THIS WEEK: The XTERRA European Championship in Italy hosts some of the sports biggest names, a look at the list of athletes who qualified for the XTERRA World Championship in California on Sunday, a preview to the first XTERRA race at Ft. Bragg, results from points series races in New Jersey and Michigan, and this weekends XTERRA TV offerings.

UPCOMING RACES:
5/26 - XTERRA Italy - EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP (Gulf of Orosei)
5/27 - XTERRA Smith Lake (Fort Bragg, NC)
6/2 – XTERRA Bonneville Basher Trail Run (Salt Lake City, UT)
6/2 – XTERRA X-Country Trail Run (Chicago, IL)
6/3 – XTERRA ACE Big Canyon (Oak Hill, WV)
6/3 – XTERRA Deuces Wild (Show Low, AZ)
6/9 – XTERRA Northfield Mountain Trail Run (Northfield, MA)
6/9 – XTERRA Eureka Springs (Eureka Springs, AR)
6/8 – XTERRA Oak Mountain Trail Run (Pelham, AL)
6/10 – XTERRA Trimax (Miffinburg, PA)
6/10 – XTERRA Southeast Championship (Pelham, AL)
6/16 – XTERRA James River Scramble (Richmond, VA)
6/16 – XTERRA Buffalo Creek (Buffalo Creek, CO)
6/17 – XTERRA Presidio Challenge Trail Run (San Francisco, CA)
6/17 – XTERRA East Championship (Richmond, VA)

XTERRA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP: This Saturday in the Gulf of Orosei in the protected area of Biderosa (Sardinia, Italy), an amazing collection of XTERRA talent will gather for the first race on the XTERRA European Tour – which also holds the designation as the XTERRA European Championship.

The men’s pro start list includes Nico Lebrun (2005 XTERRA World Champ and reigning XTERRA European Tour Champ), Olivier Marceau (2004-05 Euro Tour Champ and runner-up last year at XTERRA Worlds), Nico Pfitzenmaier (2nd on Euro Tour last year), Lieuwe Boonstra, Ronny Dietz, Sebastien Kienle (2006 XTERRA Germany Champ), Alessandro Alessandri, Othmar Brugger, David Henestrosa, Jim Thijs, Jim McConnel, Felix Schumann, Martin Zois, Frantisek Zilak, and Fabien Combaluzier.

The women’s field includes Sybille Matter (top 3 at last two XTERRA Worlds), Carina Wasle (2nd on Euro Tour and won XTERRA Germany last year), Michelle Lombardi (XTERRA South Africa Champ), Eszter Erdelyi, Claudia Frank, Stefania Bonnazzi, Carin Schrader, and Hawaii's own Marion Summerer.

Pros will be racing for a 25,000 Euros purse (roughly 33,500 U.S. dollars). The race consists of a 1.5k swim at the beach of Sa Curcurica (pearl of the Mediterranean Sea for its fine sand and crystalline water), a 33k mountain bike featuring technical passages on hard beds and sandy tracks, and a 10k trail run across white sand beaches and along paths and streets where they’ll encounter fragrances and the colors of the Mediterranean Maquis. The race takes place in the Park of Bidderosa, one of the most beautiful protected areas in Europe with delightful beaches juxtaposed with gorgeous granite cliffs (cut in strange shapes from the sea and the wind) and fantastic caves where limpid waters run through.

The race sold-out with representatives from 17 countries making the journey to Sardinia.
For more information visit http://www.xterraitaly.it/

QUALIFIED: By virtue of their performance at the XTERRA West Championship on Sunday the following 33 athletes earned their spot on the starting line of the 2007 XTERRA World Championship on October 28 in Makena, Maui.

Women
Division, Name (Hometown)
20 - 24 Erin Beresini (Hermosa Beach, Calif)
25 - 29 Emma Garrard (Truckee, California)
25 - 29 Rhonda Figone (El Dorado Hills, CA)
30 - 34 Laura Home (Santa Cruz, California)
30 - 34 Kelly Hovland (Portland, Oregon)
35 - 39 Lynice Anderson (Reno, Nevada)
35 - 39 Sarah McMahan (Incline Village, Nevada)
40 - 44 Christiane Reetz (San Antonio, Texas)
40 - 44 Kathleen Negraeff (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
45 - 49 Katrin Tobin (Santa Cruz, California)
45 - 49 Meiling Yee (Sunnyvale, California)
50 - 54 Barbara Peterson (Berkeley, California)
55 - 59 Mary Anne Nelson (Durango, Colorado)
60 - 64 Katherine Frank (Bend, Oregon)

