big Island. Tereza Macel runs 3:10 to claim 4th, her best ever finish at the Ironman World Championship.Tyler Stewart is 10th.
Eneko Llanos claims his 3rd title at the XTERRA World Championships.

Katerina Nash wins the US Gran Prix Cross Championship. Alison Dunlap takes 3rd.

Official testing of the new AVI-QUEST Technology gets a thumb’s up from biomechanists. Two new shoes this spring!

What a fantastic year! Look forward to more racing, great footwear & victories in 2010.

Wishing you happy holidays - complete with winter runs and stockings stuffed with gear for all your adventures and a New Year filled with health, fitness & many PR’s.

A Christmas Triathlon Poemby Timothy Carlson- compliments of Slowtwitch

Fair readers - tris and dus, newbies and vets, short coursers, long coursers, ultras and their pets, Hail to the leaders, the bleeders, heavy sweaters and the cool, Here’s to cold beer in summer and hot toddies this Yule!

God rest ye merry energetic triathletic souls, Happy base building, full logbooks – meet all your goals! Yes it’s the Slowtwitchers, wishing y’all well, Singing happy carols of fat-burning noel.

But mostly this tome is a big hug to report, Sweet thoughts to neighbors throughout our fair sport, A time for warm wishes of you from here, To swim-bike-runners in ev’ry hemisphere.

To Fiona and Bevan, sibling Dochertys, Swift finish line sprints, as oft as you please. To Matty and Snuffy, proud brothers Reed, Fraternal good will and more closing speed.

To Snowy and Walto, new bride and groom, Some capacious new space for their cramped trophy room, Betrotheds Jordan and Jill, Rappstar and Savege, Bask in the lovelight, race well on the edge!

To Greg and Sian and their sprightly little Welches, Eternal good humor that time never squelches. To Pippa’s poppa, Whitfield Simon, A fourth Olympics, bright B.C. sun.

Hail Tom Evans and Joanna Zeiger! When you’re 60, you’ll conquer da Eiger! Huzzahs Helen Tucker and Holly Avil,
Great Brits indeed sporting speedy young wheels!

On Pottsy, on Richie, on Terenzo Bozzone, Looking forward to more clashes in half Iron zone. For Macca, king smackah, strong cables galore, Truncated races at Kona no more!

Fair Keller, Fernanda, Tri-Queen of Carnaval, Another win at 42, smiles shared with us all Wendy Wingnut, five Ironman wins, Not half as happy as new baby grins.

Clink all cups to Brooke Davison, Mother of three, top AG, second to none. James Spader, Ralph Nader, nor Oakland Raider, Holds a candle to Iron Wendy Mader.

Vanessa and Javier, Iberian royals, Fought hard in Beijing, just missed the top spoils. Unending Aussie ois to fair Miss Granger,
Chrissie couldna won if Belinda’d been a stranger.

Fond farewells to world champ Lessing, Hello coach Simon, with Wellington’s blessing. Here’s hoping old pals DeBoom and P Reid Might return to Kona with their accustomed speed

Hosanna Shanna Banana - and Alex Ribeiro, Come back to Ultraman, champions co. Hail Kristin Armstrong, former tri,
Beijing cycling gold, held on high.

May the Tour’s Sir Strong Arm Lance, Some day find his way to the Kona dance. For Benno and Laura’s new Boulder house,
Warm fires joyful laughter, and nary a mouse!

All rise and cheer for trailblazer Les, Whose IOC campaign gave us Olympic success. To Fertic and Gilbert and Davy Kahune,
May Ironman, USAT and Xterra find 2009 a boon.

May hard-working zebra Jimmy Ricitello, Find this year’s Timo Bracht a little more mellow. To Vito and Eli and the gang at Zoot’s, Some fancy pants post-race seersucker suits.

May coach Siri Lindley and Rinny Carfrae, Have a rollicking debut on Kona’s Queen K. St. Nick grant quick footed Andreas Raelert, A puncher’s chance at Kona paydirt.

For Crowie, Neri and sprightly Lucy, Some Hawaiian fruit, sweet and juicy. To scientific, analytic Thunder Bear,
Some fashionably cool post race wear.

Just who put the hot in Hottentot? Why forever young Ironman Mr. Bob Scott, To coach Cliff English and red-hot McGlone, A healthy New Year and muscles well toned

For Paula Newby-Scooby-Dooby-not-a-Newbie Fraser
Unlimited cuddles, with Huddle, Paul-needs-a-razor
For the Duke of San Diego, media mogul John,
Less hot breath on his neck from the CGI’s dons.

For good-hearted, generous Mr. Bob Babbitt, Age fifty-plus legs as quick as a rabbit, “You’re an Ironman!”’s silver-tongued Reilly, May his throat be strong and wit stay wily.

Sarah Haskins bright smile will never grow old, May her World Championship silver turn into gold. Merry wassail Collinses, Judy and John, For Ironman’s founders, an aerobic orison.

For Ueberbiker, fun-lover, Herr Jurgen Zack , A toast in his name, good memories, no lack. And Kona twice-conqueror, Uberbiker zwei, A Normannator toast to this Stadler guy.

Neue lang syne Holland’s Yvonne Van Vlerken, Now a contender at Kona a’ lurkin’. If water she’d conquer, Hungary’s Csomor, Kona chances, though slim, a still-open door.

Glad tidings Natascha, so courageous, so brave, Broken bones could not quell your Queen K wave. Brian Boyle, paralyzed not long ago one day, Reborn, energized, amazing! On Pele’s fields of play.

Thanks for the thrills, Dr. James Gills, Shepherding Valerie’s dream baby most surely fulfills. Here’s hoping that Providence Equity’s, Keeping Ironman open to some Walter Mittys.

But in our madcap Christmas spree, Take time out for fond reverie, Of a life well lived, adventurous, free,
Barbara Warren, we so loved thee!

Tiradentes, Brazil - The XTERRA Regional Real attracted more than 1000 athletes in Tiradentes and São João del Rei (MG), Brazil.

Altogether, more than 1000 athletes, amateur and professional, competed in the Mountain Bike Duathlon, Mountain Bike Race and Night Running Race in the two days of competition that filled the square in Tiradentes, Minas Gerais.

The day started early at 9am, with the most anticipated race being the XTERRA MTB Cup, athletes faced a journey of 52 km full mud - especially after the rain Saturday night - closed trails, steep descents and ascents and dirt roads and rocks. Before that, the bikers were exposed to the heat on a ride of 15 km to São João del Rei, where they were given the official start. At the end of the race, Rubens Donizete won the men’s race and Shonny Vanlandingham won the women’s race.

The highlight of XTERRA Regional Estrada Real was the American Shonny Vanlandingham, who fired in front of the other competitors and won two races. In the MTB Cup, the American mountain bike champion left behind Erika Gramiscelli, the champion from the previous race stop and held the top position for almost the entire circuit. Cristina de Carvalho, of Sao Paulo, made another podium in third. In the Duathlon Shonny was again the champion. She put a lead of almost 20 minutes on Cristina de Carvalho. Luzia Bello, Santos, came in third.

“The competition was good, with everything that I expected: a lot of mud and slippery slopes. The hardest parts were the climbs, very steep,” said Shonny.

ALISON DUNLAP CLAIMS 4th AFTER CRASH IN US CROSS NATIONALS
This weekend contained 4-days of action packed cyclocross racing at the US National Championships, held in Bend, Oregon. Despite the snow, slosh, and bone chilling temperatures, over 5,000-fans joined in on the action.

Alison Dunlap went out hard, keeping Katie Compton in her sights. However, after a couple of spills on icy sections, Miller & Dombroski moved up in the field. Alison had a strong race to finish in 4th place.Katie Compton won the championship with Meredith Miller & Amy Dombroski joining her on the podium.

