Archive for 2014
XTERRA Spain 2014 Changes Venue!
10
Apr
2014
Cartagena – La Manga (Murcia) - New host city for XTERRA Spain Championship 2014
WHERE:
XTERRA Spain Championship 2014 changes host city to Cartagena – La Manga, Murcia due to logistical and organizational reasons.
WHEN:
Saturday, May 24th 2014. Please note – the original date of Sunday 25 May is impossible due to the European central government elections.
THE CHANGE:
Unfortunately, a complicated set of circumstances has made it impossible to offer the best conditions for athletes in Cieza. After much consideration it was determined that Cartagena – La Manga is the more suitable location in terms of infrastructure and logistics.
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XTERRA England Back On Schedule
28
Feb
2014
(Honolulu, HI) - The United Kingdom-based headquarters of global engagement agency Limelight Sports has secured rights from Vachery Estate and XTERRA headquarters to deliver the XTERRA England Championship race in Cranleigh, Surrey at the same venue and on the same date, August 24, 2014, as previously listed.
XTERRA Europe Stronger Than Ever
27
Feb
2014
The 2014 XTERRA European Tour features an unprecedented 13 championship races in a span of 15 weeks this summer, including new stops in Portugal, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.
“I couldn’t be happier to see the growth and pride of XTERRA in Europe,” said XTERRA World Tour managing director Dave Nicholas. “We’ve been fortunate to connect with a wealth of great organizers that produce high-quality events in magnificent locations.”
For the second straight year the Series will start in Spain (May 25), a country home to more XTERRA World Championship men’s pro titles than any other with six combined between Eneko Llanos (3), Ruben Ruzafa (2), and Javier Gomez (1). The following weekend the Tour visits a new venue and new local organizer for XTERRA Portugal in Golega.
Starting on June 21 the Tour makes stops in Greece, Switzerland and Norway, France, Sweden, Ireland, and Italy on successive weekends through the end of July. The final four in August feature Czech, Germany, England under new organizers, and concludes in Denmark.
Of note, the XTERRA Germany Championship in Zittau on August 16 will double as the ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships. With XTERRA Czech a week before and XTERRA England a week after, there’s a neat opportunity for Americans (and athletes from around the world) to race for their nation and have two or three chances to qualify for XTERRA Worlds at the same time.
May 25, 2014 – XTERRA Spain Championship – Cieza
Jun 01, 2014 – XTERRA Portugal – Golega
Jun 21, 2014 – XTERRA Greece Championship – Lake Plastira
Jun 28, 2014 – XTERRA Switzerland Championship – Vallee de Joux
Jun 29, 2014 – XTERRA Norway Championship – Horten
Jul 06, 2014 – XTERRA France Championship – Xonrupt
Jul 13, 2014 – XTERRA Sweden Championship – Stockholm
Jul 20, 2014 – XTERRA Ireland – Killaloe
Jul 26, 2014 – XTERRA Italy Championship – Abruzzo
Aug 09, 2014 – XTERRA Czech Championship – Prachatice
Aug 16, 2014 – XTERRA Germany Championship (ITU Cross Triathlon World Championship) – Zittau
Aug 24, 2014 – XTERRA England – Cranleigh
Aug 31, 2014 – XTERRA Denmark – Tisvilde
Spotlight on Prachatice - August 9
26
Feb
2014
August is the dream season for the adventurous, adrenaline-seeking XTERRA athlete. It all starts in the medieval city of Prachatice (pronounced pra – ka –teets – ay.) The village is located a few hours south of Prague in southern Bohemia in a verdant valley surrounded by heavily forested hills and dairy farms.
“It’s our third year in this spectacular place,” said organizer Michal Piloušek. “It’s a wonderful historic town in the center of the Sumava Mountains. We finish in ‘the Great Square with renaissance buildings all around and hundreds of cheering people…it’s a life time experience.”
Indeed, the event showcases the entire area as it is a point-to-point course. The swim is about 10K from town at a wonderful natural lake up in the mountains. It will be a 2 lap swim in typical XTERRA fashion.
“The swim part of race is on Kristanovicky Rybnik, the highest situated lake in the Czech Republic, but the water is warm (20C) and very clear,” said Piloušek.
Out from the lake riders will have a few K of paved secondary road before heading into the hills. The bike course is roughly 35K long and fast. “It’s very challenging, as usual in the Czech. This year we will add some new single tracks, to make the course more fun to ride. On 36K there are 3 aid stations, all will be greatly equipped thanks to our new big sponsor - Isostar.”
The bike return is smack in the middle of the Prachatice town square, followed by a run featuring two laps that loops that go ‘up and down all the time…mud, wood, sand, gravel, all you can imagine,” said Piloušek.
Of note for the frugal traveler, Czech is one of the least expensive places on tour.
“Our basic start fee is just 60 Euros and athletes can pay it with their credit card through our new system, you can check it out on our webpage http://www.xterra.cz/. This year we will have a big pasta party the day before race, and host an XTERRA KIDS race in Town Square. After the race you can count on our typical Czech crazy after party with live music, food, and drinks,” said Piloušek.
Defending XTERRA World Champion Ruben Ruzafa has already committed to race at XTERRA Czech, “so if you want to race against the best in the World, this is the place,” smiled Piloušek. “We are looking for everybody, Czech Republic is very inexpensive country with huge history, nice nature and great beer (ask Dave Big Kahuna if you don´t trust me!).”