A superb mountain-bike leg was the key to former Northlander Nicky Samuels' victory in the Xterra World Championship off-road triathlon in Hawaii yesterday but it was almost her undoing too.
Second out of the water in the 1.5km swim leg, Samuels, who is not all that experienced in off-road events, made her move early on the 32km mountain-bike leg and held on to her lead on the 10km run to the finish in Maui.
But her lack of off-road riding almost cost her. "I haven't done much mountain biking and as a result I was getting cramp in my hamstrings while on the run, which wasn't pleasant, to say the least," Samuels said. "But I had a good time buffer so was okay to cruise the last couple of kilometres in the run for a great day and a great result."
Samuels, ranked No14 in the world as a triathlete, beat a top field dominated by Americans and including many off-road experts. Second place went to two-time defending champion Lesley Paterson but the American was no match for the Kiwi.
Samuels became the second New Zealander to win a Pro division race, after Hamish Carter took the men's Xterra world title in 2006.