KATERINA NASH SWEEPS USGP in PDX, LUNA 1st & 3rd OVERALLThis year’s Portland US Gran Prix series finale was held under sunny skies and on a mostly dry course. Unusal conditions for Portland, but it made for some exciting action packed racing. Katerina rode off the front like she has in every other race this season to win by a comfortable margin on both days. Alison Dunlap was in the chase group battling for the podium when an unlucky flat on the last lap took her out of contention in Saturday’s race.

And on Sunday Alison was again fighting for that final podium spot when she crashed hard in a corner, causing her to lose contact with Amy Dombrowski, who went on to finish 3rd. Katerina won the overall for the second year in a row with Alison rounding out the podium in third.

Katerina has a few weeks at home before going home to Czech for her National Championships in January. She’ll then race two World Cups before lining up at the World Championships at the end of January.

Makena, Maui - TEAM AVIA’s Eneko Llanos, of Spain, won his third XTERRA World Championship this Sunday. After a somewhat disappointing day (14th place) at the Ironman World Championships, Eneko decided he wanted to have a positive and decisive finish to his 2009 season. So, back to Hawaii he went, less than 2-weeks later.

The men’s race was stacked with past XTERRA World Champions, Ironman Champions, XTERRA US & France Champions, as well as some up & coming competitors that have yet to fear the slopes of Haleakala, the intense sun, waves, and lava-laden terrain. Luke McKenzie led the swim, followed closely by Seth Wealing and Eneko Llanos; the second pack to emerge the warms Pacific waters, included Olivier Marceau, Franky Batelier, and Conrad Stoltz.

Stoltz jumped to an early lead on the mountain bike and the first to hit the infamous “Heartbreak Hill”. Stoltz still held the lead to “Ned’s Climb”, the 1,400 feet climb to where the “Plunge” begins,.
with Batelier, Llanos, Marceau, and Lebrun waiting for the opportune moment to gain in position. Stoltz’ has built his legend and the spot where in past years he could put guys away with his fearless downhill riding but the course this year was smoother and less of a deciding factor in the bike outcome.

“This was a tough race, but the bike course was a little smoother, a little faster,” said Llanos, who became the first racer in 14 years to win XTERRA Worlds after competing at the Ironman World Champs. “The course was a little less technical, and I went at a steady pace and it went really well.”

At T2 Stoltz, Llanos, and Middaugh entered and exited the lush luau grounds at Makena Resort together. The timing was perfect and Llanos jumped into the lead.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect to be this strong,” said Llanos, who finished 14th at the Ironman World Championship in 8:37:55 and captured the Hawaiian Airlines Double award for the fourth straight time. The award is given annually to the pro man with the fastest combined time at Ironman Worlds and XTERRA Worlds. “Just two weeks ago I was really disappointed in Kona, and now here I am so happy. I came here with no pressure and just wanted to have fun and then I felt strong from the swim and had a good day. When I crossed the finish line I couldn’t believe it, how fast feelings change, and something amazing happened and I’m just so happy now.”

Llanos finished in 2:37:22. Additional AVIA athletes racing included: Nico Lebrun (2nd), and Conrad Stoltz (5th).

Cozumel, Mexico - Bella Bayliss had another strong race at the inaugural Ironman Cozumel. She exited the water with the second pack of women; Yvonne Van Vlerken was right on her heels. Van Vlerken hasn’t won a race since early 2008 so she was hungrier than ever for a win. Bella posted the 2nd fastest bike and run split, only to Van Vlerken, the race champion. Bella finished with a 9:22:34, final clock time. Edith Niederfriniger finished 8-minutes back to round out 3rd place on the podium.

Additional AVIA Athletes racing include: Jocelyn Wong (10th).

The Luna Chix have taken the “conquer & divide” philosophy and have been racking up the medals around the world. A few recent highlights include:

Iceman Cometh - the 20th anniversary of the mountain bike races held in Kalkaska, MI, drew over 4,700-races. Alison Dunlap won the championship.

UCI Cyclocross World Cup, Norway - Katerina Nash had a strong race, finishing in 5th. She followed it up with two wins at the Mercer Cup in New Jersey, the following weekend.

SuperCross Cup, Southampton NY - Georgia Gould had a fantastic weekend, bringing home 2nd & 3rd place medals.

Ironman Arizona - Terra Castro had one of the best races of her life. Her 3:16 run earned her a 6th place finish.

Makena, Maui - As expected, Christine “Big Fish” Jeffrey led out of the water with Julie Dibens (2007 & 2008 World Champ) on her heels. Marie-Helene Premont (an Olympic silver medalist in the 2004 mountain bike competition in Athens), Shonny Vanlandingham (NORBA’s all-time best) and Melanie McQuaid (a Canadian National Team rider for years) had a chase ahead of them, one they wouldn’t win over Dibens.

In the ultimate display of class, Dibens deflected talking about her own race at the awards ceremony dinner but rather praised Paterson, who she had raced against on the ITU circuit nearly a decade ago, and told the assembled masses that this course was good for her and on any other course Melanie McQuaid could “kick my a#*”.

“To me, Melanie and Jamie Whitmore are still the queen’s of XTERRA and I’m certain these guys out here in the audience feel the same way,” said Dibens.

Lesley Paterson is a rising star in the XTERRA World and had it not been for that one Brit – this race was hers. She finished in the top 3 in all three championship XTERRA’s she entered, however, this result was by far the most impressive and her run split was the fastest of the day by far at 49:50.

“I was real consistent on the bike today and was able to stay with Shonny until the plunge when she took off,” said Paterson. “I worked so hard on the bike this year and it really paid off, and I’m really excited about my finish today.”

For McQuaid, the dream of an unprecedented fourth world title is still just that. She didn’t have a bad day, it just wasn’t enough.
“I didn’t have an amazing day today and you have to in order to win here,” said the 3x World Champ. “I’m not happy with my performance, I just wasn’t snappy enough, but I had a good season.”

Additional TEAM AVIA athletes competing included: Shonny Vanlandingham (5th) and Danelle Kabush (7th).

Austin, TX - Joanna Zeiger made a smashing comeback at the Longhorn event. She led from start-to-finish, proving she’s the best of the best in the 70.3 distance. Zeiger, who has been suffering with a season-interrupting bout of dizziness, is back in full force and was ready for a win. She finished the Longhorn Ironman 70.3 Austin by 2:14 over Heather Jackson in an impressive time of 4:14:53. Zeiger will attempt to defend her Ironman 70.3 World Championship title in Clearwater next month.

Additional TEAM AVIA athletes competing included: Tereza Macel (5th) and Terra Castro (10th).

Panama City Beach, Florida - Bella Bayliss had a strong day at Ironman Florida but still not the race she’d hoped for. Bayliss has won Ironman Florida 5-times and was hoping to add one more to her list of titles. Unfortunately, despite a solid race, two other women were having the race of their lives.

Bella likes to lead from the front so when she came out of the water just over a minute back, it was apparent she was less than thrilled. After her 59-minute swim, she lost two more places on the bike, and then worked extremely hard on the run but ultimately ran out of time. Bayliss finished 3rd with 9:13:52. We know she’ll be even more hungry next time around!

Additional AVIA Athletes competing include: Jocelyn Wong (10th), Kristin Lie (11th), Scott DeFilippis (16th)

Kailua-Kona, HI - Australia’s Craig Alexander captured his second consecutive World Championship title. Chrissie Wellington of Great Britain, added a third championship title to her resume; her final time of 8:54:02 broke the course record set in 1992 by Paula Newby-Fraser.

AVIA’s Tereza Macel had a solid day as she battled the intense heat out in the lava fields, the winds at Hawi, and taking on the best athletes in the world. Tereza swam just off the feet of TBB teammate Lucie Zelenkova who would lead the women’s field out of the water. Tereza’s tenacity on the bike is unbeatable but as an athlete of three sports, her challenge is to temper her speed so she still has plenty to give on the run. Tereza posted the 3rd fastest split of the day, only behind Wellington (1st) and Berasategui (3rd). She followed up her strong ride with a 3:10:13 run split. Congrats Tereza on amazing 2009 season!

