Kenting in Taiwan is gearing up to host its second double-feature festival of XTERRA Championship racing – with the 2024 XTERRA Asia-Pacific Triathlon and XTERRA Trail Run Championships set to be held over the same weekend on March 23-24, 2024.
The event follows on from the 2023 Asia-Pacific Championship, where the double-feature format brought together the off-road triathlon and trail run communities in a festival-style event. According to XTERRA, this… ‘attracted thousands of athletes and spectators as pro and amateur athletes from Asia-Pacific and countries around the world took on the now internationally renowned trails of Kenting National Park.’
The 2023 event also drew the reigning XTERRA World Champions along with many top-ranked elite triathletes as the full distance triathlon served as the first stop of the inaugural XTERRA World Cup.
The 2024 edition is set to include eight events across two days, with the full distance off-road triathlon taking centre stage on the first day of racing. The region’s top elite and age group off-road triathletes will go head to head for the title of 2024 XTERRA APAC Champion, a share of the US$25,000 elite prize purse, and one of the 58 available slots to the last of the XTERRA World Championship events to be held beneath the Brenta Dolomites in Trentino, Italy.
The full distance triathlon will be contested over 40.5km, beginning with a 1.5km open-water swim in the Pacific Ocean before heading into a tough and technical 30km mountain bike ride and finishing with a 9K trail run back to the race village located on Stony Brook Farm in Kenting National Park.
Landry Benoit, XTERRA APAC Technical Director, said “Hosting the first stop of the World Cup in Taiwan was a true testament to how highly this race and location ranks on the international stage.
“Not only did we welcome Asia-Pacific’s best, but also almost all the top-ranked athletes from Europe and America. We hope that every single one of them left feeling truly tested by the trails and touched by the hospitality of Taiwan.”
Former XTERRA World Champion and now XTERRA’s Global Technical Director, Nico Lebrun, said “XTERRA Taiwan has been raising the bar since the first race in 2018.
“From course design to operations to race experience, the event is a great host for the APAC Champs. Last year we saw Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines and so many other APAC countries represented, and we look forward to bringing the region’s best off-road triathletes and trail runners together again for what we’re sure will be an exceptional and memorable 2024 APAC Champs.”
Completing the action for the opening day of racing will be the 30K XC Mountain Bike race as well as the Kids Duathlon for children aged 3-6 years old.
The second day, March 24, will be dedicated purely to trail running. The 36K Marathon and 21K Half Marathon Championship races will be the feature races of the day.
Only those from within the APAC region will be in contention to be crowned as the 2024 XTERRA APAC Trail Run Champion. However, the 116 slots up for grabs will give all age division top finishers – regardless of where they’re from – the right to step up to the starting line at the 2024 XTERRA Trail Run World Championship in Maine, USA.
Alongside the Full and Half Marathon races will be a 13K, 7K, and a Kids Trail Run.
