Costly decision for Joe Miller



Saipan, CNMI—Choosing to use a pair of tires with tubes proved to be costly for Joe Miller as the Filipino bet finished sixth among the pros that competed in the 2015 XTERRA Saipan Championship last Saturday here in the United States territory’s largest island.

The two-time XTERRA Philippines Filipino Elite champion completed the 1.5-kilometer swim at Micro Beach, a 40K bike ride around the steep hills of Mt. Tapochao, and a 10K run through the rugged jungle trails in three hours, 22 minutes, and 33 seconds.

Miller submitted times of 22;:10 in the swim, 1:37:46 in the bike, and 1:01:12 in the run legs in his first try in the Crown Jewel of the Global XTERRA Circuit.

He was 22:08 behind Australian Ben Allen, who claimed his fourth XTERRA Saipan crown with the fastest time of 2:40:25, 13:09 slower than the record held by International Triathlon Union World Championships gold medalist Olivier Marceau of France (2:27:16) in 2007.

Miller said he was supposed to use tubeless tires but decided at the last minute to change to tubes thinking it would give him more traction on the trail bike leg after testing the course two days before the event.

A heavy downpour bridging late Friday night and early Saturday morning changed the layout of the course, making the bike and trail run legs muddy and slippery.

“I was a bit disappointed with my performance. I kept on slipping on the trail since my tires have tubes in them. I was targeting fourth but still managed to finish against a strong field of competitors were some I’m not that familiar with,” said Miller.



He said XTERRA Saipan is not like the XTERRA Philippines course. “In Albay, it was sandy and rocky but not that sharp. Saipan has a rocky terrain and the rocks here are sharp increasing your chance to encounter mechanical problems so you have to really be careful.”

“It was really a challenging course. I’m a strong mountain biker but had difficulty navigating the course because of the mud and heavy rain,” added the first-year pro, Miller.

“Still, I completed the race with no flat or other problems with my bike, and no injury in my first try here on Saipan,” said Miller, who experienced two flat tires in last month’s XTERRA Philippines to finish in sixth (3:10:48).

The former mountain bike racer will also make XTERRA stops in Guam (April 11) in New South Wales, Australia (April 18), and Malaysia from May 1 to 3 in Langkawi.

“I want to complete the Asia-Pacific Tour since this XTERRA circuit will also be part of my preparation for the finals in Maui, Hawaii. I’ll first return to the Philippines after XTERRA Guam before heading to Australia,” Miller said.

He said that he’ll focus more on improving his swimming and running since he already has the skills in mountain biking. “XTERRA’s course is a perfect fit for me. I used to race against Philippine national team members in various Mt. bike races but coach Noy Jopson encouraged me to try a triathlon.”

Miller said that he’ll be back next year after falling in love with the XTERRA Saipan course. “I didn’t know that there were a lot of Filipinos here. I’m going to be back next year and will bring other Filipino triathletes.”

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