Xterra: Athletes go to xtremes to xcell at competition

Rebecca Dessault admits it was a terrible time to take up a new sport. In fact, as her husband struggled with ulcerative colitis, it was probably not a good time to take on any new responsibilities.

But when longtime friend Brian Smith called her last year to see if she wanted to take another female athlete's place on a team traveling to a winter world championship triathlon in Germany, she couldn't resist.

"I'm super competitive," said the Colorado mother of two sons, ages 7 and 2. "This was a new challenge with a new community of athletes. It's fun to be a part of something new."

Dessault was a member 2006 Olympic nordic ski team and is an eight-time U.S. cross country cki champion.

"When I went to the world championships in February 2008, I hadn't run or biked since October," she said. "My husband was very sick. He's had three life-saving surgeries in the last year. It was a lot to juggle. … The fact that this ever fit in at all, anywhere, still amazes me."

But multitasking apparently makes a great athlete as Dessault won the Xterra Winter World Championship Sunday at Snowbasin in record time for the women and nearly 15 minutes ahead of Lisa Isom of Vail, Colo.

Smith won on the men's side for the second consecutive year with a time of 2 hours 21 seconds. He was nearly five minutes ahead of the second-place finisher, Winter Triathlon World Champion Nicolas Lebrun of France.

"This year I got away on the bike and felt really good," he said of the Xterra Winter World Championship, which feature a 10K mountain bike section, a 5K snowshoe course, a 5K run and finishes with an 8K mountaineer skiing leg.

Some questioned whether Smith would be at his best Sunday as he competed on Saturday in the 12K mountaineer ski race.

"I wanted to be flawless on the Randonnee skiing," Smith said. So he and a friend did Saturday's race for fun.

Smith wasn't flawless, as he fell on the downhill portion trying to adjust his boots. But he had such a lead on the field it didn't hurt him at all.

"That was the best run and snowshoe I've had to date," he said. "Everything else, other than the fall, felt really good."

He said athletes have to approach winter sports like the Xterra races differently than they do summer races.

"Racing in the snow, you never want to attack or go too hard," he said. "You just need to stay smooth, steady."