Land Rover North America and the Nevada Commission on Tourism yesterday announced that this year’s Nevada Passage produced by TEAM Unlimited will serve as the national selection event for the 2008/2009 Land Rover G4 Challenge.

Twenty athletes from around the nation will travel throughout Nevada competing in driving and outdoor adventure activities designed to test teamwork and skills such as 4x4 driving, navigating, trail running, mountain biking and kayaking. The top two two-person teams from the national competition advance to the international selection event in early 2009, where one team will be selected to represent the United States in the final challenge in Asia.

Recognized as the one of the world’s top off-road driving and adventure events, the Land Rover G4 Challenge is held every two years with national selection events taking place in 18 countries around the world. This year marks only the second time the United States has participated in the global competition since the inaugural event in 2003. The new Land Rover G4 Challenge Nevada Passage will take place in May 2008.

The Nevada Passage, first held in 2005, is the Nevada Commission on Tourism’s one-of-a-kind, annual made-for-TV event designed to highlight Nevada’s unique topography and showcase the vast array of adventure sports opportunities found throughout the state.

The competition is syndicated on national networks throughout the country and the hour-long show is seen by more than 2 million viewers each year. Past competitions have included events such as back-country skiing in the Sierra Nevada mountains, sand boarding near Fallon, kayaking on the Truckee River in downtown Reno and rock climbing in Red Rock Canyon, just outside of Las Vegas.

For more information on the Land Rover G4 Challenge Nevada Passage, or to apply to be a competitor, visit www.landroverG4challenge.com. For highlights and information on previous Nevada Passage competitions, visit http://www.nevadapassage.com.

THE BIKE COMES FIRST!

After several rounds of course scouting at Snowbasin Resort near Ogden, Utah – the sequence of events for the inaugural XTERRA Winter World Championship has been re-ordered so the 10k mountain bike portion will start the race, followed by the 5k snowshoe, 5k run, and 8k ski mountaineering stages.

“We switched up the order to assure the most hard-packed and firm conditions for the bike leg,” said race director Dave Nicholas.

In other updates the Weber State University Wilderness Recreation Center has been named the official outfitter for Winter Worlds - offering snowboards with boots and bindings, snowshoes, skis, climbing skins and car racks at discounted rates for race participants.

Athletes in need of gear can go online to www.weber.edu/wrc, email wrc@weber.edu or call 801-626-6373.

The Place: Snowbasin Resort
The Dates: March 7-8-9
The Website: xterrawinter.com
The Phone#: toll-free 877-751-8880
The Parties: Each night in Ogden

Registration Link

HUGO WINS DURBAN XTERRA

Dan Hugo, a promising up-and-coming pro from South Africa, won the third of four races in the XTERRA South Africa series in a time of 2:15:37 on Saturday at Shongweni Dam in Durban. Fellow countryman Kent Horner came in second nearly 10 minutes back and Fraser Cartmell placed third.

"Fraser is just such an awesome athlete. We've trained together a number of times and he's quicker than me in both the swim and the running discipline. I knew that I'd have to race hard and take more risks if I wanted to win. I am really happy with the way my body felt on the day and this is the fastest that I've raced in quite some time. I had an awesome race and am really looking forward to the XTERRA South African finals in Grabouw,” said Hugo.

Hugo, who broke his hand during the mountain bike portion of last year’s XTERRA Southeast Championship in Pelham, AL, has recovered nicely from his injuries and will be back on the XTERRA U.S. Tour with six XTERRA races on his 2008 schedule.

Su Erskine won the women’s race in 3:00:15, with Robyn Adebdorf in second four minutes back and Riana de Lange in third. The race consisted of a 1.5k swim, 25k mtb, and 10k trail run. Up next is the XTERRA South Africa Championship in Grabouw (Western Cape) on April 19.

For more info visit http://www.duesouth.co.za.