Additional AVIA athlete competing in the IRONMAN World Championships include:
Tyler Stewart - 10th
Lucie Zelekova - 23rd
Erika Csomor - 27th
Lisbeth Kristensen - 32nd
Maki Nishiuchi - 36th
Abigail Bayley - 38th
Bella Bayliss - 42nd
Eneko Llanos- 14th
Eduardo Sturla - 19th
Reinaldo Colucci - 21st
Stephen Bayliss - 4th
Hiro Nishiuchi - 49th
James Cunnama - 51st

Kailua-Kona, HI - Australia’s Craig Alexander captured his second consecutive World Championship title. Chrissie Wellington of Great Britain, added a third championship title to her resume; her final time of 8:54:02 broke the course record set in 1992 by Paula Newby-Fraser.

AVIA’s Tyler Stewart had a strong finish after a long day of battling the intense heat out in the lava fields, the winds at Hawi, and taking on the best athletes in the world. Uber-cyclist Stewart came out of the water with a group of age-group men, prepared for a chase. With a top 5 bike split, behind only Wellington (1st), Virginia Berasategui (3rd), and Tereza Macel (4th), Tyler moved herself up to 12th from 46th leading into T2. Stewart showed us she hang in there for a tough 26.2 run and won’t let up until she’s crossed the finish line. With a 3:22:59 run split, Tyler moved herself into the 10th, her strongest finish at the Ironman World Championships. Congrats Tyler on a fantastic 2009 season!

Additional AVIA athlete competing in the IRONMAN World Championships include:
Tereza Macel - 4th
Lucie Zelekova - 23rd
Erika Csomor - 27th
Lisbeth Kristensen - 32nd
Maki Nishiuchi - 36th
Abigail Bayley - 38th
Bella Bayliss - 42nd
Eneko Llanos- 14th
Eduardo Sturla - 19th
Reinaldo Colucci - 21st
Stephen Bayliss - 4th
Hiro Nishiuchi - 49th
James Cunnama - 51st

Good luck to the TEAM AVIA athletes who will take on the best of the best at the XTERRA World Championships! TEAM AVIA athletes competing include - Melanie McQuaid (2009 XTERRA USA Champion), Shonny Vanlandingham (2009 XTERRA USA Championships - 2nd), Danelle Kabush (fastest runner in the 2008 Champs), Conrad Stoltz (3x World Champion, Nico LeBrun (European Champion), and Craig Evans.

On October 25, 2009 a maxed-out field of 600 international dirt lovers will embrace the annual challenge of XTERRA’s most grueling course - and in the ensuing hours put their mental and physical toughness up against Mother Nature’s arsenal of sun, sand, water, kiawe and lava. When it’s all over, they’ll don some of the weirdest and most wonderful costumes you’ve ever seen and dance the night away at what is surely triathlon’s greatest after party.

Athletes from more than 20 countries and 40 states will gather in Maui - having competed all season long for the right to be at the XTERRA Global Tour’s culminating event. What begins as a gathering of relative strangers end as a family whose friendship defies boundaries of title and expertise and unites them all in the challenge of Man vs. Mother Nature.

$105,000 in pro prize money is up for grabs and for age groupers the title of World Champion earns them a one-of-a-kind XTERRA World Champion jersey. All the action will be filmed for a one-hour nationwide TV special, and on race day, you can log-on to XTERRA.TV for live coverage from Maui.

Snowbasin Resort- Ogden, UT - The three-time XTERRA World Champ came out of the water more than three minutes behind Christine Jeffrey undaunted, and by midway through the bike had a two minute lead on Jeffrey, Sara Tarkington, and Shonny Vanlandingham.

By the 19-kilometer mark McQuaid still had more than two minutes on Vanlandingham, while Jeffrey fell off the pace, Tarkington remained in third, and Lesley Paterson moved into fourth position more than four minutes behind the leader.

During the last quarter of the bike Vanlandingham got a split that said she was just a minute back when the dreaded flat seemingly erased any chance she might have. Three stops to quick fill her tire later that cost her a couple minutes of hard-charging time and “Shonny V” found herself in the precarious position of having to make up three minutes on the run.

It just so happened that McQuaid, who has been at altitude for a month and here in the area for two weeks, may have just “overtrained” and started fading.

“I tried not to think about how slow I was running,” said the champ. “Before the race I was listening to this techno song and the only thing that was going through my mind was ‘I like to move it, move it’ and I was hoping it would help me get through.”

It certainly did get her through, and fast enough, but Vanlandingham ran three minutes faster over the 10-kilometer close and pulled to within 47 seconds at the finish line.

“I feel really good about today,” said Vanlandingham, the top American woman in the race and the Pro Series. “I mean, if you take the flats out I could have contended. Wish I could’ve made it more exciting for the fans and spectators but in this sport, those things happen.”

Paterson caught and passed Tarkington on the run to finish in the top 3 in her third straight XTERRA championship race this year. Carina Wasle also moved up into fourth, and Jenny Smith rounded out the top five.

“This place is absolutely amazing,” said Paterson in her Scottish accent. “The course was perfect and fast and smooth and fun, the air temperature was perfect, and I was having trouble concentrating looking at all the pink and yellow and orange – it was much like Scotland in the fall.”

At the awards ceremony McQuaid spoke for the entire field when she said, “the people and volunteers here in Utah are crazy amazing. The hospitality they show is insane, they’re just so happy to have us and I can tell you we are happy to be here. I can’t imagine a funner place to enjoy the end of the U.S. series.”

Snowbasin Resort - Ogden, UT - The race started out predictably enough with Seth Wealing leading the charge in the mile-long swim in the calm and cool but comfortable waters of Pineview Reservoir, followed shortly after by the “Big Fish” Christine Jeffrey and some 40-seconds later out popped Stoltz, Branden Rakita, and Craig Evans.

Out on the bike things changed quickly as Conrad “the Caveman” Stoltz evaporated Wealing’s early lead by the second mile and put nearly a minute into the entire field. It was 50-seconds to be exact, and the next riders to arrive added even more colors to the already vibrant scene with Josiah Middaugh in blue, Nico Lebrun in green, Mike Vine in orange, and Branden Rakita in black all riding wheel-to-wheel. Early speed credit also goes to Middaugh and Lebrun, who exited the swim more than minute-and-a-half after Stoltz and caught up quick.

By mile eight the landscape had changed again as Stoltz had put another 20 seconds on Middaugh and Vine, but Lebrun had taken 20 seconds back and was now only half-minute behind the 3x XTERRA World Champion from South Africa.

“Today I was riding really skinny and fast tires and my plan was to go very hard on the climbs but be conservative on the downhills so I would not crash,” said Lebrun, long known as one of the sports premier climbers. It was a solid strategy, especially considering this 30-kilometer bike course climbs and climbs and climbs with some 3,000 feet of uphill from the reservoir to the top of the course (it’s 4,600-feet elevation at the swim start and 7,600-feet at the top of the bike).

On the other end of that spectrum is Stoltz, who has the power to climb but his solid 6-foot-3 frame requires a lot more effort to propel up a mountain. “This is the anti-Conrad course,” explained Stoltz. Nevertheless, any time the trail got flat and the very few times it went down Stoltz pinned it and even his fellow pros call describe his fearless riding as “simply amazing”.

As proof, despite all the ground Lebrun made up on the ascent Stoltz still took a minute lead out onto the run after his final rush down to the transition area. The good news for Lebrun, and the bad for Stoltz, was there’s still a lot more climbing on the run.

At mile 1.3 Lebrun had gained 13 seconds, in the next 15 minutes he made up the other 47, and for good measure added another 52 ticks to cross the line with a winning time of 2:21:57 – Stoltz 2:22:49.

“Maybe for the first time ever I’m content with second,” said Stoltz, who with the finish secured an unprecedented 7th XTERRA U. S. Pro Series title. “Considering the injuries I had this year and my sketchy training as a result I’m very happy to keep it all together and still win the series. Plus, Nico is just a Billy goat, and he was the strongest guy out there today.”

