This Saturday 20 August, the global XTERRA off-road tri series turns its attention to Zittau, Germany – site of the 2011 XTERRA European Championship.
“The weather is spectacular. It must be in the low 80s, sunny and warm. It was raining a bit when we came over from the Czech Republic on Monday but since then it has been glorious,” said XTERRA Managing Director Dave Nicholas.
Zittau is in the southeast close to the border tri-point of Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. The course starts in the village of Olbersdorf at a huge park with a beautiful lake that serves thousands during the summer months.
“The swim is a full 1500m and pros are worried because the water temp is 19.5 and at 20 they cannot wear wetsuits,” said Nicholas. “As the race is sanctioned by the German Federation speedsuits are not allowed. It is supposed to cool down, and if that happens we should be full wetsuit for everyone on Saturday, but only time will tell.”
The bike course in the Zittau Mountains is a long 35K and is challenging. “The first 5-6K are fast and flat and could produce some drafting if packs are smart enough to figure that out. But the first climbs and downhills will shred any pack that gets there together. Some of the climbs are ‘hike a bike’ even for the best pros and there are very technical downhills that will have a lot of people walking,” added Nicholas.
“The run is about 9K and has some rolling hills and technical sections but not difficult. Lots of fun as you start out of transition, run around the park campgrounds and then do a counter clockwise loop around the lake.”
Saturday’s race will serve as the XTERRA European Championship, but also the German Triathlon Union Meistershaft (national championship) and the XTERRA Germany Championship.
