XTERRA Czech Republic Weekend Race Reports

June 21, 2021

Arthur Serrieres (FRA) and Loanne Duvoisin (SUI) captured the XTERRA Czech Republic full-distance off-road triathlon elite races on a beautiful afternoon in Prachatice Saturday, June 19, 2021, with winning times of 2:26:41 and 2:52:11, respectively. Then on Sunday, Arthur Forissier (FRA) and Marta Menditto (ITA) won the made-for-TV XTERRA Short Track Czech Republic off-road tri.

Arthur Serrieres (FRA) and Loanne Duvoisin (SUI) captured the XTERRA Czech Republic full-distance off-road triathlon elite races on a beautiful afternoon in Prachatice Saturday, June 19, 2021, with winning times of 2:26:41 and 2:52:11, respectively.

Then on Sunday, Arthur Forissier (FRA) and Marta Menditto (ITA) won the made-for-TV XTERRA Short Track Czech Republic off-road tri (read that report below).

It’s the ninth career XTERRA World Tour full-distance race victory for Serrieres, his third straight in the Czech Republic, and the first full-distance win for Duvoisin, who captured the XTERRA Short Track Italy Lake Garda crown two weeks ago.

Today’s race, the 17th edition of XTERRA Czech, combined a non-wetsuit 1.5K swim in the warm waters of Kristanovicky Lake with a 33K mountain bike in Sumava National Park and a 10.5K trail run that finished in the city center of the 14th century town of Prachatice in South Bohemia.

In the men’s elite race Maxim Chane was first out of the water with home country hero Lukas Kocar and Serrieres 23-seconds back.  Those three worked together to build a two-minute, 45-second gap halfway through the bike with Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen and Arthur Forissier in full chase mode behind them.

Kocar posted the best bike split of the day to reach the bike-to-run transition 35-seconds ahead of Serrieres, but it wasn’t enough to hold off arguably the fastest runner in all of XTERRA.

Serrieres blistered the run yet again, clocking a day’s best 42:13 split to take the tape more than one-minute, 30-seconds ahead of Kocar in second.

“It was a completely different race from the previous ones here,” said Serrieres, the 2019 XTERRA European Champion who had the fastest run split at XTERRA Worlds two years ago. “I made a lot of progress this winter with my swim to be able to exit near the front group.  Kocar is a machine on the bike, and we pushed really hard. I kept my pace and attacked on the run to take the victory. I am happy with my win, very good race, and performance!”

Over the last few years Kocar has put himself in contention for a win at nearly every race, and there is a feeling that his time will come soon.

“Not a win yet here in Czech but I hope I can make it tomorrow at the Short Track. I need to win,” exclaimed Kocar.  “I really enjoyed the mountain biking and was very confident during the race. I was ok during the run but at the second lap I was out of power.”

Behind Kocar, Arthur Forissier – who won the XTERRA Short Track Italy Lake Garda race two week ago – chased down Nielsen and Chane to finish in third.

“I had a good race today. The guys in-front were very strong, but I have no regrets,” said Forissier. “I didn’t make any serious mistakes and I am happy with my performance and my third place. I wanted to keep some energy for tomorrow.”

Elite Men full results:
https://irontime.cz/vysledky1877/?zavod=1877&trat=4644&kategorie=15330

In the women’s elite race it was Duvoisin from wire-to-wire, posting the fastest swim, bike, and run times to cross the line more than three minutes ahead of XTERRA Hall of Famer Helena Karaskova Erbenova in second.

“It’s my first victory in an XTERRA!” exclaimed Duvoisin.  “So happy to win today. I was feeling great on the swim but was fading towards the end of the bike. Then on the run I had no legs on the first loop but then started feeling way better.”

Karaskova Erbenova was just three seconds slower than Duvoisin on the bike, and 10-seconds back on the run, but stared the day nearly four-minutes behind her after the swim.

“It’s all about the swim for me and it was very difficult to train this winter with the swimming pools closed,” she said. “I was hoping to be in the top five, so I am more than happy with second place.”

Sandra Mairhofer was strong all around to finish third, and after the race said “that was a hard race, the heat killed me a little on the run. I am not in the best running shape, so I am really happy with my third place.”

Eleonora Peroncini finished fourth and Aneta Grabmullerova came in fifth.

Elite Women full results:
https://irontime.cz/vysledky1877/?zavod=1877&trat=4644&kategorie=15331

All-time XTERRA Czech Elite Champions
Year – Men / Women
2002 – Olivier Marceau / Candy Angle
2003 – Nicolas Lebrun / Jamie Whitmore
2004 – Nicolas Lebrun / Jamie Whitmore
2005 – Olivier Marceau / Renata Bucher
2006 – Nicolas Lebrun / Renata Bucher
2008 – Nicolas Lebrun / Carina Wasle
2009 – Franky Batelier / Carina Wasle
2010 – Franky Batelier / Renata Bucher
2011 – Ronny Dietz / Marion Lorblanchet
2012 – Nicolas Lebrun  / Helena Erbenova
2013 – Felix Schumann / Helena Erbenova
2014 – Ruben Ruzafa / Kathrin Mueller
2015 – Ben Allen / Helena Erbenova
2018 – Ruben Ruzafa / Helena Erbenova
2019 – Arthur Serrieres / Morgane Riou
2020 – Arthur Serrieres / Laura Philipp
2021 – Arthur Serrieres / Loanne Duvoisin

XTERRA made its debut in the Czech Republic among the castles of Hluboka nad Vltavou in 2002, enjoyed a stint in Spindleruv Mlyn starting in 2009, and has made Prachatice its home ever since.

