OLYMPIAN TO RACE IN XTERRA WINTER WORLDS
Rebecca Dussault, an 8-time U.S. National Cross Country Ski Champion and 2006 Winter Olympian, highlights an all-star cast of multisport pros vying for the first-ever XTERRA Winter World Championship crown on Saturday.

The race combines 10km of mountain biking, 5km of snowshoeing, 5km of running, and 8km of ski mountaineering in that order. The top men’s finisher is expected to take roughly two hours to complete the task and there is $10,000 in prize money up for grabs.

Athletes representing 20 U.S. States and four countries are registered for Winter Worlds – which is being held at Snowbasin Resort near the high adventure Mecca of Ogden, Utah. Snowbasin is no stranger to high-profile international sporting competitions having hosted the downhill and Super G events of the 2002 Winter Olympics.

The 3-day winter sports festival starts tomorrow (Friday, March 7) with a Snowboard Dash-4-Cash race that is giving away $1,000 to the men’s and women’s winners. There is also a ski mountaineering race and a host of fun races for kids on Friday.

On Sunday the best snowshoers in the country face off in the PowerSox U.S. National Snowshoe Championship race, including defending champions Greg Huxum from Duluth, MN and Nikki Kimball of Bozeman, MT.

All the action from the weekend is being filmed by the award-winning TEAM Unlimited TV crew and will be edited for a half-hour sports special to be aired across the country via national syndication starting in May.

For more details visit www.XTERRAWinter.com.

XTERRA SAIPAN CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY
The 2008 XTERRA America Tour kicks off Saturday on the tropical island of Saipan in the middle of the Western Pacific Ocean.

Jim Vance, the 2004 XTERRA Amateur World Champion, joins XTERRA veterans Andrew Noble and Taro Shirato, as well as 2007 Japan National Triathlon Champion Hiroshi Ogasawara on the men’s pro start list. Three-time and defending XTERRA Saipan Champ Renata Bucher highlights the women’s field.

The race awards $15,000 in prize money and qualifying slots into the 2008 XTERRA World Championship slated for October 26 in Maui

A week after XTERRA Saipan on March 15 is the Tagaman Triathlon - the longest running triathlon in the Western Pacific (19 years now). The two races provide a perfect early season training schedule for the adventurous triathlete.

In between XTERRA Saipan and Tagaman is the Saipan Sports Fest which includes a variety of triathlon clinics, runs, swims, trail runs, bbq's, and social outings.

JAMIE WHITMORE SIDELINED
XTERRA’s all-time winningest athlete Jamie Whitmore – who has 37 career victories in the sport and five U.S. Pro Series titles – started the toughest challenge of her life as she entered the University of California San Francisco Medical Center last Friday to undergo tests for a tumor found on her left pelvis.

Doctors anticipate Jamie can return to her house in the Sacramento region later this week as she awaits test results. Always the optimist, Jamie stated, “I’ve entered the challenge of my life and I will finish strong.”

Whitmore thanks her family, friends and sponsors for their support at this difficult time. Those wishing to send her a message are encouraged to do so through her web site at www.jamiewhitmore.com

More information will be shared as it becomes available.