Behind those two Josiah Middaugh did everything in his power to stave off Mike Vine, who came within seconds of getting past, to hold on for 3rd – top American in the race and in the Pro Series now for the fifth time in six years. Both Middaugh and Vine tipped their caps to the guys ahead “They crushed it today,” said one – and – “they really nailed it,” said the other.

Wealing, who said he did “pretty darn good” for how bad he was feeling, finished in 5th, and five other Colorado guys rounded out the top 10 with Rakita, Cody Waite, Ryan Ignatz, Brian Smith (fresh off a grueling adventure race in China last weekend) and Will Kelsay.

Snowbasin Resort - Ogden, UT- Shonny V. came out of the water 2-minutes behind Melanie McQuaid, the current US Champ, that would be her toughest competition of the day. Vanlandingham patiently went to work, knowing it was fully within her capabilities to reel in McQuaid.

In the last quarter of the bike Vanlandingham had reduced McQuaid’s lead to less than a minute when the dreaded flat seemingly erased any chance she might have. Three stops to quick fill her tire later that cost her a couple minutes of hard-charging time and “Shonny V” found herself in the precarious position of having to make up three minutes on the run.

McQuaid, who has been at altitude for a month and here in the area for two weeks, may have just “overtrained” and started fading.

Vanlandingham ran three minutes faster over the 10-kilometer close and pulled to within 47 seconds at the finish line.

“I feel really good about today,” said Vanlandingham, the top American woman in the race and the Pro Series. “I mean, if you take the flats out I could have contended. Wish I could’ve made it more exciting for the fans and spectators but in this sport, those things happen.”

Paterson caught and passed Tarkington on the run to finish in the top 3 in her third straight XTERRA championship race this year. Carina Wasle also moved up into fourth, and Jenny Smith rounded out the top five.

Luna Pro & Teammate, Danelle Kabush, finished 7th Overall.

The women’s field was stacked with last year’s winner and defending US champion Katie Compton taking on the powerful LUNA duo of Katerina Nash and Georgia Gould. Helen Wyman (Kona) of Great Britain attacked from the start, creating the first selection. Only Katerina and Katie were able to respond. Wyman quickly faded, leaving Katerina and Katie to battle up front. An unfortunate crash on the run-up took Katerina out of contention for the win. Katie rode solo the rest of the race finishing almost a minute ahead of Katerina. Georgia had to battle with a surging Kelli Emmett (Giant Bicycles) for the final podium spot. A last lap attack dropped Kelli and secured 3rd place for Georgia. A great start to the cross season! Noteably absent was Alison Dunlap, stuck at home fighting a nasty sinus cold. She’ll join the rest of the team for the first round of the US Gran Prix in Madison, WI this weekend.

Kailua-Kona, HI - This Saturday, October 10, the TEAM AVIA Men will take on the 140.6-mile challenge through the ocean waves and the lava-covered terrain. Our men will race the best of the best at the 2009 Ironman World Championships. This year’s AVIA athletes represent over 15-Ironman Wins, 4-Course Records, and countless other podium finishes. Join us wishing them well & if you’re lucky enough to be in Kona, give them a cheer as they speed by!

2009 TEAM AVIA MEN
- Stephen Bayliss
- Reinaldo Colucci
- James Cunnama
- Eneko Llanos
- Hektor Llanos
- Hiro Nishiuchi
- Eduardo Sturla

Kailua-Kona, HI - This Saturday, October 10, the TEAM AVIA Women will take on the 140.6-mile challenge through the ocean waves and the lava-covered terrain. Our women will race the best of the best at the 2009 Ironman World Championships. This year’s AVIA athletes represent over 15-Ironman Wins, 4-Course Records, and countless other podium finishes. Join us wishing them well & if you’re lucky enough to be in Kona, give them a cheer as they speed by!

2009 TEAM AVIA WOMEN
- Abigail Bayley
- Bella Bayliss-Comerford
- Erika Csomor
- Rebekah Keat
- Lisbeth Kristensen
- Tereza Macel
- Wendy Mader
- Maki Nishiuchi
- Tyler Stewart
- Heather Wurtele
- Lucie Zelenkova

Schladming, Austria - Catharine Pendrel, with her 3rd place finish this past weekend, gained enough points to finish 3rd in the final World Cup standings. Georgia Gould was 15th overall, with Katerina Nash in 38th. Katerina only raced in two World Cups this year. The LUNA Team finished 2nd in the overall team rankings. Congratulations on finishing a long and grueling mountain bike season!

What’s next? The LUNA team converges on Las Vegas next week for Interbike. Georgia and Katerina will join Alison Dunlap for Cross Vegas, a huge nighttime cyclocross race in front of thousands of beer drinking, hot dog eating, super fans. On Friday, the cross team heads to Madison, WI for the first round of the US Grand Prix national series.

Redmond, WA - On Saturday, the Star Crossed event was held under dark skies at 7pm. Helen Wyman (Kona) rode away for a decisive win with Sue Butler coming in 2nd and Alison in 3rd. On Sunday at the Rad Racing GP, Helen Wyman again rode away from the field, only to suffer an untimely flat on the second lap. Sue Butler had magic legs and rode to the win by 30 sec. Alison was 2nd. It was a good showing in only her second weekend of cross racing in five years.

The LUNA Team will be racing this Wednesday at Cross Vegas, at the Interbike trade show.

Erika Csomor made history this weekend by winning the Powerman World Championships in Zofingen for a record 6th time.

The Hungarian dominated from the first run, but it was on the third lap of the bike where she pulled away from her rivals to enter T2 with a 7 minute advantage. From there on she attributed her success to sheer mind power to win (7h20) over Jessica Peterssen (UK) and Camilla Lindholm of Sweden in third.

Congrats Erika!

Gold Coast, Australia - Congrats to JP Theberge!! on a fantastic performance at the ITU World Championships.

JP - a father of three, businessman, and world champion triathlete - doesn’t let anything get in his way, let alone his below the knee amputation. The long flight from LAX to Brisbane gave JP plenty of time to focus on his objective & specific goals for the race, as well as reflect on the hard work and the journey that went into getting him to another World Championship event.

His swim was less than satisfactory, putting him in 8th place at T1. JP began to ride, knowing a lot can happen in a 40k TT and a 10k run. Little by little, JP picked off his fellow competitors until he was 41-seconds down from 1st place at about 2.5-miles into the run. And then he went, with confidence in his hard work and nothing to lose - JP brought home GOLD!!! He finished 1:24 over Rivaldo’s 2nd place for a final clocktime of 2:19.

For JP’s race recap, check out: http://www.challengedracing.com/main/home/Entries/2009/9/12_Gold_Down_Under.html

Monterey, CA - Congrats Alexis! This hometown favorite always puts her best on the line for the family & friends that have been cheering her on for over 2 decades. Complete with pink hair and a vibrant smile from just being out on a race course, Alexis swam, bike & ran her way to 3rd place just behind race winner Leanda Cave and Tenille Hoogland (2nd).

Congrats Llanos Brothers for your great races at the Spanish Cyclocross Championships!

Eneko finished 1st; Hektor finished 3rd on the podium. What a great way to hold on to late season fitness & spice up the routine. Next stop - 2009 Ironman World Championships!

Catharine “Kika” Pendrel kicked off the 2009 World Mountain Bike Championships with a silver medal as part of the Canadian Team relay squad. This is the best result ever for a member of the LUNA Pro Team in a UCI World Championship.

The Team Relay is made up of national teams of four riders – one elite man, one elite woman, an Under-23 male, and a junior man. Each team member races one lap of the cross-country course with the starting order left up to the teams.

Chloe Forsman will be the next LUNA Pro to see action, racing the Under-23 women’s cross-country on Wednesday, September 2 (2009). Georgia Gould and Catharine Pendrel will race the Elite women’s cross country on Saturday, September 5, 2009.

Penticton, B.C. - Sunday’s Ironman Canada belonged to Tereza Macel. Still on a high from winning Ironman Lake Placid just over 5-weeks ago, Tereza entered this iconic event with the intent of hearing the pleasant ring “Tereza Macel - IRONMAN CHAMPION” once again. If you meet Tereza, you’ll think she’s one of the sweetest, most soft spoken women you’ve met…until that all disappears when she swims, bikes and runs.

