Some of the best off-roaders in Europe will showcase their speed and mountain bike skills at the inaugural XTERRA Molveno ShortTrack races in northern Italy this Saturday, October 3, 2020.
Staged on the shores of Lake Molveno in front of the Brenta Dolomites, the multi-lap, made-for-TV format of XTERRA racing will be broadcast to a worldwide audience live on Facebook/XTERRAEurope and triathlonlive.tv.
The men’s elite race starts at 13:45pm CEST and the women at 15:45 CEST.
“This style of racing is gritty and intense, it’s fun for athletes, and great for spectators and TV,” said Nico Lebrun, a former XTERRA World Champ (2005) who is now Director at XTERRA Europe.
Massimo Massacesi and Alex Miconi, the organizers for XTERRA Molveno, are the first organizers to host an off-road triathlon event weekend dedicated exclusively to the XTERRA ShortTrack format.
Athletes will race a time trial in the morning, which combines a 200m swim with a 4km mountain bike and 1.5km trail run. This sets their time and ranking for the main event in the afternoon. Each position will be rewarded with a three-second advantage at the start.
The main event for TV will combine two 200m swim laps (400m) with four 1.75km bike loops (7km), and two 1.25km run laps (2.5km).
A pool of US$10,000 prize money will be awarded to the top 10 men and women.
Kostas Koumargialis, the Marketing Director for XTERRA Europe, argues that the XTERRA ShortTrack format is pushing boundaries for the sport in the best of ways.
“The drama and action are unbelievable,” Koumargialis said. “It’s unlike anything we’ve seen before in our sport. Athletes are constantly fighting for position over a short, twisting course.
“There are jumps, crashes, frustration, tears of disappointment and tears of joy, all happening right in front of the crowd and cameras over the course of 40 minutes of racing. I think it’s great, and we are excited to show it off to a global audience this year in Molveno.”
