TRIATHLON

Currie still in the hunt for USA XTERRA title

By Braden Currie Media




Braden Currie’s pursuit of the USA XTERRA championship title, just became more of a challenge after he finished second today in the XTERRA East championships in Virginia.

Wanaka’s Currie was runner-up to the 10-time XTERRA USA National Champion, American athlete Josiah Middaugh, meaning he has to win both of the last two XTERRA America tour events to claim the title that he has put everything towards.

Winning the USA XTERRA crown is a feat no New Zealander has ever achieved and Currie has sacrificed all other racing to make his dream a reality.

"I know the pressure is on now but I'm feeling positive about what I can do. Things haven't gone as plan so far as I've been sick for three of the last four weeks and living at altitude has made my recovery tough. But I have a good block coming up and I know I can beat Josiah, as I did a month ago. I just have to get some solid training in,” Currie says.

The Red Bull endurance athlete had planned a solid month’s training block after winning the XTERRA Southeast Championship (and is doing so becoming the 2015 USA Triathlon Off-Road National Champion) last month but illness hampered his preparation.

Currie understands this is how it can roll when racing overseas and says that there were “no excuses” for finishing second in 2hours:28mins:40secs to  Middaugh’s 2:24:53 on the Richmond-based course today.

“It was tough to find my usual enjoyment for competing and I just didn’t really get into the rhythm of the race today,” Currie says.

He did however tick off a first – swimming an XTERRA course in a river, instead of the usual lake option. Held in the James River, the 1.2km swim for this race has become a poster child for the XTERRA creed that ‘Mother Nature is your toughest competitor’. It started at the Brown’s Island boat ramp where competitors swum across the river to Belle Island, got out of the water— sprinted a short distance across the island—and then swum back to shore.

Currie’s multisport background came in handy as he was able to apply his kayaking expertise to judge how to “ferry glide” across the current to find the most direct line to the swim course’s marker buoys.

Slightly shorter than the customary XTERRA-length 1.5km swim, it meant Currie was only about 30 seconds ahead of Middaugh, who is traditionally not as strong in the water.

Currie soon sped into the lead on the 32km mountain bike “but it just wasn’t really happening for me,” he says. Middaugh and Rotorua athlete Olly Shaw caught up with him and although Currie poured all his energy into staying on his rivals’ wheels, Middaugh pulled away to a two minute lead going into the 10km trail run.

There was to be no repeat of the dramatic sprint finish that resulted in Currie edging out Middaugh during the final 100 metres of their XTERRA clash in Alabama last month.

“We pretty much stayed the same distance apart (two minutes) on the run. I had a comfy second place lead by nearly three minutes over American athlete Ryan Ignatz [2:30:21] but I was never going to catch Josiah up,” Currie says.

He is heading to Costa Rica this week where he will join his family to combine a little rest and recreation with racing in the Red Bull Escape from Alcatraz multi-sport race. Currie then returns to his base in Steamboat Springs for another block of training before his last XTERRA series race in Colorado on July 18.


Braden Currie’s  2015/2016 event calendar

April 11 - Paymark XTERRA Rotorua Festival.

April 18 – Asia-Pacific XTERRA Championship, Australia

May 17 USA Southwest XTERRA Championship Alabama, United States.

June 14 – 15 USA East XTERRA Championship, VA, United States.

July 18 XTERRA Mountain Championships, Colorado, United States.

September 19 - USA XTERRA Championship.

October 31 – World XTERRA Championship, Hawaii.

November 8 – WA Adventure Fest, Augusta, Australia.

November 15 – Shepparton Challenge, Victoria, Australia.

December 5 – Bahrain Challenge half ironman, Bahrain.

January 23 and 24 2016, Red Bull Defiance, Wanaka, NZ.


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