A world-class, international field featuring more than 20 elite triathletes from 10 countries are on the start list for the inaugural event in mainland China. XTERRA Kunming off-road triathlon will be held at the OCT Yangzong Lake Resort in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, this Sunday, September 22, 2019.
As the grand finale of the 2019 XTERRA Asia-Pacific Tour the event offers $25,000 USD in prize money for the race plus $10,000 in tour bonuses to the top elite performers in the series, as well as 51 qualifying slots into the XTERRA World Championship for amateurs.
Headlining the men’s race is three-time XTERRA World Champion and four-time ITU Cross Tri World Champion, Ruben Ruzafa from Spain.
“I am very excited for this weekend, it’s my first time racing XTERRA in the east, and I know it will be a huge experience,” said Ruzafa, a former world cup mountain biker who has won 34 races on the XTERRA World Tour since capturing his first championship in Maui back in 2008 as a 24-year-old.
The three-time XTERRA European Tour Champion will have plenty of challengers, as seven of the top eight men in the XTERRA Asia-Pacific Tour standings are on the start list, including a pair of French speedsters, Brice Daubord and Maxim Chane.
Daubord finished third at the XTERRA Asia-Pacific Championship race earlier this season in Kenting, behind only Brad Weiss and Sam Osborne – who finished 2nd and 3rd at XTERRA Worlds last year. He also won XTERRA Tahiti and was 5th at ITU Cross Tri Worlds. His countryman, Maxim Chane, is fresh off top five finishes at Europe’s toughest races in France, Germany, and the Czech Republic.
XTERRA Europe director and 2005 XTERRA World Champion Nico Lebrun, who helped design the course, thinks Ruzafa, Daubord, Chane, and Kieran McPherson from New Zealand all have a chance at the title.
McPherson just won the XTERRA Japan title on Sunday, and last year captured three world tour majors and the XTERRA Pan American Tour Championship. He’s also one of the fastest runners in the sport, so if he comes off the bike in striking distance of the leader, he has the ability to chase down a win.
XTERRA veteran Ben Allen from Australia, who captured many of his 18 career XTERRA wins in Asia, is a really strong swimmer and can set the tone early, and on a good day, stay up front the whole way.
Other contenders include two-time adventure racing world champ Jacky Boisset from France, pro mountain biker David Escolar from Spain, Alex Roberts from New Zealand – who finished third at XTERRA Japan on Sunday – and a trio of elites from Taiwan, China all ranked in the top seven of the Tour standings to include Yen-Ching Chiang (3rd), Yuan Keng Hsu (5th), and Chung-Yi Lin (7th).
ELITE MEN:
2 - Brice Daubord, FRA
3 - Yen-Ching Chiang, TWN, CHN
4 - Ben Allen, AUS
5 - Yuan Keng Hsu, TWN, CHN
6 - Maxim Chane, FRA
7 - Chung-Yi Lin, TWN, CHN
12 - Kieran McPherson, NZL
18 - Alex Roberts, NZL
NR - Jacky Boisset, FRA
NR - David Escolar, ESP
NR - Ruben Ruzafa, ESP
The women’s elite race features the top four women in the Asia-Pacific Tour rankings fighting for the race and the tour title, plus a handful of wildcards that could steal the show.
Australia’s Penny Slater won the XTERRA Asia-Pacific Championship race in Kenting back in March and the APAC Tour title last year as well. She has 167 points, two more than her coach, Jacqui Allen, and with a win in Kunming she could secure the tour title for the second year in a row.
“It’s been a long year with a lot of travel but I’m really excited to race in China on what I’m sure will be a tough course,” said Slater. “I’m not sure how I will go with the altitude but I’m excited for that added extra element which I’m sure will shake things up. In terms of a strategy for the race I think it will be about saving energy especially with the altitude and to not go into the red zone for too long. My goal is to have another good performance and get experience racing in different conditions. Of course, I would always love to contend for a podium.”
The week after finishing second to Slater in Kenting, Jacqui Allen got the better of her at XTERRA New Zealand, which she won for the third straight year. Allen also finished ahead of Slater at the XTERRA European Championship (where she was 4th) and XTERRA Germany (5th) last month.
“My year has been fantastic, heading back to Europe after a 2.5-year hiatus reminded me what racing used to be like when I first started in XTERRA,” said Allen, who was a firefighter in England before she began chasing XTERRA races around the world. “It was special to catch up with my family and put more race experience into the bank, and also important for me to race against the European girls so I could be more prepared for this race and XTERRA Worlds at the end of October.”
Allen, alongside her husband Ben, has been quite the explorer with XTERRA over the years, traveling to all the stops on the XTERRA Asia-Pacific Tour.
Carina Wasle from Austria is also no stranger to adventure, having been the most traveled athlete on the XTERRA World Tour over the past decade. She’s also a two-time XTERRA Asia-Pacific Champion and the 2018 XTERRA European Tour Champion.
“I'm healthy, but I’m not sure how fast,” said Wasle. “I'm working on it, but it's been a difficult year with many injuries. It's a hard and long journey but I'm fighting for a strong come back, and ready to enjoy the race and the XTERRA spirit in China.
Another top contender is Lizzie Orchard, who finished third at XTERRA Worlds last year and is just now getting back from injuries she suffered earlier in the year.
Indeed, Kate Bramley won XTERRA Netherlands on Saturday in just her second elite start on the XTERRA World Tour. And Myriam Guillot-Boisset has won big races before and is an adventure racing world champion as well. Also of note is South African Johandri Leicester, Aussie Leela Hancox, and China’s first XTERRA elite female racer, Leti Tang.
ELITE WOMEN:
1 - Penny Slater, AUS
2 - Jacqui Allen, GBR
3 - Carina Wasle, AUT
4 - Fabiola Corona, MEX
7 - Leela Hancox, AUS
NR - Myriam Guillot-Boisset, FRA
NR - Kate Bramley, AUS
NR - Johandri Leicester, RSA
NR - Elizabeth Orchard, NZL
NR - Leti Tang, CHN