Although the North West Province was plagued by extreme wet weather conditions on Saturday, 30 January 2010 it seemed to have no impact on South Africa’s top multi sport and lifestyle athletes when a record field of close to 1 000 competitors swarmed to the magnificent Buffelspoort Dam to test their skills at the second leg of the 2009/2010 DUESOUTH XTERRA presented by REHIDRAT®.  Dan Hugo was once again in top form securing himself the individual men’s title, while Susan Sloan was victorious in the individual women’s category of the event.

 According to Hugo, due to the rain the course was extremely muddy, but lots of fun.  ‘Today’s race was awesome and it was amazing to see how the XTERRA has grown.  Kent Horner and Charl Keet swam really well and exited the water about 25seconds a head of me.  Although the mountain bike route was very slippery, I managed to catch them quite quickly.  The course was a little shorter due to a change that had to be done last minute thanks to the weather.  It was, however, still very challenging with lots of rocky, loose sections.  I really enjoyed the run especially the section where we had to cross a stream.  Today was a great indicator of where I am race wise.  There is still one or two points that I need to work on before the DUESOUTH XTERRA South African finals in Grabouw.  I am really excited about the South African finals, ultimately this is the one event where I’d like to produce the goods,” says Hugo who completed the race in an impressive time of 02hours16minutes55seconds.  Kent Horner came in second, while Rob Woestenborghs of Belgium finished third.

 Susan Sloan took top honours in the individual women’s category of the DUESOUTH XTERRA presented by REHIDRAT® when she crossed the finish line in 03hours02minutes44seconds.  Sylvia van Tromp came in second, while Riana de Lange finished third.

 DUESOUTH XTERRA competitors had to complete a 1.5km swim, 26.5km mountain bike and 12.5km trail run, while DUESOUTH XERRA lite entrants needed to complete a 400m swim, 15.8km mountain bike and 6.3km trail run.  Participants could enter individually or in teams of three.

South African Finals – Excitement is mounting as the third and final leg of the 2009/2010 DUESOUTH XTERRA presented by REHIDRAT® is drawing nearer.  This awe-inspiring event will take place on Saturday, 20 February 2010 at the picturesque Grabouw Country Club (Western Cape) in the form of the much anticipated South African finals.  The local series forms part of the XTERRA Global Tour and athletes will have the opportunity to qualify for the world championship final that will take place in Hawaii later this year. The global series span more than 90 qualifying events in 13 countries and take competitors to some of the most spectacular and challenging courses around the globe. 

For more information on the DUESOUTH XTERRA presented by REHIDRAT® contact Stillwater Sport and Entertainment on (021) 883 – 2413  

RESULTS:  DUESOUTH XTERRA Buffelspoort Dam presented by REHIDRAT® Saturday, 30 January 2010

INDIVIDUAL MEN

1. Dan Hugo                           02hours16minutes55seconds
2. Kent Horner                         02hours24minutes54seconds
3. Rob Woestenborghs           02hours29minutes33seconds
4. Justin Porteous                   02hours29minutes56seconds
5. Charl Keet                           02hours30minutes45seconds

INDIVIDUAL WOMEN

1. Susan Sloan                       03hours02minutes44seconds
2. Sylvia van Tromp                03hours07minutes43seconds
3. Riana de Lange                   03hours17minutes32seconds