Stolz takes 1st in Xterra Race

Suunto athlete Conrad “The Caveman” Stolz of South Africa had yet another race for the history books, taking first in the Xterra West Championship at Lake Las Vegas in Henderson, NV on April 14th, 2012.

Stolz’s win can be credited to his 1:09:09 30K bike split which even in the biking world is nearly unheard of.

Stolz claimed he thought about his recently passed father for the majority of the race, recalling memories they  shared together. This is the fourth Xterra win for Stolz, who finished with a final time of 2:08:22

Conrad Stoltz Wins XTERRA Grabouw

Suunto Ambassador Conrad Stoltz just racked up another great win in the XTERRA race series, this time in South Africa.

The XTERRA Grabouw is described on the race site like this:

Grabouw, situated in the Western Cape atop the Sir Lowry’s Pass, is a mountain paradise for the outdoor enthusiast. It offers the opportunity to mountain bike in widely varying conditions, from gravel fire roads to rough jeep track and technically challenging single track, pine plantation to Cape Fynbos.

For the Trail Runners, the challenge does not stop.The trail run leg will take the Xterra athlete up slopes and along certain trails that are not accessible to the mountain biker, thus offering spectacular views not normally seen by the casual visitor to Grabouw.

This is how the Caveman recorded his thoughts about the race on his blog:

"Stunning bike course. Other than the all rocks and single track, I really like the Fynbos here. (Indigenous Western Cape vegetation) Checked it out on the pre rides as, there are more rocks and sand here than on the back of the moon."

Picture courtesy of ConradStoltz.com and from Total Sports and www.oakpics.com

"I had a 2 minute lead on Dan Hugo going into the final single track, but he chafed the sidewall on his rear tire and lost air and time the last few minutes. Too many rocks and ugly high speed sections to safely ride light weight Sworks tyres. A lesson learned before methinks."

You can read Conrad's full post and see some great photos on his blog, or see other photos at the race photo gallery.

Congratulations, Conrad! Another great victory - Four out of four in the series!

Update From The Caveman

Suunto athlete Conrad Stoltz, aka "the Caveman" just keeps winning.

He recently traveled back to his homeland of South Africa where he competed in the Western Province Cross Country Championships in Paul Cluver. This was a spontaneous race for Conrad, but he was game for the muddy, XC bike race-- the Western Province MTB Championships--leg #3.Look at the mud! He got his bike caked in muck but claims he "embraced the brown stuff and learned a lot about slipping, sliding and picking lines."

Congrats Caveman! See how he has perfected the "Caveman's Special Tree Grab and Pull Technique."

To read the rest of his blog post click here.