Coach Brett Sutton teaches his teamTBB to race like they train so Tereza’s 51:11 swim with the boys was just that. Swim specialists Kat Baker and Belinda Granger were left in her wake, over 2-minutes behind. Onto the bike, Tereza was again in familiar company. She began riding away from the girls, and was the only pro woman to break the 5-hour mark. Tereza finished her day in decisive fashion with a top run split of 3:17:52 - giving her enough time to truly enjoy this victory and give some fan love to family, friends and sponsors, as she crossed finish line flashing her brilliant smile.

Macel’s final clock time was 9:11:20. Last year’s champion, Belinda Granger came 2nd in 9:40:49. Local athlete Janelle Morrison finished in 3rd; Haley Cooper & Tara Norton rounded out the top 5.

Additional AVIA Athletes racing, include: Trevor Wurtele (18th).

Louisville, KY- Sunday’s Ironman Louisville was exciting race for spectators. Forty-one year old veteran, Nina Kraft led out of the water with teamTBB’s Maki Nishuichi right on her heels.

Kraft pulled away but recieved a shock when TBB’s Lisbeth Kristensen passed her as if she was standing still. Kristensen, who had her first baby earlier this year is just winding up for the season, and put a 9-minute deficit into Kraft.

Once on the run course, temperatures began to heat up. Kraft reclaimed her lead with the 2nd fastest run of the day. Lisbeth Kristensen finished in a strong 2nd overall with a final time of 9:23:57, 3-minutes behind Kraft. Kim Loeffler finished in 3rd; Kate Pallardy & Fernanda Keller took 4th & 5th on the podium.

Additional AVIA athletes racing, include: Maki Nishiuchi (7th), Hiro Nishiuchi (7th), and Scott Defilippis (16th).

Tuscaloosa, AL - Last Sunday’s USAT Elite National Championships were held in the hot, humid college town of Tuscaloosa. The event drew the nation’s best, including the next group of Olympic hopefuls.

Jasmine Oeinck, a two-time ITU Under 23 World Championship silver medalist in cool conditions, overcame 85-degree water and typical Alabama summer heat to win the USAT Elite National women’s title in 2:02:49 at Tuscaloosa. Oeinck came off the swim and bike five seconds behind fellow Boulder, Colorado resident Jenna Shoemaker, then ran a race-best 35:14 to outpace Shoemaker by 33 seconds and hit the line with a 28 seconds margin of victory. Swim sensation, Hayley Peirsol rounded out the top 3. Margaret Shapiro, finished in 4th; Jillian Petersen took 5th in the Elite Open Division.

Lake Stevens, WA - Sunday’s Ironman 70.3 event, held at Lake Stevens, a small town 40-minutes north of Seattle, began eerily. The small community was enveloped in a layer of fog so thick one couldn’t 15-ft ahead, let alone swim bouys placed approx. every 100-yards. The chill in the air and 50-degree temperatures also left participants wondering what this race would hold. After a short delay the fog began to lift, and the athletes were off. The 2009 field included a long list of professional men, Becky Lavelle a world class racer, ITU star Samantha Warriner, 2x ITU World Champion & 2006 Ironman World titlist Michellie Jones, 2008 Ironman Coeur d’Alene Champion Heather Wurtele, 3x XTERRA champion Melanie McQuaid and Ironman Hawaii 5th place finisher Linsey Corbin, along with over 1,000 age-groupers fulfilling dreams of qualifying for the 70.3 World Champs, setting a pr, or just finishing.

Becky Lavelle set the pace from the gun start with a race best swim of 25:58. Wurtele and Jones emerged over 2-minutes back, and McQuaid 4-minutes off the race leader. Wurtele proved to be the dominating factor on the bike course, putting over 3-minutes into Lavelle, Jones and McQuaid. On the run Lavelle and Wurtele, two of the lankiest runners in the sport, paced off eachother. Wurtele looked strong but lack of promised nutrition on the course was her detriment. She raced strong, preparing to pick up the pace in the final 5k. Unfortunately Wurtele bonked with 1.5mi to go; Lavelle outran her for the win. Jones raced in no man’s land, pushing to reach the two leaders ahead and conscious of the strong racers behind her. She maintained position for 3rd on the podium. Congrats Heather!

Lake Stevens, WA - Sunday’s Ironman 70.3 event, held at Lake Stevens, a small town 40-minutes north of Seattle, A very deep women’s field included Becky Lavelle a world class racer, ITU star Samantha Warriner,2x ITU World Champion & 2006 Ironman World titlist Michellie Jones, 2008 Ironman Coeur d’Alene Champion Heather Wurtele, 3x XTERRA champion Melanie McQuaid and Ironman Hawaii 5th place finisher Linsey Corbin. For Melanie, this race was her token 70.3 race of the season, basically a long training day for XTERRA National Champs next month and proof that she can be as competitive on the road as off.

Becky Lavelle set the pace from the gun start with a race best swim of 25:58. Wurtele and Jones emerged over 2-minutes back, and McQuaid 4-minutes off the race leader. Wurtele proved to be the dominating factor on the bike course, putting over 3-minutes into Lavelle, Jones and McQuaid. On the run Lavelle and Wurtele, two of the lankiest runners in the sport, paced off eachother. Unfortunately Wurtele bonked with 1.5mi to go; Lavelle outran her for the win. Jones maintained position for 3rd on the podium.

AVIA’s Melanie McQuaid, hammered away on the bike, after her disappointing swim. She posted a top 3 bike time but expended too much effort to move up in the field any further. She finished in 4th. Linsey Corbin rounded out the top 5.

Congrats Melanie!

The cross country race was a tight battle between Willow Koerber (Gary Fisher/Subaru), Catharine Pendrel, Georgia Gould, Katerina Nash, and Lea Davison (Maxxis). Catharine set the intial pace up the first climb, but was passed on the descent by Willow. After Willow flatted, Georgia and Catharine regained the lead. A lap later Willow was back in front. Catharine was in 2nd, only to suffer a flat towards the finish. Willow finished 40 seconds ahead of Georgia with Catharine in third, Lea Davison in 4th and Katerina Nash rounding out the podium in 5th.

Catharine’s third place was enough to give her the series title, with Georgia in second, Heather Irmiger in 3rd, Katerina Nash in 4th, and Pua Sawicki 5th. It was Catharine’s first series title. LUNA has won the National Series championship every year since 2005.

The short track was another tactical race between the LUNA team, Lea Davison, Heather Irmiger and Willow Koerber. After an aggressive start that saw multiple attacks and lead changes, the main group quickly wittled down to the three LUNA riders, Heather and Lea. On the last lap Katerina attacked hard up the only climb with Lea in tow and a small gap back to Georgia. Lea was able to squeak around Katerina before the final turn and held her off in the sprint for the win. Katerina’s second place was followed closely by Georgia and Catharine in 3rd and 4th.

Georgia, Catharine and Chloe will return home for some rest before the World Championships in 3 weeks in Canberra, Australia. Katerina Nash will be focusing on the January 2010 Cross World Championships, an hour from her hometown of Prachatice, Czech.

Valle de Bravo, Mexico - Shonny Vanlandingham took home the crown at the XTERRA Mexico Championship last weekend. Shonny V. who seems to get stronger each year and throughout the season, claimed her 3rd win in 4 races.

The Valle de Bravo race course is a two hour drive from Mexico City. It sits on a huge reservoir, with green hills and mountains perfect for XTERRA racing. The swim course was relocated due to the lack of rain this year. Shonny V. got caught up in a agressive, messy swim start and came out of the water 3-minutes back from Olympian Fabiola Corona.

The bike course is hilly with some great single track, a ride you can actually enjoy. Vanlandingham recovered from the swim and had her game face back on. At the end of the first lap, Rebecca Dussault had pulled ahead of Corona and Vanlandingham was coming on strong. On lap two, Shonny V. stormed by her competition in impressive style and prepared for her victory run.

