The race started in clear but choppy waters, on an overcast and humid day. The 1000m swim was led out by Julie Dibens struggling through the strong currents, with Olivier Marceau not too far behind. Her lead stretched on the second swim lap, and she came out of the water with a 45 seconds lead on Olivier and Sybille Matter.

The bike leg started with a 20 minute road climb, and Julie held her lead until the "Swiss Express" came past (Olivier). It was then on to the technical off-road part which had been made slippery by light rain just before the start of the race.

Sam Gardner exited the water after an average swim, and quickly worked his way up through the field, passing Julie eating some dirt about half way through the ride. Sam was now in second place trying to catch the Swiss Express train. Fellow Brit Jim McConnel put three Brits in the top four overall when he caught Julie just before the exit of the technical section. Julie and Jim then worked together as they headed back towards transition.

The run was the most anticipated part of the course because of its loose steep climbs, sweltering heat and a treacherous waterfall section through dense jungle. Sam closed the gap a little more but Olivier held on for the win. Meanwhile Julie and Jim were left to fight it out for 3rd and 4th with Renata Bucher and Jamie Whitmore (a previous XTERRA World Champion) chasing in vain. Jim danced his way down the waterfall like a man possessed and opened up the gap on Julie to finish in 3rd and Julie finished strongly to take win for the females.

Next up is XTERRA Saipan, the first round of the XTERRA Global tour on March 17th. Check back for a report from Saipan in a week.

UPDATE: There's a gallery of images from the race now online here: www.xterraguam.com/new_photos_library/index4.htm