TriaThlon 2013 · muLtisport 172 TriaThlon 2013 · muLtisport 172 173 muLtisport · TriaThlon 2013
CroSS TriaThlon
WorlD ChaMPionShiPS
taKinG the Less-Beaten path
South Africa's Conrad Stoltz was already the unri-
valled king of off-road racing and he confirmed it
again in the Netherlands in 2013, collecting a hat-
trick of ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships at
The Hague-Kijkduin. "The Caveman" won in 2011 and
2012 and looked as strong as ever this year, holding
off a valiant challenge from Spain's Ruben Ruzafa in
the closing stages of the 1km swim, 26km bike, and
9km cross country run race. Stoltz finished in two
hours, one minute and 38 seconds, with Ruzafa clai-
ming silver and France's Brice Daubord completing
the podium with bronze.
In the elite women's race, the Czech Republic's
Helena Erbenova proved she is a multiple discipline
master when she stormed to victory at her first ITU
Cross Triathlon World Championships. It was the
second world title for Erbenova in 2013, after she
also collected the winter triathlon world title. Erbe-
nova dominated the race from start to finish and
crossed the line a huge five minutes ahead of 2012
champion Lesley Paterson (GBR), who took silver in
02:27:25. Canada's Chantell Widney claimed the
bronze medal, in just her first attempt at the cross
triathlon discipline after years on the ITU circuit.
