Pikes Peak Region Trail Finder

PHOTO BY MARK REIS, THE GAZETTE

BY BRIAN GOMEZ, THE GAZETTE

Michael Weiss dropped out during the run portion of the Ironman world championship – overwhelmed by the heat, outperformed by a first-class field and unraveled by the mental anguish of falling way short of his aspirations for a top-10 finish last month in Hawaii.

It ended up being a major blessing in disguise. Two weeks later, he hit the jackpot.

“I kind of had fresh legs,” Weiss said about his much-anticipated triumph Oct. 23 at the XTERRA world championship in Maui – a win that netted him $20,000 in prize money.

The Colorado Springs triathlete is riding a wave of momentum after the biggest victory of his fast-rising career, and with hopes for Olympic glory firmly in the rearview mirror, he thinks he’s capable of winning an Ironman world title, especially as he enters his prime.

An Austria native, Weiss, 30, admitted feeling “super motivated and hungry” in besting a group that included seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, of Aspen, as well as 2008 Olympic gold medalist Jan Frodeno, of Germany, and four-time XTERRA world champion Conrad Stoltz, of South Africa. He crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 27 minutes over a 1-mile ocean swim, 18.3-mile mountain bike ride and 6.1-mile trail run.

Known as “Michi,” Weiss was the runner-up at the XTERRA worlds in 2008, and he had placed third in 2009 and 2010, the beneficiary of a new course featuring different terrain, rougher water and a more humid climate. He was fresh off a fourth-place showing at the Ironman 70.3 world championship in Henderson, Nev., in September, and he worked out for 10 days in Maui – a first for him since the course was previously on private property.

“I felt super strong in training,” he said, “and I just put everything together on race day. … That gives me a lot of confidence, and the most important things are to keep training hard, to keep working hard.” He added that he “can win the world championship, but then I want something more. So I’m always trying to stay motivated and set new goals.”

Weiss plans on competing for another 10 years. Most Ironman competitors don’t reach their peak until their mid-30s – defending Ironman world champion Craig Alexander, of Australia, is 38. He continues to grasp an understanding of the basics of triathlon, having quit cross-country mountain biking in 2008 after a 14-year crusade in his childhood sport highlighted by a 2003 European junior title and a 2004 Olympic berth, for Austria.

Every morning, Weiss, a 25th-place finisher at Ironman worlds in 2009 and a 13th-place finisher in 2010, swims at the Olympic Training Center alongside national team members Matt Chrabot, Hunter Kemper and Sarah Haskins Kortuem, with instruction courtesy of USA Triathlon swimming coach Mike Doane. In the afternoons, he runs on his own, and he cycles with local mountain bike and road professionals, most notably Danny Pate. And he has 22 sponsors and a 14-person support staff led by coach Mario Huys, of Belgium.

“I’m still progressing and still learning and improving,” said Weiss, who will be joined by OTC resident Tim O’Donnell at the season-ending Ironman Arizona, a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run Nov. 20 in Tempe. On his odds of sometime prevailing at Ironman worlds, he said, “I’m sure that if I’m a lucky guy, my day will come.”