SNOWBASIN — Mike Hicks of Fountain Hills, Ariz., comes to Snowbasin every year for mountain biking and skiing.

Two years back, the 55-year-old decided to compete in triathlons. On Saturday, Hicks surprised a lot of people, including himself, as he placed second in his age group at the Nissan Xterra Mountain Championship at Snowbasin.

He has unwavering commitment and likes to challenge the limits. But, Hicks has only one leg. "Mountain biking is my passion," said Hicks, who lost a leg in 1992 following a tragic accident when his bike was hit by a car. "I do triathlons for cross training and fitness."

"I like Utah very much. I will come here more and more," Hicks said.

Melanie McQuaid, who claimed the 2006 Nissan Xterra Mountain Pro Championship women's title outrunning four-time Xterra Pro Series champion Jamie Whitmore, echoed the same sentiments.

"Utah is the next biggest sporting destination. It's a new favorite race for me," announced McQuaid moments after crossing the finish line near the bottom of the Olympic downhill ski run winning the leading off-road triathlon event.

"I'd like to become the new queen of altitude," said McQuaid, who had a training camp in Ogden for two weeks prior to the event. "Utah is really a fantastic place to train. I won due to the good course conditioning I had."

McQuaid was under a lot of pressure coming into the race, which is the last of five regionals before the Nissan Xterra USA Championship on Oct. 1 in Lake Tahoe, Nev. Saturday's win takes her just 10 points shy of leader Whitmore and gives her a chance of winning the USA Pro Championship. "I was under the gun. It feels good to perform under pressure," she said.

Whitmore had a tough day tackling the new course. This year, the Mountain Championship's venue was shifted from Keystone, Colo., to Snowbasin. "It wasn't my best of days. The course had lot of climbing and far less downhill," the 30-year-old from Somerset, Calif., said.

Melissa Thomas took the third spot. The 36-year-old from Boulder, Colo., rode mountain bikes in Moab and Blanding for two years before she turned pro. "The course is not steep but has gradual climb. It's like rolling power climbing. Keystone's climb continues and offers not much recovery," she said.

In the men's section, last year's winner Mike Vine won the race in 2 hours 22 minutes and 30 seconds. "It was a long ride, and I paced it well. I am kind of home in the mountains," the seasoned veteran said. "I do well in verticals both up and down."

The course started with a 1.5K swim in Pineview Reservoir. At the first transition area, racers hopped onto their mountain bikes to start a 30K ride to Snowbasin ski areas. The ride traverses dirt trails as it meanders Wheeler Canyon. Athletes climbed about 1,800 feet on the way to the ski area. There they completed two 5K single-track loops before switching gears to head out on an idyllic 10K trail run through a two-loop single track run course.