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KEYSTONE, Colo.- July 9, 2004 - More than 1,000 athletes representing 30 states and eight countries will be in Keystone, Colorado next weekend, July 17-18, for the Nissan Xterra Central Championship race and accompanying events.
The championship, featuring a $20,000 pro purse, is an OFF-ROAD triathlon comprised of three disciplines. It starts with a 1-kilometer swim in Keystone Lake, follows with a 31k mountain bike up, around, and down Keystone Mountain, and finishes with a twisting and turning 10k forest trail run.
It’s the second-of-four championship events in the Nissan Xterra USA Series that boasts 45 races in 28 states. There is no venue, however, with conditions equal to that of the Rockies. The altitude (starting at 9,000 feet and climbing to 11,000 ft.) alone can turn a seasoned athlete into a pile of mush but there’s also the frigid water, intense trail climbs, and bone-jarring biking.
Some of the best professional athletes from around the globe will converge on Keystone Resort for the race, including Olympic triathletes gearing up for Athens.
There is also a half-distance XTERRA Sport race, perfect for newcomers. The two XTERRA events accommodate approximately 600 racers, and more than half hail from Colorado. The races are part of an off-road sports festival weekend that includes free clinics in mountain biking, trail running, and swimming, an expo area with multisport displays and demonstrations, the Colorado State Mountain Biking Championships, trail running races, and the Nissan Kid’s Base Camp which provides a whole day of fun stuff for the kids, plus there’s food, drinks, and music all weekend long.
On Wednesday, July 14 at 2:30 p.m. members of the media are invited to the Handle Bar & Grill in Denver. This is your chance to meet a few of the pros and some of the local amateur competitors, find out how XTERRA evolved into the world’s leading off-road multisport event with 78 races in 13 countries this year, and why the race in Keystone is so unique.
Schedule of Events
Saturday, July 17
7:30am Saucony XTERRA Snake River Scramble Registration
9am Expo Open – Exhibits, Food Booths, Climbing Wall
9am Saucony XTERRA Snake River Scramble Start (5K and 10K)
9am-5pm XTERRA and XTERRA Sport Registration and Packet Pick-up
9am ACA Colorado MTB Championship Registration Open
(Registration closes 30-minutes prior to each race start)
10-11:00am XTERRA University, presented by Paul Mitchell – MTB Clinic with Justin Thomas & Anke Erlank
10:00-05am ACA Colorado MTB Championship – Pro/Semi Pro/Expert Men & Jr. Expert Men Start (16 miles)
10:15am ACA Colorado MTB Championship – Pro/ Expert Women Start (16 miles)
10:30am Saucony XTERRA Snake River Scramble Awards Ceremony
11:30am XTERRA University, presented by Paul Mitchell – Trail Run Clinic with Tyler Johnson & Chantal Thompson
11am Nissan Xterra Owners Excursion and Lunch
12pm Xterra Owners Off-road Excursion and Lunch
12:30-12:40pm ACA Colorado MTB Championship – Sport Men Start (12 miles)
12:30pm Kahuna’s XTERRA and XTERRA Sport Race Briefing
12:45pm ACA Colorado MTB Championship – Jr. Men and Jr. Expert Women Start (12 miles)
12:45pm XTERRA University, presented by Paul Mitchell – “Art of XTERRA” – with Candy Angle, Josiah Middaugh, Nicolas LeBrun, and Jamie Whitmore
12:50pm ACA Colorado MTB Championship – All Sport Women Start (12 miles)
2pm XTERRA University, presented by Paul Mitchell – Swim Clinic with Dominic Gillen & Kaley Parkinson
2:30-2:40pm ACA Colorado MTB Championship – Beginner Men and Women Start (12 miles)
2:45pm ACA Colorado MTB Championship – Jr. Women and Jr Boys/Girls Start (8 miles)
5pm Expo Close
Sunday, July 18
8am XTERRA Sport Start (0.5k swim, 15k mtb, 5k trail run)
9am Expo Open – Exhibits, Food Booths, Climbing Wall
10am-2pm Paul Mitchell Cut-a-thon, a benefit for Challenged Athletes Foundation
10:30am Nissan Xterra Central Championship Start
(1k swim, 31k mtb, 10k trail run)
11:00am XTERRA Sport Awards Ceremony
12 Noon XTERRA and XTERRA Sport Athlete BBQ
3pm Nissan Xterra Central Championship Awards Ceremony
3pm Expo Close
NISSAN KIDS BASE CAMP SCHEDULE -
Saturday, July 17
8-9am Nissan Kids Sprint Registration
9:05am Nissan Kids Sprint
9:30am-4pm Challenge Stations Open
10-11am ABCD’s of Bike Safety
11-12pm Bike Skills Riding Course Open
12pm Shimano Youth Series Bike Race
2-3pm ABCD’s of Bike Safety
3-4pm Bike Skills Riding Course Open
Sunday, July 18
9:30am-3pm Challenge Stations Open
10-11am ABCD’s of Bike Safety
11am Bike Skills Riding Course Open
Parents must register their children prior to participating in Base Camp activities. Participation is free.
For more information about the 7th Annual Nissan Xterra Central Championship, visit www.xterraplanet.com.
Keystone Resort, nestled in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, is just a few miles off of Interstate 70 and an easy 90-minute drive from Denver International Airport. Part of Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN), Keystone is known for its more than 2,700 acres of skiing and riding terrain on three mountains, summer festivals, two spectacular mountain golf courses, award-winning restaurants and superior conference facilities. For more information call (800) 427-8308 or visit www.keystoneresort.com.
XTERRA is now the fastest-growing multi-sport event in the world. The Nissan Xterra Points Series consists of more than 30 races in the U.S. Amateur competitors compete at up to three events to earn points toward an XTERRA Regional Championshp title. With the title comes an invitation to compete for a national title at the Nissan Xterra USA Championship in Lake Tahoe, NV each September.
The XTERRA Global Tour holds championship events in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Holland, the Czech Republic and Saipan. Top-ranking athletes from these national championships are invited to compete with athletes who qualified in the US series at the Nissan Xterra World Championship each October in Wailea, Maui.
Pros compete in the US National Championship Series and Global Tour for prize purses and bragging rights. The most coveted title and largest purse is offered at the Nissan Xterra World Championship.
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Media Contacts:
Lisha Burnett, (970) 496-4253, lburnett@vailresorts.com
Colleen Wasson, (970) 845-5723, cwasson@vailresorts.com
Trey Garman, (808) 216-8606, trey@xterraplanet.com
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