The newest member of the XTERRA World Tour will take participants across the heart of the island of Tahiti, French Polynesia, from the west to the east coast. The inaugural XTERRA Tahiti Championship on 25 April will start at Mataiea Beach, then traverse up mountains, past lakes, through historic sites, and across rivers and fords to where the fun really begins on the run.
“It’s the steepest bike course I have ever done,” said 2010 XTERRA World Champion Shonny Vanlandingham, who won the TransTahitienne off-road triathlon last year. “I had so much fun. Jean Michel Monot and his team do a wonderful job, and it’s a stunningly beautiful country and race course.”
With the finish line at the Papenoo River and an awards dinner party featuring local dance troops that will ‘take you to another world’, organizers are planning to showcase all the beauty and excitement of French Polynesia.
In addition to the XTERRA triathlon, a Run/Bike over 36K of spectacular terrain will be offered for two person teams. Team members must stay within 50m of each other throughout the event.
VSOP, the local club that produces the event, will donate a portion of the proceeds to support ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) research.
