South Africans will be able to catch one of their world champions in action this coming weekend when Bradley Weiss takes on the XTERRA season opener in the Western Cape.
The 2018 XTERRA racing season will kick off at the Elgin-Grabouw Country Club this coming weekend with the much anticipated Fedhealth XTERRA South African Championship, the largest of its kind in the world.
"The largest XTERRA in the world, the Fedhealth XTERRA Grabouw is by far my favourite race of the year. Being so close to Stellenbosch, it is basically a home town race, one that I hold very close to my heart," said Weiss -- the runner-up to Richard Murray last year -- in an event press release.
Being the reigning world champion puts a target on the back of Weiss and there will be a fair number of top XTERRA proponents looking to deny him a home victory. The list includes Frenchman Brice Daubord, locals Michael Ferreira, Ruan van Zyl and Michael Lord as well as Sebastian Kienle from Germany.
Ferreira, who was the Cross Triathlon Junior Elite Men's World Champion in 2016, is looking forward to testing his skills on the notoriously tough Elgin-Grabouw route.
"I enjoy this area of racing where it is not just pure strength, but how well you can handle your bicycle or how you keep composure during the run. XTERRA is definitely not short of technical trails," the 21-year-old said.
"This will be the second year that I race the XTERRA Full distance. My goal is to beat last year's performance and hopefully finish top 10 in the pro category."
For Ruan van Zyl it will be the first time taking on the full distance as he steps out of the junior ranks in 2018. "XTERRA takes me to places that I've never been to before. It also allows me to compete against some of the world's best athletes. I have many XTERRA heroes, but my top favourites are Dan Hugo, Bradley Weiss and Conrad Stoltz."
Though Daubord won the XTERRA Lite in Grabouw in 2016, Weiss' toughest challenge my well come from his regular training partner Sebastian Kienle -- the 33-year-old German with three IRONMAN (two 70.3 versions) wins to his name.
"Triathlon is my job, XTERRA is my hobby," Kienle jokes in his contribution to the event promotion, but Germans tend to always have steel when it comes to competition.
"I always try to keep things interesting. I would love to do more XTERRAs, but it is difficult to fit everything in. Hopefully I can challenge my good training partner, Bradley Weiss."
The Fedhealth XTERRA Full (1.5km Swim, 25.6km MTB, 12.6km Trail Run) will take place on Saturday, while the Lite takes place on Sunday.