The run course is breathtaking, as you emerge for the woods racers enjoy views of the valley and lake. Shonny V. negotiated the hills well, and promised to enjoy the views post-race and with a celebratory margarita. Vanlandingham held off Dussault by 30-seconds with the rest of the field trailing several minutes behind.

Congrats Shonny!!

British Columbia, Canada - Ultraman Canada is a 3-day, 512.6 kilometer (318.6 mile) ultra-endurance event, which started in Canada in 1993, following the format of the Ultraman established in Kona in 1983, covers part of the Okanagan/ Similkameen regions of British Columbia.

Stage 1 - 10.0 km (6.2 mile) point to point swim starting in Penticton and finishing in Okanagan Falls, followed by 144.8 km (90.0 mile) bike ride, beginning in Okanagan Falls over the Richter Pass returning to Okanagan Falls.

Stage 2 - 273.5 km (170 mile) bike ride, beginning in Penticton and ending in Princeton.

Stage 3 - 84.3 km (52.4 mile) double-marathon run from Princeton to Summerland.

This past weekend, Amber Monforte - nurse, Ironwoman, XTERRA competitor and Stoltz fiancee - made her mark on the triathlon world with a record-smashing performance.

Monforte, who has found her niche in training and racing, proved she was the toughest mentally and physically for this ultra-challenge.

Monforte started Friday’s Day One with a third-best 2:52:39 swim, lagging behind Brochu’s 2:42:41 and 5-time Ultraman Hawaii winner Shanna Armstrong’s 2:47:11, but topping all the men’s major contenders. On the 90-mile bike, Monforte broke the women’s record with a 4:58:35 split, topped only by the first three men. However, Brochu hung tough for the first day’s overall lead with a 5:05:40 split that left her 2:53 in the lead.

On the 171.4-mile bike on Day 2, Monforte broke the race open with a 9:14:22 split that was 35 minutes faster than Brochu, and was again topped only by the first three men – Benat Zubillaga, Milton Augusto De Souza and Josef Ajram.

On the Day 3 double marathon, Monforte cranked out an 8:31:13 run that put another 66-minutes on Brochu.

Monforte finished fourth overall including the men in a time of 25:36:49. She out-paced runner-up Barbi Brochu, who set a fastest swim time of 2:42:41, by 1:39:11. Monforte’s record time beat Tracy Preston’s Ultraman Canada women’s record of 29:31:44 by nearly 4 hours. Monforte’s amazing race also broke the previous women’s world best at the Ultraman distance of 25:45:51 set in 1989 by Tina Bischoff at Ultraman Hawaii.

Monforte, supported by crew Graham Bartlett and Conrad Stoltz, finished a VERY happy and tired girl. We think she deserves a extra long vacation!

Prague, Czech Republic - This weekend was the European Long Course Championships in the beautiful city of Prague. Named the “BIGMAN”, the course draws athletes determined to be big people in the triathlon world. AVIA sponsored, TBB athletes, Lisbeth Kristensen and Lucie Zelenkova, decided to put themselves to the test in a race that draws both speedy ITU athletes and Ironman endurace phenoms. The race covers a 4k (2.49mi.) swim, 120k (74.6mi) bike, and 30k (18.6mi) run.

Teammates Kristensen & Zelenkova worked together on the swim. Lucie has had a stacked season and seemed to be feeling the results of last weekend’s racing at Antwerp 70.3. And Kristensen, commented that her legs just haven’t worked right since her 3rd place performance at Ironman Switzerland. Despite not feeling 100%, Lisbeth posted the 2nd fastest swim split and a top 3 bike & run times. Kristensen who competes for Denmark, completed the distance in 6:22:57 for 3rd place on the podium. Lucie Z. finished in 6th place.

Bolton, Great Britain - Third time was a charm for Bella Bayliss as she stepped to the line at the 2009 Ironman UK. Sunday’s race was both her third victory at Ironman UK and her third Ironman Title for the year. After a rocky start to 2009, Bella has found her sweet spot again as she builds up for the Ironman World Championships.

Bella lead out of the water in first with teamTBB teammate Abigail Bayley on her feet. Once on the bike, Bella never looked back and cemented her victory for the day. Teammate Abi entered T2 about 13-minutes back, where both women would run a 3:01 marathon split, taking 1st and 2nd on the podium. Bella crossed the line with a final clock time of 9:34:00.

Congrats Bella!

Glucksburg, Germany - Joseph Spindler won the Ostseeman Triathlon an Iron distance race in Glucksburg, Germany. This was Spindler’s 3rd win on this course, teamTBB’s Caroline Koll took third in the women’s race.

The race in Glucksburg, a small northern German town, close to the Danish border, includes a technical 6-lap bike and a challenging 5-lap run with many sharp turns, short steep hills and cobbles.

“Gluck” meaning luck turned out to be more than that for TBB’s Joseph Spindler who showed a marked improvement in his swim (59′59″).

Fellow German Horst Wittmershaus stayed close throughout the day. It was the small gap that Spindler made on the bike that determined the outcome, as the two ended up both running 2:55 marathon.

Spindler took the win in 8:28:00, Wittmershaus was second in 8:30:59 and Dane Ulrik Schaarup finished in third.

In the women’s race it was TBB’s Caroline Koll who led out of the swim. Unfortunately, on lap number two she was controversially handed a black card and an 8 minute penalty. Last year’s runner up Nicole Woysch took the lead on the bike setting a course record of 5:07. At the start of the run she was well clear of second place Conny Dauben. Woysch went on to post a new course record of 9:22, with Conny Dauben in second in 9:57. Koll came back from her penalty time to finish on the podium in third.

Bolton, Great Britain - Bella Bayliss stole the stole the show as she took home her 3rd victory at Ironman UK. TBB teammates Stephen Bayliss (Bella’s husband) and Abigail Bayley also had fantastic races.

Stephen Bayliss exited the swim in second, just behind Phillip Graves. Bayliss, know for his consistency, pushed strong on the bike and run, posting the second fastest split in each discipline. Bayliss took 2nd on the podium with an 8:48:29 clock time.

Abigail Bayley, who is having a great season after her 4th place finish at Ironman France, continues to climb the ranks. She followed Bella out of the swim and maintained her position on the bike. Her 3:01 marathon awarded her 2nd place on the podium.

Congrats teamTBB!

Mont Ste. Anne has been on the World Cup circuit for over 15 years, and has a reputation as one of the best run, not mention the most fun, events of the summer. To keep things interesting, the riders were faced with a totally redesigned course with extremely technical descents and demanding climbs. And to add to the challenge, it started to rain 10 minutes before the women’s race.

Catharine Pendrel had a slow start and was 10th after the first lap. By the second lap she used her climbing prowess to move into the lead and never looked back. Katerina Nash, in her first World Cup of the season, came from a mid-pack call up, to ride in 2nd for most of the race. It wasn’t until the last lap when Irina Kalentieva, the defending World Champion, passed her and took the silver. Katerina, one of the best technical riders in the world, excelled on the demanding course and was able to make time on the descents. Catharine took the win in front of family and friends for her second World Cup victory in two years.

Georgia Gould placed 7th, adding to the dominating performance of the LUNA Pro Team. Three riders in the top ten gave the LUNA Team the victory in the team classification for the event. They are now in second overall. Catharine is 4th and Georgia 14th in the World Cup standings.

Tereza Macel, AVIA sponsored teamTBB athlete, won Ironman Lake Placid in a decisive fashion this weekend. Macel, who was representing the Czech Republic, proved she was the best on the course and never looked back.
Her domination began with a 50:48 swim, 2-minutes faster Hillary Biscay and 1-minute faster than the top male.

“I just swam and then, halfway through the first loop I passed the guy who was leading. I thought I would take turns with him, but nobody would come to the front with me. If I need to swim fast and get away from the girls, that’s what I have to do,” said Macel after the race.

