Xterra started its season last night – European Time – with the first World Cup and that race was dominated, as often as not, by the French. In the men’s race, the win of the Xterra Asia-Pacific Championship went to favorite Felix Forissier, and in the women’s race, his compatriot Solenne Billouin won.
The race involved the Xterra Full Distance: 1,500-meter swim, 29 kilometers of mountain biking and 12 kilometers of running over rugged terrain. Forissier did the fastest in the men’s event, eventually finishing in a time of 2:38:31. It was exciting, though, because Dane Jens Emit Sloth Nielsen was runner-up in a time of 2:39:52 and was thus close to the winner. Arthur Forissier, the winner’s brother, finished third in a time of 2:41:44.
Among the women, the win thus went to Solenne Billouin, who had a bigger margin. She finished in a time of 3:10:02 and remained more than three minutes ahead of her compatriot Alizee Paties, who came second in 3:13:13. Italy’s Marta Menditto completed the podium of this season’s first Xterra World Cup by finishing third in a time of 3:16:51.
