Michael "Michi" Weiss passed Lance Armstrong on the mountain bike portion of the XTERRA World Championship on Sunday in Maui, and then held off the field in the run portion to win the world title.

The world’s premier off-road triathlon, XTERRA includes a 1.5-kilometer (1-mile) rough-water swim, a 29.5-kilometer (18.3-mile) mountain bike ride and a 9.8-kilometer (6.1-mile) trail run best described as a tropical roller-coaster ride through pineapple fields and forests. Weiss covered the distance in 2 hours, 27 minutes.

Weiss was motivated for the XTERRA finals after some bad luck at Iron Man World Championships.

"After a big disappointment in Kona this year, you know I dropped out on the run at Mile 14, I was just hungry for this win," he said.

Read our interview with Michi Weiss from earlier this year.

Armstrong was 10 seconds behind the leaders following the swim. He charged to the front on the mountain bike leg before Weiss passed him. He struggled on the run, fading to finish 23rd with a time of 2:36:59.

Armstrong didn't make any excuses after the race, though he wrecked at the end of the mountain bike section.

"Tough but fun day today," he said. "Went out too hard in the swim, finally got going on the bike but took a nasty spill at the end."

Weiss trailed Armstrong by two and a half minutes after the swim but smashed the Texan on the bike leg, taking 4 minutes, 11 seconds out of him. Weiss started the run section in the lead and knocked off the 9.8K  in 43:54. South African Dan Hugo placed second, 33 ticks off the pace. Eneko Llanos of Spain was third, 1:26 behind Weiss.

Manitou Springs' Branden Rakita (left) finished 20th in the pro race with a time of 2:36:38.

Weiss,30, an Austrian-born pro triathlete lives and trains in Colorado Springs. His new bride, Rachel, is an employee at SRM. A friendly man who is quick to smile, Weiss was sponsored by the Boulder Running Company when competed in the Pikes Peak Road Runners' 2011 Winter Series, winning the "short-course" series.

See video interview following the final Winter Series race here ...

Weiss wasn't the only winner from the Pikes Peak Region. Bruce Wacker of Colorado Springs captured the world title in the 65-69 age group, finishing in 3:33:27. Wacker placed 287th out of 490 competitors.

In the women's pro race, Kim Baugh of Colorado Springs, finished 22nd, 314th overall, with a time of 3:38:54.

Others from the Pikes Peak Region who finished include Tyler Volz, 224th overall, 11th in the 20-24 age group; Richard Wall, 483rd overall and 5th in the 60-64 age group.

Results here...

Photos provided by XTERRA