Once on the bike, Macel increased her lead, allowing the other women to fight for the other podium spots. Samantha McGlone passed Biscay by mile 45, Tara Norton had moved into second place just ahead of McGlone. Macel extended her lead to 12-minutes and was riding with top 10 men, just like her usual training days.

Once into T2, McGlone and defending champion Caitlin Snow were prepared to run a personal best to gain a few postions and Kona slot. Macel comfortably ran a 3:20 marathon to take the win with a final clocktime of 9:29:36. Snow and McGlone arrived in 2nd & 3rd.

It was a race executed to perfection for Tereza Macel, and a true career highlight, for this athlete who seems to love racing and enjoy being out there regardless of the outcome. Congrats Tez!!

Additional AVIA athletes racing, include: Zach Ruble (16th)

Santa Rosa, California - AVIA ladies stole the show at the 2009 Vineman 70.3. Both men’s and women’s races hosted one of the deepest, fastest fields of athletes ever. The 19th annual race was hotter than most - 75-degree water and temps reaching 107-degrees for the late afternoon runners.

In the women’s race, AVIA’s Jo Zeiger, defending Ironman 70.3 World Champion had the fastest swim with Dede Greisbauer and Pip Taylor following her out of the Russian River. On the bike course, Zeiger continued to ride strong, as did Kelly Couch, Tyler Stewart and Linsey Corbin. On this winding bike course through the Sonoma vineyards, AVIA’s Pip Taylor put over 4-minutes into her competition.

The run course began to heat up, resulting in several changes in the men’s race. Jo Zeiger ran into complications with her asthma and had to drop out at mile 9. AVIA’s Tyler Stewart, felt sluggish from her recent Ironman effort, but had a breakthrough late in run. Pip held her strong lead to take the crown with a 4:20:04 clock time. Stewart beaming, sprinted for the line and took 2nd; Dede Greisbauer cruised to 3rd.

In the men’s race, AVIA’s Reinaldo Colucci and Eduardo Sturla took a wrong turn on the bike course, dropping them from 2nd & 3rd to a dissappointing 6th & 10th place finish. Local pro, Nicholas Thompson had a breakthrough race, finishing in 7th with a time of 4:04:15.

Additional AVIA athletes competing, include: Alexis Smith and Tracy Robertson

Santa Rosa, California - AVIA ladies stole the show at the 2009 Vineman 70.3. Both men’s and women’s races hosted one of the deepest, fastest fields of athletes ever. The 19th annual race was hotter than most - 75-degree water and temps reaching 107-degrees for the late afternoon runners.

In the women’s race, AVIA’s Jo Zeiger, defending Ironman 70.3 World Champion had the fastest swim with Dede Greisbauer and Pip Taylor following her out of the Russian River. On the bike course, Zeiger continued to ride strong, as did Kelly Couch, Tyler Stewart and Linsey Corbin. On this winding bike course through the Sonoma vineyards, AVIA’s Pip Taylor put over 4-minutes into her competition.

The run course began to heat up, resulting in several changes in the men’s race. Jo Zeiger ran into complications with her asthma and had to drop out at mile 9. AVIA’s Tyler Stewart, felt sluggish from her recent Ironman effort, but had a breakthrough late in run. Pip held her strong lead to take the crown with a 4:20:04 clock time. Stewart beaming, sprinted for the line and took 2nd; Dede Greisbauer cruised to 3rd.

In the men’s race, AVIA’s Reinaldo Colucci and Eduardo Sturla took a wrong turn on the bike course, dropping them from 2nd & 3rd to a dissappointing 6th & 10th place finish. Local pro, Nicholas Thompson had a breakthrough race, finishing in 7th with a time of 4:04:15.

Additional AVIA athletes competing, include: Alexis Smith and Tracy Robertson

Avon, CO - AVIA women were back on top at the XTERRA Mountain Cup. The Colorado course, held at Beaver Creek Resort, is absolutely breathtaking from the beautiful scenery to the calibre of ski mountain climbs that put even the fittest athlete in awe.

Olympic bronze medalist Susan Williams, led the swim, including most of the men. But it was up to Shonny V. to impress the crowd on bike and run. She began reeling in her competitors one by one, meanwhile posting the fastest bike split of the day by over 5-minutes. While AVIA sponsored, Luna teammate, Danelle Kabush owns the fastest run split, Vanlandingham would easily cruise to her second victory of the season.

Additional AVIA athletes competing: Danelle Kabush (2nd)

Roth, Germany- Sunday’s Quelle Challenge, a fast iron distance race in Germany, was a magical day for Bek Keat. Her 2009 season has exceeded any expectations but remains a lead up for Kona.

Post-race comments from Keat reflected disappointment with her swim positioning. Keat & Wellington came out of the water neck and neck in 50:21, each working for themselves. Once on the bike, Keat’s goal was to keep Chrissie in sight as long as possible. Wellington, the women’s world record setting cyclist pulled away on the hills as Keat rode with intensity but mentally prepared for the run. Into T2, Keat was 10-minutes down from Wellington as she began her push for the finish. Keat kept her focus ahead with a few reminders of the strong runners, including Catriona Morrison, still behind her. One-third of the way through the run, Keat was reeling in Wellington. In the end, Rebekah Keat would put over 2-minutes into Wellington’s marathon for a run split of 2:55:26.

For Bek Keat, Germany’s Quelle Challenge Roth was a magical day - she was closing on the current world champion in the final miles to finish 2nd as well as shattered the current iron distance record with her final clock time of 8:39:24.

Additional AVIA athletes racing include: Erika Csomor (4th)

Sugar Bush Resort - Warren, VT - Melanie McQuaid and Conrad Stoltz are still on top in the XTERRA points series after this weekend’s Northeast Cup. After a month of rain in Sugarbush, professionals and amateurs breathed a sigh of relief as the sun began drying the course in the 3-days previous. However, on the race eve, the torrential downpour began again, leaving a muddy, slippery bike & run course through the Green Mountains.

In the men’s race, Nico Lebrun took the lead out of T1 with Conrad 20-seconds back. The ride became more of a cyclocross style of racing due to the havoc of the recent weather fronts. Lebrun seemed to gain on Stoltz with the frequent transitions on and off the bike. Out of T2, Lebrun held his lead for his first victory this year. Then Stoltz appeared out of the woods for the final 500-yards but lacking his usual smooth stride. Seth Wealing pushed it on the downhill in full throttle to 2nd. Conrad finished in 3rd with Sam Gardner and Dan Hugo rounding out the top 5.

In the women’s race Melanie McQuaid had passed Christine Jeffrey early on the bike with Renata Bucher about 30 seconds back. Renata’s hill strength from racing in Switzerland as well as her sheer desire to trump McQuaid, pushed her up the hilly course and to the win. McQuaid finished in a strong second with the rest of the field trailing almost 10-minutes back. AVIA’s Shonny V. finished in 3rd after her worst biking accident in over 10 years. AVIA’s Danelle Kabush raced strong and consistent to round out the top 5.

Top 5 in Points Series Standings:
Women: MCQuaid - AVIA (500), Shonny V. - AVIA (437), Jeffrey (377), Kabush - AVIA (348), Bucher (347)

Men: Stoltz - AVIA (482), Middaugh (452), Lebrun (431), Hugo (414), Vine (397)

Zurich, Switzerland - Sibylle Matter lead the women’s swim, chased by fellow Swiss Caroline Steffen. AVIA’s teamTBB teammates Lisbeth Kristensen and Donna Phelan exited together in 5th and 6th.

The hilly bike course lead to an exicting ride and left spectators wondering who would prevail. Phelan and Krsitensen entered T2 in 3rd and 4th places respectively.

In the final stretch of the run, Sybille Matter took the win for Switzerland in a final clock time of 9:14, followed by Monika Lehmann, AVIA’s Lisbeth Kristensen and Donna Phelan finished in a strong 3rd & 5th place.