Find highlights from the day on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/xterraeurope

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XTERRA SHORT TRACK CZECH REPUBLIC RECAP

Women’s Race Replay here / / Men’s Race Replay here

The environment, effort, and exposure to the sport’s top off-roaders was unprecedented.

In the women’s race, Loanne Duvoisin was first out of the water with Aneta Grabmullerova close behind followed by Sandra Mairhofer and Marta Menditto.

Duvoisin took the lead early on the bike but crashed on the second loop of the fast and technical bike course and did not continue. Mairhofer rode with Billouin and Menditto for most of the bike, before attacking to establish a small lead.

Once into transition Menditto took the lead and started to push hard on the run, making a big gap early on. Billouin kept Mairhofer close on the run while Karaskova was closing the gap in fourth place.

Heading into the final loop of the run, the top positions changed with Billouin making her move and passing Marihofer for second place. Menditto crossed the line in a solid first place, with Billouin and Marihofer earning podium positions behind, and Karaskova and Peroncini finishing in fourth and fifth place respectively.

Speaking after the race Marta Menditto said, “It was a really good race for me. I tried to push on the bike and stay together with Sandra. I had a really fast transition thanks to the tricks I learned from Francois Carloni and took the lead. I was feeling great on the run, and I am happy with my victory today.”

Sandra Mairhofer sent her well wishes to Duvoisin after the crash, “I saw the crash and felt sorry for her but tried to stay focused and prevent any mistakes. I was feeling great on the bike but on the run I was out of energy, probably because of my efforts yesterday in the full distance. I am happy with third place today.”

Top 5 Women

Name (NAT) – Time

Marta Menditto (ITA) – 42:33
Solenne Billouin (FRA) – 43:01
Sandra Mairhofer (ITA) – 43:16
Helena Karaskova-Erbenova (CZE) – 43:39
Eleonora Peroncini (ITA) – 44:26

View the Elite Women Full results here.

In the men’s short track race, the swim saw a repeat from yesterday’s full distance race with Maxim Chane first out of the water, followed by Kocar, Serrieres and Spinnaze.

Out onto the bike it was Chane in the lead, with Spinnaze hot on his wheel and Kocar hunting them down behind. Two of the favorites, Arthur Serrieres and Arthur Forissier were working together out of transition, until Forissier made his move up to fourth place before the end of the first loop.

Kocar was next to make his move, passing Spinazze early on in the second loop before pushing hard to pass Chane at the start of the third loop with Forissier on the attack behind and also moving up to second. Danish mountain biker, Sloth Nielsen, was also in hunting mode, coming in fast to establish the third position on the bike.

A fast transition for Forissier saw him head out onto the run 11-seconds ahead of Kocar. The French athlete looked unstoppable on the run, increasing the gap on his opponents stride after stride. Crossing the finish line in first place, Forissier has established himself as the King of Short track, having won all three events so far this season in XTERRA.

The full distance winner, Arthur Serrierres, produced another stellar performance passing Sloth Nielsen early on in the run before battling out with Kocar. However, the Czech local found an extra gear in the last 200m to hold on to his second-place position ahead of Serrieres, with Nielsen and Chane finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

Speaking of his performance, Arthur Forissier said, “Yesterday I was a little tired but this morning I had a good feeling. On the first loop of the swim there was a big battle with the group, but I decided to keep calm and make my move on the second loop. I had a good transition and then was able to take the lead from Kocar on the bike. I opened the gap early on the run and was able to manage the race.  I hope that my friends and fans from Saint-Etienne were able to see my race on the live feed from XTERRA. I won 3 out of 3 XTERRA Short Track races so far and we have 2 more to go this season.”

Local athlete, Lukas Kocar, was proud to race in front of his supporters. He said, “I am so happy today. After the full distance yesterday, it was hard to fight in the Short Track today. I was feeling very confident and powerful on the bike but was losing some time on the downhill. I knew that Serrieres was very close, but I kept some power for the last 200 meters of the run to push and keep my position. There were so many spectators that gave me strength and power. It was a great event.”

Top 5 Men

Name (NAT) – Time

Arthur Forissier (FRA) – 35:14
Lukas Kocar (CZE) – 35:44
Arthur Serrieres (FRA) – 35:54
Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen (DEN) – 36:31
Maxim Chane (FRA) – 36:35

View the Elite Men Full Results here.

Watch the Men’s Race Replay here.

About XTERRA Short Track

XTERRA Short Track is a short course race concept that debuted in Czech Republic in 2019.  An elite-only event where athletes have to qualify during the full distance event or in a preliminary short track race to claim the best starting position in the final grid. The course is made up of a two-lap 400m swim with an Australian exit, a very technical four-lap 6km bike circuit littered with jumps, rock gardens, root infested single track and a couple of flat-out pedaling sections. The run will then be contested over two-laps using a slightly shortened course.

The 2021 XTERRA Short Track series will feature events in Italy, Czech Republic, Germany, and France. The biggest advantage of this format is that athletes race multiple laps on a very tight course which makes it perfect for live TV coverage and a thrilling atmosphere for spectators.

The next event on the XTERRA Europe calendar is XTERRA Switzerland on June 26, featuring a full-distance & sprint distance race, open to amateurs and elites.