Men
Division, Name (Hometown)
15 - 19 Joshua Olmstead (Elk Grove, California)
20 - 24 Brett Wolf (San Clemente, California)
25 - 29 Trevor Glavin (Saminas, California)
25 - 29 Mike Champigny (Vernon, BC, Canada)
30 - 34 Damian Gonzales (Stockton, California)
30 - 34 Phillip Glenn (Reno, Nevada)
30 - 34 Tom O’Brien (Scottsdale, Arizona)
35 - 39 Richard Blanco (Redwood City, California)
35 - 39 Andrew Sellars (Vernon, BC, Canada)
35 - 39 David Cloninger (Bend, Oregon)
40 - 44 Geoff Jones (San Francisco, California)
40 - 44 Scott Zavack (Los Gatos, California)
40 - 44 Kevin Sheldon (Breckenridge, CO)
45 - 49 Tom Lyons (Reno, Nevada)
45 - 49 Cliff Millemann (Davis, California)
50 - 54 Tom Monica (Walnut Creek, California)
55 - 59 Bill Blankenship (Santa Fe, New Mexico)
60 - 64 Kent Robison (Reno, Nevada)
65+ Hans Dieben (Chula Vista, California)

XTERRA Smith Lake: This Sunday the first ever XTERRA race held on a military installation will take place at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The venue is Smith Lake Recreation Area and combines a 1,000-meter swim with an 18-mile bike and 4.5-mile trail run.

The bike portion includes single track that has it all; sharp switchbacks, rock gardens, log jams, sand pits, roots, bridges, barbed wire, land mines, live overhead fire... ALRIGHT, maybe not the live ammo but definitely some jumps if you want. It has some fast downhill sections and some climbs, overall it's a blast!

A lot of the run will be on sand, which will have racers thinking they were at the beach at Normandy.
For more information visit http://www.fortbraggmwr.com/

XTERRA Patanella’s King of the Hill (5/20 – Lebanon, NJ)
TOP THREE - Complete Results

Men’s Race (Hometown, Age Group, Time)
Scoogie Snyder (Gwynedd Valley, PA, 35-39, 1:33:33)
Howard Greenfield (Albany, NY, 30-34, 1:34:08)
Chris Pickerell (Harrisonburg, VA, 20-24, 1:35:32)

Women’s Race
Toni Axelrod (Vail, CO, 30-34, 1:51:00)
Elizabeth Vineis (Albany, NY, 25-29, 1:53:04)
Andrea McGuire (Troy, NY, 30-34, 1:55:01)
XTERRA Last Stand (5/20 – Augusta, MI)
TOP THREE - Complete Results

Men’s Race (Hometown, Age Group, Time)
Brandon Jessop (Cincinnati, OH, 25-29, 1:30:18)
Eric Fernando (West Bloomfield, MI, 35-39, 1:30:32)
Kerry Robbert (Allegan, MI, 35-39, 1:33:38)

Women’s Race
Meghan James (Kalamazoo, MI, 35-39, 1:40:24)
Kathy Roche-Walla (Marshall, MI, 45-49, 1:46:43)
Cheryl Stine (Bloomington, IN, 40-44, 1:48:34)

XTERRA TV: The XTERRA USA and Saipan Championship shows get some big time broadcasts with airings in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and Atlanta this weekend.

Date City Network Time Show
5/26 Chicago, IL WBBM (CBS) 12:00pm XTERRA USA Championship
5/26 Louisville, KY WAVE (NBC) 1:00pm XTERRA Planet #1
5/26 Los Angeles, CA KABC (ABC) 2:30pm XTERRA Saipan Championship
5/26 Boston, MA WCVB (ABC) 12:30pm XTERRA Saipan Championship
5/26 Louisville, KY WAVE (NBC) 1:30pm XTERRA Saipan Championship
5/27 Atlanta, GA WXIA (NBC) 1:00pm XTERRA USA Championship
5/27 Lansing, MI WILX (NBC) 1:00pm XTERRA USA Championship
5/27 Monterey/Salinas, CA KCBA (FOX) 9:00am XTERRA USA Championship
5/27 Tri Cities, TN WCYB (NBC) 4:00pm XTERRA Saipan Championship
5/27 Myrtle Beach, SC WFXB (FOX) 4:00pm XTERRA Saipan Championship