Culpeper “Little Pepper” Sprint Triathlon is HOT, HOT HOT !
Landau beaten by Maccabiah Games teammate (and client) Rob Urbach !
Hot, hilly course conditions and no wetsuit in the soupy lake made for challenging venue for the 2 team mates to see who was “top dog” on 8/03/08. Unfortunately, Landau did the “doggie paddle” to Rob Urbach’s “U-boat” full speed ahead swimming.
Landau won the Age group in the Virginia Triathlon Series last year, but Urbach did not complete enough races and also beat his legal counsel at last year’s Culpeper race in the last mile of the run ! The “Rob-inator” also nailed Lawyer Landau at the Reston Sprint June 1st, which was a pool swim event & is in first place in the Virginia Series for 2008, with the requisite 4 races and 4 firsts !) “under his belt.” Rob had over 3 min on “Doug the Slug” after the 750 meter swim.
Landau raced through transitions to pick up 20 seconds, and blasted the 17 mile bike course to pick up another 2:10 on the undulating avenues of Madison County. Urbach had difficulty maneuvering around the 750 other competitors on the narrow roads.
Landau thought he was close coming out of T-2, but “Rocket Rob’s” Zoot shoes were on fire, as he beat his lawyer by over a minute on a hilly run course, in what is supposed to be Landau’s forte. Landau could see him at every turnaround on the “E-shaped” course, but he was actually losing ground despite passing several dozen competitors on the 5k. route.
When he finally crossed the finish line, Landau’s HR had gone from 160s/170s to 180 ! The Triathlon Trial Lawyer congratulated Urbach, whom he thought was sure to get a prize. However, the USAT officials got Urbach not once, not twice, but 3 times for “blocking.” The unfair part, is that the alleged infractions were while Urbach was passing people, uphill. Many of the “newbie” participants, in Mountain bikes, were not moving to the right, which posed a safety hazard and could have caused bike crashes and serious injuries. Urbach received 6 minutes in penalties and was knocked down 30 spots. Landau’s other friends and clients did well in the Culpeper heat. Rob “Long Distance” Colburn and Laurent Rouad of Airbus both won Age Group Awards at the hot (no wetsuits), crowded and hilly Culpeper Sprint Triathlon Sunday. Set Up Events Race Director Greg Hawkins is shown giving Large Beer mugs to these two star Worldgaters, who were seen swimming the swim course again after finishing the race ! Congratulations to all finishers and winners.
