Swiss sweep XTERRA Saipan—again

It was another Swiss sweep in the 2006 XTERRA Saipan Championship as Olympian Olivier Marceau and Renata Bucher successfully defended their titles yesterday.

A total of 102 multi-sport athletes challenged and completed the 1.5K swim, 30K bike, and 12K run of the Championship, but none were able to keep pace with the Swiss machines, who won by convincing margins.

Marceau, who earned his third straight XTERRA Saipan crown, was phenomenal from the start as he built a big lead during the first lap of the two-lap swim and held on to come out of the water in 21:58.

He then made the tough bike course look easy and muscled his way up Navy Hill, Capitol Hill, and Mt. Tapochao while breezing through technical trails for a sterling time of 1:19:42.

Marceau then capped another remarkable day of work and fun by cruising through the run in just 53:26 for an overall time of 2:35:06.

“I tried to go hard but not too hard, to keep a good pace on the bike and the run and not push myself too hard but just enough to maintain a good lead,” Marceau said. “The sea was a bit rough. The bike was hot and the wind didn’t seem to help because I couldn’t feel the air, and the run was very technical. “

“You had to be very careful not to twist an ankle or to crash, and that’s what I did on the downhill on both the bike and during the run. I was very careful,” he added.

For her part, Bucher defended her title by finishing second overall and beating everyone except Marceau.

Just like last year, Bucher trailed after the swim as she came out of the water in 29:51, trailing Japan’s Mami Saito, three-time Saipan champion Jamie Whitmore, and pro Monique Sawicki.

The tables turned after that as she took care of business on the bike and posted the second-best bike time—second only to Marceau—with an impressive time of 1:24:33.

Bucher was at the lead at that point and never gave it up as she continued to speed away, securing her title with a 54:36 run time for an overall total of 2:49:00.

Amateur James Kennedy of China was the second male finisher and third overall with a time of 2:53:52. Like Bucher, Kennedy was trailing after the swim (32:05), but made up ground and passed many courtesy of a bike time of 1:27:15, before closing out with the second-best run—54:32—of the day. With the finish, Kennedy topped his 25-29 age group.

Japanese pro Yu Yumoto was third male overall and second pro with a time of 2:55:28, while Taro Shirato, also of Japan, placed third among professionals with a time of 3:01:34. Margus Tamm was seventh overall and the fifth male with a time of 3:02:58.

Meanwhile, Whitmore was the second female to cross the finish line as she completed the race in 2:56:02. The 2004 world champion was the second female out of the water as she pulled her way to a time of 25:59, and recorded a time of 1:29:46 on the bike. She then ran for 1:00:17 for another strong finish.

“I expected nothing less of Renata. She caught me [on the bike] at the same spot as last year. I caught back up to her on the descent and she pulled away again in the next few climbs,” Whitmore said. “I had a great race; she just had a better one. For crying out loud, she out-split every guy on the bike except Marceau—and that happened last year, too. I went 2:55 and finally broke three hour so I’m stoked.”

Sawicki finished in third place in her XTERRA debut with a time of 3:11:11 as she swam for 29:15, biked 1:34:46, and ran 1:07:10.

Saito followed with a time of 3:16:36.