For the first time I started my Xterra season in beautiful Greece. This race was completely new to me and I thought the track was awesome. The swim was held in the beautiful bay of Vouliagmeni, the water temperature was about 19 degrees, we swam with neoprene, the landing between the 2 laps was on a bright, fine sandy beach. I never really found my rhythm when swimming and came out of the water with a relatively large deficit. The only tactic on the bike was to make up as much of the gap as possible. This also worked very well and soon I was in the top 15. The trails and steep climbs suited me perfectly. After quickly changing into my running shoes, I was able to set a good pace for the first few kilometers, but when it came to the steep, stony climbs, I noticed that I already had a few bike kilometers in my legs. I had to start walking a few times, but the competition was no different. I was able to overtake one or the other and finally finished 9th. I'm very happy with my performance and the first triathlon this season, now the specific training can be fine tuned until my next Xterra in Belgium.