For those who wanted visual proof of just how challenging the Xterra Oak Mountain course is, we bring you this highlight video that shows off the the main event from the weekend’s racing that included a 1.5 km swim, 33 km mountain bike and 10 km trail run. The race takes place in the beautiful Oak Mountain State Park in Alabama, and offers up extremely technical bike and run legs.
The pro race offers a US$15,000 prize purse, while age group competitors were after one of 51 qualifying spots for the Xterra World Championship in Maui, Hawaii in October. The race was won by New Zealand’s Sam Osborne and Samantha Kingsford – you can read our race recap here.
For those wondering what happened to swim and early bike leader Eric Lagerstrom, the American road triathlon star who was competing in his first Xterra event, it turns out he was forced out of the race with a mechanical while riding in second place.
“I was having a killer day, I was able to hang with Sam until 9k or so, but I slammed my back wheel hard into a sharp rock in a river crossing and couldn’t seal it with a plug,” Lagerstrom said after the race. “I’m super bummed man, I was feeling so good and was so stoked on not just instantly getting dropped by Sam. I wish there was another race soon so I could go for some redemption. I think I just need a bit more time riding fast through technical stuff to get better at picking lines with a high heart rate.”
Uber-road-triathlon-cyclist Andrew Starykowicz was also making his Xterra debut at Oak Mountain – he also got a flat and had to run his bike back to transition, but did finish the race.
