British athlete Asa Shaw overcame hot conditions at the Xterra World Championship in Hawaii yesterday (27 October) to claim silver in the men's pro race, behind Spain's Ruben Ruzafa.
As temperatures rose beyond 30°C, 29-year-old Shaw put in the best run performance of the day, covering the 10km trail run in 39:24mins to cross the line in 2:36:01. “Two [Xterra] championships is really, really good for me,” he said. “It’s a dream.”
Ruzafa, also 29, covered the course in 2:34:34 to claim the $20k winner's prize, five years after his last victory in Maui. “We knew that it was a really hot day,” said Ruzafa. “I drink three bottles on the bike so I can make it to the run relatively fresh. I pushed hard and I’m very, very happy.”
Ruzafa trailed the leaders by two minutes after the 1.5km swim but then put his mountain biking skills to good use by covering the 32km bike leg more than a minute faster than anyone else, reeling in all the leaders to gain a 45-second lead heading into the run.
1st: Rubens Ruzafa (ESP), 2:34:34
2nd: Asa Shaw (GBR), 2:36:01
3rd: Ben Allen (AUS), 2:36:24
4th: Josiah Middaugh (USA), 2:37:44
5th: Braden Currie (NZL), 2:39:05
6th: Conrad 'The Caveman' Stoltz (RSA), 2:39:31
7th: Nicolas Lebrun (FRA), 2:40:57
8th: Marvin Gruget (FRA), 2:42:03
9th: Leonardo Chacon (CRC), 2:42:08
10th: Brice Daubord (FRA), 2:43:00
Full results can be viewed here.
(Photo: N20 Photo Services)