Triathlon

People thought Jim Ochowicz was crazy, or at least overly ambitious, when he first told them about his master plan. He wanted to build a world-class cycling team comprised of Americans who would challenge their European counterparts on their own soil for the first time.

These were the days before Greg LeMond, and long before Lance Armstrong, when the sport was still considered exotic. There was no television coverage of the Grand Tours, no blogs and Twitter feeds for eager fans to keep tabs on the world's best riders.

There was certainly no place for Americans in the pro peloton.

OGDEN -- While most of their peers sat in a cozy, heated living room watching TV or playing video games, 18 eighth- and ninth-graders from Ogden Preparatory Academy were competing with athletes twice their age in the snow-covered annual Turkey Triathlon at Weber State University on Nov. 19.

The brainchild of academy science teacher Sam Hayman, the team of 14 and 15-year-olds was established at the beginning of the school year and has been embraced by students, parents and faculty.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- There have been days when Kevin McDowell couldn't finish a swimming workout at the U.S. Olympic Training Center pool in the designated time. And other days, like this one in late September, when McDowell was last to finish of the athletes in USA Triathlon's new elite academy.

"Today actually was the first day I actually felt a little more like myself," McDowell said. "I wasn't going fast, but I had some rhythm in the water instead of going through the motions."

But there are moments of frustration for the two-time U.S. junior triathlon champion and 2010 world junior bronze medalist. His best friend and academy training partner, Kelly Whitley, knows McDowell tries not to show it yet she can see how badly he wants to be faster and stronger.

He wants to be the triathlete he was before the 12 sessions of chemotherapy that followed a diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic tissue, only two days after an eye-popping success in his debut on the professional circuit last March.

SNOWBASIN -- Dan Hugo killed the bike. And then the bike killed him.

The South African native who was ranked eighth in the U.S. Pro Series coming into Saturday's Xterra USA Championship had a huge day, swimming the 1,500 meters in 21:28, biking 18 miles in the second-fastest time of the day in 1:22:56, and running 6.2 miles in 40:26. But his big day came to an end just short of the finish line when Nicolas Lebrun passed him with just over a mile to go.

"I didn't know he was coming," said Hugo. "I knew I was really struggling with the run, and suddenly he was 10 seconds behind me. He came out of left field. In hindsight, if I could have gone with him on the uphill, it was literally downhill to the finish."

OGDEN -- Gavin Gagestein races down the sidewalk near downtown Ogden’s Grant Avenue during the Xterra Kids Bike Race on Friday.

Today’s races include the Xterra USA Championships and Xterra Utah Championships starting at 9 a.m. at Pineview Reservoir and finishing at Snowbasin.The top finishers are expected shortly after 11 a.m. Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong will be among the competitors.

OGDEN -- It's like going to Disneyland.

Except the only rides are self-propelled.

And the restrooms are outhouses.