Additional AVIA Athletes competing: Keegan Williams (11th)

Klagenfort, Austria - Sunday’s race turned out to be picture perfect for Bella Bayliss. TeamTBB teammate Lucie Zelenkova left the entire women’s field in her wake with a 47:32 swim split. Eva Dollinger exited in 2nd and Bella Bayliss in 3rd, over 6-minutes back. As with Bella’s racing style, her eyes are always on the finish with T1 & T2 as checkpoints along the way.

Bella rode strong and steady into the lead, posting the second fastest split behind Sonja Tajsich; all other women riding over 10-minutes slower. At T2 the race begins, and Bella was fully in the zone. Clad in compression socks, Bella wanted to cement this victory and leave no doubts about this Ironman Champion. Bella ran to the line with a run split of 3:00:21

Ironman Austria was Bella’s second sub-9-hour iron distance as she took the women’s title in 8:50:13. Congrats Bella!

Additional AVIA athletes racing, include: Lucie Zelenkova (3rd), James Cunnama (2nd), and Stephan Bayliss (3rd).

Frankfurter Sparkasse European Championship, Frankfurt - Sunday’s Ironman Germany & European Championship hosted an impressive field including Ironman World Champions - Faris Al Sultan, Chris McCormack and 70.3 World Champion Terenzo Bozzone. Bozzone emerged first from the Langener Waldsee with Eneko Llanos and Andreas Raelert not that far behind. Faris Al Sultan, Mathias Hecht and Hektor Llanos also managed to stay close to the Kiwi.

Team AVIA’s Eneko Llanos moved into the lead early on during the bike segment as 2008 champion Chris McCormack and 2007 champion Timo Bracht were trying to overcome their 3+ minute swim deficits. Raelert, Bozzone and Al Sultan also rotated to the front of the first pack to keep the second pack containing McCormack, Bracht and Jan Raphael at bay. Eneko Llanos and Raelert continued to push the pace, causing Bozzone and Al Sultan to suffer. Macca hung in third and Bracht in fourth.

Llanos hit T2 first, determined to hold off Macca who has a habit of stealing first in the home stretch. McCormack and Bracht passed Realert in their hunt for Llanos. At about 10mitles into the marathon McCormack surged away from Bracht and began gaining time on Llanos. With just over 10k to go, McCormack caught Llanos and they they ran side by side. Bracht started to gain on the leaders in the next 5km, simultaneaously Macca seemed to hit the wall. Bracht crossed the line in a new course record time of 7:59:15 with his very impressive 2:43:06 marathon run time. Llanos crossed the line about a minute later in second and McCormack held on to the final podium spot.

Congrats Eneko on an outstanding finish & pushing the winner to a course record!

Klagenfort, Austria- teamBB was on a roll this weekend as four of the AVIA sponsored TBB athletes competed in Ironman Austria, and all four took podium spots.

Bella Bayliss - had a fantastic race only getting stronger throughout the run. Bella posted the 3rd fastest swim, 2nd fastest bike, and top run split of 3:00:21 to prove she deserved the win. Ironman Austria was Bella’s second sub-9hour iron event.

Lucie Zelenkova - left the entire women’s field in her wake and she gave the men a run for their money. On the bike Lucie pushed the pace, giving Bella a good leadout. Her top 3 bike & run splits awared her 3rd place on the podium.

James Cunnama - this South African had a true break through race. Cunnama came out of the swim in 18th position and over 4-minutes down from the race leaders. Once on the bike, he began to work his way through the field, knowing that the Ironman is really won on the run. By T2 James was in 5th place but feeling stronger. Cunnama finished the day with the second fastest run of 2:50:14, only 3 seconds off the race winner. He took 2nd on the podium.

Stephan Bayliss - had a strong and consistent race. Stephan sat in third from the swim exit all the way through the finish. His fantastic pacing awarded him a 3rd place finish in this strong field.

Congrats teamTBB!!

Iron Girl Triathlon - Lake Lanier, Georgia
Pip Taylor had a fantastic race this weekend in the sprint event held near Atlanta. The Iron Girl series draws women from all paths of life to give it a “tri”; the series also draws a competitive pro field of women that race the events held around the country. Each of the pros has chosen Iron Girl because they have a desire to inspire other women to push themselves and accomplish their dreams.

In Sunday’s race - the heat was a concern for many but for Pip Taylor, it was one more advantage over her competitors. Her ITU swim speed, gained her a preem as she exited the water in first. She biked strong along side Mirinda Carfrae (70.3 World Champion), Michellie Jones (Ironman World Champion), Sam McGlone (2nd- Ironman World Champion), and Kate Major (2nd Ironman World Champion). Pip and Mirinda raced into T2 together but Pip struggled to make a smooth transition. Finally out on the run - her turnover was smooth and leg speed top notch. Congrats Pip on a strong finish!

Tyler Stewart had the perfect race at Ironman Coeur d’Alene. After some disappointing finishes at Ironman Arizona, due to a thyroid issue, and mechanical problems in Kona, Stewart’s training has been more focused than ever. For those that know Tyler, she’s fiery and confidant and races with 110% - all the while keeping her calm and enjoying every minute.

At Sunday’s Ironman Coeur d’Alene, Tyler hit her sweet spot. The Idaho weather was as unpredictable as usual, leaving participants with rough swim and chilly conditions for a June event. Tyler exited the water in the second pack of women about 6-minutes down from race leaders, Edith Neiderfriniger, Kate Major, and Heather Wurtele. As if this was all part of the plan, Tyler would begin her pursuit.

Stewart quickly took the lead, even passing several in the men’s field. She rode within herself knowing that her strength on the bike must be used to the full advantage but anymore would leave her struggling in the 26.2. Leaving the crowd in full amazement, Tyler set a new bike course record by over 15min; a clock time of 4:59:35.

The question was could she hold this lead- many predicted that run specialists, Kate Major and Haley Cooper might reel her in. Tyler took the first portion of the run to settle into pace, meanwhile Wurtele (last year’s champion) and Major gained back sometime. Whether it was the crowd or just part of her plan, Tyler cut loose with 13.1 to go. Tyler finished with a solid 3:15 marathon, a bike course record, and an overall course record. The previous course record of 9:31 was set by Joanna Zeiger in 2006. Stewart’s final time of 9:23:21 was almost 10-minutes faster than Major in 2nd and Wurtele in 3rd. Congrats Tyler!

Additional athletes competing for AVIA: Heather Wurtele (2nd), Terra Castro (11th), and Trevor Wurtele (6th).

ZARAUZKO XXIII. TRIATLOIA - This past weekend Eneko & Hektor Llanos took on their home course in preparation one for the most important events of the season. Ironman Frankfurt is less than 3 weeks away and this race has become a checkpoint in the training schedule to let them know how fit and ready they are for the iron distance race at the European Championships.

This weekend’s race was a perfect tune-up for the legs and confidence booster as Eneko ran away from the field and Hektor finished in a strong 3rd. Last year Eneko finished 2nd at both the European Championships and the Ironman World Championships. You can bet what place he has his sights on for the rest of 2009!

Congrats Shonny! on your fantastic win at the XTERRA South Central Cup in the Heart of Arkansas. Shonny Vanlandingham of Durango, Colorado is the most successful mountain biker in NORBA history with 15 national race wins and three Series titles, marked her second XTERRA Championship victory and also broke McQuaid’s winning streak.

The race started on a one-lap 1500 meter swim in very warm water. As usual, Christine Jeffrey lead the women’s the pack. McQuaid caught her on the second lap of the bike and Shonny V. moved into second with Jen Smith in a close 3rd.

Melanie had a good lead at T2 but was suffering the effects of food poisoning. Shonny, a native Texan and off-season Kona resident, thrives in the hot, humid conditions. McQuaid and others began to fade as Vanlandingham gave a final push for the finish.

Shonny came home with her first win of the year. AVIA sponsored, Melanie McQuaid held on for second and Jen Smith a took third.

In the points series, Melanie is still first with 500 points, Shonny V. is in second with 430 points, Danelle Kabush is 5th. In the men’s standings, Conrad Stoltz who took this week off from racing, still holds the lead in the men’s standings.