Nico Lebrun (FRA) used his superior running speed to chase down defending champion Conrad Stoltz (RSA) to win the XTERRA USA Championships on September 26 in Ogden, Utah.
The two Suunto Ambassadors and t6c users were the dominant forces at the event, which was the final of nine XTERRA US PRO Series races and was held over a tricky course with over 1000m altitude gain on the mountain bike leg alone.
Thirty-five year-old Lebrun from Dignes-les-Bains, France, had to work hard to catch Stoltz who had a minute's lead going into the final 10km run leg.
Stoltz had started quickly, exiting the 1.5km swim section in second place and overhauling early leader Seth Wealing (USA) during the 30km mountain bike leg.
However, using fast 'skinny' tyres on his bike but descending carefully to avoid crashing, Lebrun managed to claw some distance back to Stoltz before the final transition.
Noted as a strong climber, Lebrun then rapidly made up the rest of the time to Stoltz on the tough run section, passing him soon after the 5km mark.
By the finish, Lebrun had a comfortable 52-second margin over Stoltz, finishing in a time of 2hr 21min 57sec. Stoltz was satisfied with his position which guaranteed an unprecedented seventh XTERRA US PRO Series title.
The two Suunto Ambassadors and t6c users were the dominant forces at the event, which was the final of nine XTERRA US PRO Series races and was held over a tricky course with over 1000m altitude gain on the mountain bike leg alone. 
Noted as a strong climber, Lebrun then rapidly made up the rest of the time to Stoltz on the tough run section, passing him soon after the 5km mark. 
