BDO Rotorua sponsored Kiwi athlete, Sam Osborne, whose NZ home base is here in Rotorua, took out first place the 12th XTERRA Beaver Creek off-road triathlon last week in Colorado, USA. This was the first time Sam has won this event and the outstanding placing marks 16 career wins on the XTERRA World Tour circuit for Osborne.
A fellow kiwi, Samantha Kingsford also won the Women’s Elite race, giving her her seventh career win. Together, the couple have taken out three first-place finishes this year alone—an incredible feat.
Their previous wins this year have been at XTERRA Oak Mountain in Alabama in May and on home turf in the XTERRA Rotorua triathlon this April, held at Tikitapu. The win Sam Osborne achieved in Rotorua also made him the first athlete to be named reigning champion for the fourth time in a row. Rotorua athlete, Sam Osborne, has taken home the title for the XTERRA pro-male race, making him the first athlete to be the reigning champion for four consecutive years in a row (not counting 2020, in which the race was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions).
What is XTERRA?
XTERRA began in 1996, as a triathlon run on the island of Maui, featuring a rough water ocean swim, mountain bike race, and trail run. This brought mountain biking into the existing triathlon scene, and the rest is history. XTERRA now organises multi-sport events worldwide, drawing avid athletes from both mountain biking and traditional triathlon backgrounds.
The XTERRA Beaver Creek Triathlon
XTERRA Beaver Creek is affectionately called "The Beast", as it includes the highest elevation of all XTERRA World Tour events. The swimming portion takes place in Nottingham Lake, followed by a mountain biking section in the world-famous Rocky Mountains, and a trail run that involves climbing even higher, putting much of the race around 3500-4000 feet (or 2800 to 3100 metres) above sea level.
The race this year attracted several big names, including Eric Lagerstrom, Timothy Winslow, Brad Zoller, and more. Lagerstrom completed the swimming leg almost a minute earlier than any of the other competitors, but Sam Osborne, Sam Long, and Josiah Middaugh all closed the gap on the mountain-biking leg, putting each of them in first, second, and third for the final leg, in which Osborne managed to hold them both at bay by completing the sprint with about 10 metres to spare, as Long closed in on the finish. Sam Osborne is well-known as one of the best technical mountain bikers in the sport currently, and it goes to show that excelling in the longest leg of the race pays off.
Women’s Elite Race
That said, Samantha Kingsford took out the fastest swim and run times in the Women’s Elite Race, but came in second on the bike race behind Suzie Snyder. Regardless, she managed to take home the best overall result after a punishing sprint for the finish.
She called the victory a redemption after failing to meet her goals in 2019 on the same track, and mentioned that even though she and Osborne had arrived two weeks early to train, it had not made the race a cakewalk by any means.
It’s what’s behind the numbers that really counts
Here at BDO, we’re proud to sponsor many sporting events, as well as Sam Osborne as an individual, because we know that at the end of the day it all comes down to achievement. The top spot goes a long way, but the real victory lies in setting and achieving personal goals—a key part of staying focused in any sport, and any business.
Osborne is an inspiration to all of us back home in New Zealand, especially because many of us here at BDO are keen cyclists! If you’re hard at work training for an event, like the upcoming Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge, or working towards another goal, celebrating the achievements of others is a great way to get motivated! To find out more about our involvement with local events, or local services talk to the team at BDO Rotorua today.
Image by Jesse Peters via XTERRA