Wealing, Whitmore Win XTERRA Mountain Championship

Photos by Monique Beeley

OGDEN/SNOWBASIN RESORT – This afternoon, on a course that featured more than 3,000-feet of climbing on rugged off-road mountain trails Seth Wealing and Jamie Whitmore showcased their astonishing level of fitness and skill to win the XTERRA Mountain Championship. 

In an interesting twist, Mother Nature’s fury brought ideal racing conditions to Snowbasin Resort - a venue famous for hosting the downhill and Super G events of the 2002 Winter Olympics.  Thunderstorms that ripped through the mountains last night dumped a ton of much-needed rain on the previously dry and dusty trails creating “perfect dirt” so riders could rail the turns and power the climbs.  The storm also churned up Pineview Reservoir so much that the water temperature dropped nearly 10-degrees overnight, so what was to be a non-wetsuit, balmy 74-degree swim turned into a wetsuit optional 65-degree swim (and the entire field was happy to don their buoyant rubber suits).  Most importantly, the race started this morning at 9am in cool and comfortable weather in the mid-60’s, as opposed to the steamy mid-90’s experienced during the week.  

It all added up for Wealing, who notched his first career regional win following four second place finishes in regionals the last two years (including a runner-up performance here last year).  The reigning XTERRA U.S. Pro Series Champ, who moved up from 5th to 2nd in the Series standings with the win, set the tone early on with a big lead heading out onto the bike.