XTERRA World Cup Heats Up this Weekend in the Czech Republic
Press Release / 11.08.2023
The XTERRA World Cup rolls into the medieval town of Prachatice in the Czech Republic with full distance and XTERRA Short Track races this Saturday and Sunday, August 12-13.
It’s the start of an intense set of five races in 15 days across three countries that could make or break the dreams of the elite triathletes competing in the world’s premier off-road triathlon circuit.
Fans can find live updates from Saturday’s race on Instagram starting at 12 noon CEST, followed by extensive Czech National TV coverage of the action-packed, invite-only XTERRA Short Track races on Sunday at 10am CEST on xterraplanet.com.
Alizée Paties and Felix Forissier (pictured) are among the 70 professional off-roaders from 18 countries on the start line for Saturday’s full-distance race, which also includes the top five ranked women in the world and nine of the top 10 ranked men in the XTERRA World Cup standings, missing only American Josiah Middaugh who had surgery to repair a broken foot earlier this week.
Then on Sunday, the top 20 ranked elite men and women in the standings, plus five worthy wild cards, will square off in the fast-paced, made-for-TV Short Track showdown.
As the World Cup season heats up, all eyes are on reigning XTERRA World Champion Arthur Serrières from France, who has won the last four XTERRA Czech full-distance races and currently sits second in the World Cup standings.
“XTERRA Czech is a special race for me, it was where I had my first big win four years ago and the vibe here is amazing,” said Serrières. “To prepare for this big block of racing from now until the World Championship in Trentino next month, I spent six weeks at an altitude training camp and I’m really happy with the work I put in. Of course, when you come down from altitude you never know exactly what to expect about your shape, so we’ll see.”
It’s been nine weeks since the last World Cup weekend of races when the XTERRA European Championship and Short Track events were held in Belgium, so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of shape all the other contenders are in as well.
The Forissier brothers, Felix and Arthur, swept through Belgium with Felix winning the full-distance race while Arthur won the Short Track title.
“I think the Forissier siblings are the favorites for the victory,” smiled Arthur Forissier. “My goal in the Czech Republic is to achieve at least one victory and one podium finish, and my ultimate aim is to secure a high overall ranking in the World Cup. There is a lot of pressure, and I need to race without making mistakes, but I know I am capable of it.”
Those two look hard to beat, even for Serrières, but they’re not the only other Frenchmen capable of taking the top spot as Maxim Chané has some insiders hedging their bets on him to pull off an upset.
“Max could be strong in these conditions, but it’ll depend if the trails are wet or dry,” said XTERRA Europe Technical Director, Nico Lebrun. “Felix also looks relaxed, confident, and said he loves the course here, but it’s really hard to pick a favorite because I think the top guys will take a lot of risks and some of the favorites could go down.”
Seven-time World Champ Ruben Ruzafa has been close to the top step all year, and is regularly first-off the bike. If the course is technically challenging enough it’s possible he could enter the bike-to-run transition with an insurmountable lead.
“I have two podiums and am in a good place to fight for the World Cup, and I got good rest and solid training in after Belgium so think I will race even better in the second half of the season, but it will be difficult because the level this year is really high” said Ruzafa. “Felix should probably be the favorite, he was so good in the races between April to July, as was his brother Arthur. But, of course, we have to see if Serrières will come out on top again.”
The home crowd will be cheering for Lukáš Kočař, who was greeted to a hero’s welcome and a massive finish line celebration when he won the Short Track race here last year, and one man who should not be overlooked is the current XTERRA World Cup leader, Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen from Denmark.
“I wanna win it,” exclaimed Sloth Nielsen. “I’ve been able to perform on a consistently high level throughout the World Cups, but I haven’t won a race yet so I’m eager to go into the second half looking for victories.”
Other World Cup standouts on the start line include Michele “The Shark” Bonacina (ITA), who is always one of the first out of the water and in the top five mix, Kieran McPherson (NZL) with two top-five World Cup finishes, and Sébastien Carabin, one of XTERRA’s strongest mountain bikers who will benefit from the wetsuit-legal swim and challenging bike course.
“I’m ready for the second half and have had more time for training, especially focusing on my swim,” said Carabin. “This a good course with lots of climbs along with demanding and technical parts with lots of roots.”
One from Five in the Women's Elite
In the women’s elite race there is a clear-cut top 5, but only one can wear number one.
Alizée Paties (FRA) is tops in the standings and won the XTERRA Asia-Pacific Championship and XTERRA Oak Mountain full-distance races to start the season.
“I did some good training in July so I hope to be in my best shape for the next two World Cup stops,” said Paties. “For sure I’ll fight and do my best to keep the golden cap.”
Loanne Duvoisin (SUI) won the Oak Mountain Short Track and then the XTERRA European Championship full-distance race, and is hard to beat when she’s in top form.
“The level increases every year and it's really cool to see that everyone can win,” said Duvoisin. “I took two weeks off after France to spend some time with my family and clear my head, and then did three big weeks with a lot of volume and intensity before setting off again for the second half of the season. I just hope to arrive fresh for the first race and then focus on recovery with a few short bursts of intensity between races to keep the body awake!”
Sandra Mairhofer (ITA) won the fifth race on the World Cup, the XTERRA Belgium Short Track race, as well as a national mountain bike title, both the World Triathlon Cross Tri and Winter Tri Championships, and just finished top 10 at the UCI World Championships so far this year.
“I am happy with my season so far but big events are coming up and I am really excited to race and compete at the highest level on the best tracks against the best competition,” said Mairhofer, who won the XTERRA Czech title last year. “Loanne, Solenne, Alizée, and Marta are all highly competitive and together we will put on a great show!”
Add in Solenne Billouin (pictured), the reigning XTERRA World Champion who is just now coming into top form for the season, and Marta Menditto (ITA), who is a few months into her first full-time professional season of training full-time, and you’ve got a tough top 5 to crack.
“Finally, I had the opportunity to do a really big block of training, the biggest of my life for about five weeks, so I hope to be in my top form for Czech and Germany. And finally mentally I will be ready, knowing that I've been working a lot in the last month” said Menditto.
When asked who should be the favorite, Menditto modestly talked about everyone but herself.
“It's difficult to say who is the favorite,” she said. “For me, Sandra is still the best biker and if she is in form I think it is really difficult to beat her, because now she's also a good swimmer and a good runner. But I trust a lot in Alizée and Loanne. When Loanne has a good day she is really strong and powerful, but she has ups and downs. Alizée, on the other hand, is really concentrated on what she has to do to win the World Cup and has been really consistent. She's strong mentally and physically, and always able to push herself to the limit, and it's been inspiring to see what she's achieved this year. And of course Solenne, she is really strong and can have a really good race, so for sure she's one of the favorites too.”
