Former XTERRA World Champion, Nico Lebrun, will return to serve his second season as the Technical Director for the XTERRA European Tour in 2016.
During his racing career Lebrun was a major force in XTERRA racing both in Europe and in America. He posted 90 top-five finishes including 32 wins, four Euro Tour Championships, and the 2005 XTERRA World Title.
In 2013, Lebrun became the first star from the European Tour to be inducted into the XTERRA Hall of Fame, then promptly retired and launched his own coaching and consulting business – OrgaNICOoach
Last year Lebrun served alongside XTERRA World Tour Managing Director Dave Nicholas as the European Tour’s first Technical Director.
“He’s done an amazing job,” said Nicholas. “He can see things from every angle and is a valuable asset to the racers and the race directors, alike.”
Nicholas added, “Nico embodies the XTERRA lifestyle and the ‘Live More’ spirt of the sport. We really couldn’t be happier having him in this position.”
Nico Lebrun added, “I’ve organized a lot of races to be able to understand the vision of an event as both a racer and an organizer. XTERRA in Europe had been growing fantastically and needed someone in this role; so XTERRA CEO Tom Kiely created this position in Europe and let me run with it.”
He continued, “From the racer’s perspective I think having a real technical and fun mountain bike course is important. A course with some nice single track and some technical parts that reward the better mountain bikers. The location is also very important. It’s best to have a site with a beach or lake, T1 and T2, finish line, expo, and hotels all in a small area with access to an airport, train and/or freeway.
“The real key to a good race, however, is always the local crew. You need a group of motivated people ready to work at night, and have a passion to make athletes happy. They have to be proud of their region or area, with a good local implantation to open every door. An XTERRA organizer must be a multi-tool, ready to mark a bike course, build a transition, go on political meeting, find sponsor, use social media… it’s all about people and passion!”
