XTERRA USA Championship Rotates to Colorado

Press Release / 16.03.2022

The 21st annual XTERRA USA Championship off-road triathlon will be held in conjunction with the new family-friendly and community focused weekend of events in Avon, Colorado on July 15-17, 2022.

It’s the first-time XTERRA has hosted its national championship in the Colorado Rockies, following 12 seasons at Snowbasin Resort in Utah (2009-2021) and eight years in Incline Village, Nevada (2001-2008).

There will be $25,000 in prize money awarded equally to the top 10 elite men and women, plus XTERRA USA Championship crowns to age group division winners along with 51 qualifying spots into the 2022 XTERRA World Championship to be held in Trentino, Italy on October 1.

In addition to the main event, XTERRA will host sprint and relay races along with a variety of other endurance events for the whole family including kid’s races, yard games, vendor booths, food trucks, beer gardens, and live music at the marvelous open air Nottingham Park Pavilion in the heart of Avon.

“We’re thrilled to bring the XTERRA USA Championship to Colorado, it’s long been a mecca for XTERRA athletes and outdoor recreation,” said Steve Andrus, XTERRA’s new U.S. Tour Manager.  

The move is part of a global initiative for XTERRA to rotate it’s championship venues every couple years, or even yearly, to provide new experiences and challenges for the XTERRA family.

“We are reinventing ourselves in a lot of ways, one is by rotating championship venues, and even more important is our renewed focus on delivering exceptional event experiences for both the participants and the local community,” said Andrus. “To that end, we’ve reached out to our partners in Avon and Beaver Creek to source local musicians, restaurants, sustainability partners, and charitable organizations in order to truly make this a neighborhood celebration.”

For visitors and locals alike, the location is spectacular, as Colorado’s high country during the summertime is something to behold with its big blue skies, white aspens, majestic mountain ranges and cool, fresh air.  

Then there is the Beaver Creek course itself, aka "The Beast," familiar to XTERRA enthusiasts as the former home of the mountain championship. It boasts the highest elevation of any major on the XTERRA World Tour starting with a one-mile swim in Nottingham Lake located at 7,400-feet elevation; followed by a 15-mile mountain bike that climbs 3,500-feet into the thin air of the Rockies topping out at 9,400ft; and finishes with a grueling six-mile trail run through the aspens.

The XTERRA USA Championship is one of 11 events on this year’s XTERRA America Tour, each awarding qualifying spots to XTERRA Worlds for both amateurs and professionals.

Date    Race    Location    QS
26-Feb    XTERRA Iceman    Lake Pleasant, AZ, USA    26
23-Apr    XTERRA ATX    Austin, TX, USA    26
11-Jun    XTERRA Cameron Park    Waco, TX, USA    26
18-Jun    XTERRA Lory    Bellvue, CO, USA    26
9-Jul       XTERRA Magnolia Hill    Navasota, TX, USA    26
10-Jul     XTERRA EX2    Flinstone, MD, USA    26
16-Jul     XTERRA USA Championship    Avon, CO, USA    51
23-Jul     XTERRA DINO Northern Indiana    South Bend, IN, USA    26
6-Aug     XTERRA Portland    Hagg Lake, OR, USA    26
21-Aug   XTERRA Lake Tahoe    Incline Village, NV, USA    26
25-Sep   XTERRA Laguna Beach    Laguna Beach, CA, USA    26