Where? Italy/Molveno The toughest race in the Xterra World Cup series and the end of the season in the Xterra World Tour- the World Championship. A week full of racing.
Xterra Short Track:
On Thursday September 21st. The 30 best elite starters started the race, there was pure racing action on a course of 400m swimming, 8km biking and 3km running. Hundreds of age group athletes and spectators were excited along the route, a perfect event to motivate them for the World Championships two days later, on September 23rd. I also tied the start line as one of the TOP 30 from the World Cup ranking.
Xterra World Champs:
With good activation for Saturday, I started the Xterra World Championship on time at 10 a.m. after 12 hours of rain the day before. 63 elite athletes ran into the water, there was an amazing atmosphere and there was a commotion in the water. I found a good pace with other athletes around me on the first half of the 1500m swim. But after shore leave I lost touch with my group and then it was time to limit the damage, every move, every second counted so as not to miss connection with a group on the bike.
However, I only came out of the water in 52nd place, a no-go for me. My switch to the bike was flawless and quick, and I was able to push straight away. The bike route consisted of 2 laps and was a total of 32km long with 1000hm. On the first climb I overtook a few athletes in front of me and was able to make up place after place. My tactics were good and I continued to move forward even on the downhills. The second round was similarly good, the trails became increasingly dry and were in surprisingly good condition after it rained for 12 hours the day before. There were only a few very slippery sections in the lower part of the downhill. With a small "slip" I was out of focus for a short time, my rear derailleur was slightly damaged and the gears no longer moved so smoothly, but none of this stopped me. After gaining almost 30 places on the bike, I returned to the transition zone in 25th place.
Quickly changing into my running shoes, I tackled the 10km run and set a good pace, overtook the two guys in front of me and ran a good pace. After the first lap I was in a group of 5 and we fought for every place. I only had to admit defeat to one in the finish sprint and ultimately crossed the finish line in 24th place at what was probably the strongest World Championship since Xterra was founded in 1996.
