XTERRA has confirmed the addition of XTERRA Costa Rica, presented by Coopenae, to the 2024 XTERRA Americas Tour.
The three-day outdoor sports festival will be held August 23-25, 2024, at Las Catalinas, a car-free beach town in the country’s northwest province on the coast of Guanacaste.
The weekend of events will be produced by Performance Solutions, a Costa Rican events management company led by two-time Olympian and XTERRA veteran, Leonardo Chacon.
“For us, it has always been our dream and our goal to bring XTERRA to Las Catalinas,” said Chacon, who won the XTERRA USA Championship race in 2013, the very first XTERRA Costa Rica off-road triathlon in 2014, and twice finished in the top five at XTERRA Worlds.
“We think everyone deserves the opportunity to discover this amazing place and the unique experience it provides, and on top of that, it’s a real authentic XTERRA course.”
Las Catalinas is 45 minutes from Liberia International Airport in a resort town with plenty of accommodation options – from luxury hotels to beach front cottages. The area boasts more than 20 miles of purpose-built mountain biking trails that weave into the forest hills and along the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean.
Steve Andrus, XTERRA Americas Tour Manager said “We’re thrilled to partner with Leonardo and his team, who have clearly demonstrated that they have the drive and experience needed to host a world-class XTERRA weekend at a truly dream-worthy destination.”
The main event starts with a 1.5km swim in the warm and calm waters at Playa Danta, a protected bay. This is followed by a 30km mountain bike course filled with single track trails in the forest reserve surrounding the town, and finishing with a 10km trail run along the coast and across stretches of white-sand beaches before finishing on the cobblestone streets in the city centre.
The new event will offer 28 qualifying spots into the 2024 or 2025 XTERRA World Championship, plus points in the XTERRA Americas Tour for amateurs.
“It’s an excellent venue for an XTERRA with miles and miles of well-built single track trails on the ocean,” said Josiah Middaugh, the 2015 XTERRA World Champion who took part in the 10th annual Las Catalinas Triathlon earlier this year.
“It’s a very unique development that models an Italian village with its architecture, and there is also a 25m 4-lane outdoor lap pool on property where Leo trained during his Olympic preparations.”
In addition to the main event, XTERRA Costa Rica will also offer a 30K trail run that will serve as a qualifier into the 2024 XTERRA Trail Run World Championship half-marathon, plus 5K and 14K trail runs, a variety of open-water swims, kids’ races, and live music.
www.xterraplanet.com/event/xterra-costa-rica
