Trentino

Serrières, Billouin Win XTERRA Worlds / Serrières, Paties Claim the World Cup Series

Arthur Serrières left it to the final 5K to open the taps and race his way into XTERRA history by becoming the first ever double champ. His win in 2:38:53 sees the Frenchman successfully defend his World Championship title while also becoming XTERRA’s first male World Cup Champion. Solenne Billouin led from early on the bike to also retain her title as the XTERRA World Champion for a second year running with a time of 3:06:12, but Alizée Paties's 2nd place finish will see her crowned the female XTERRA World Cup Champion after leading the series from start to finish.

There really isn’t anything quite like an XTERRA World Championship race, and today that was proven once again as the battles unfolded from start to finish in Trentino. The biggest battle of all did not fail to deliver after Felix Forissier and Arthur Serrières quickly moved to the front of the race to pick up where they left off after finishing within 7 seconds of each other in Germany. Just like in Zittau, Forissier worked his way to the front on the bike (going on to break Ruben Ruzafa’s 9-year streak of being the first off of the bike in XTERRA Worlds) but had Serrières on his wheel the entire way. After the first 5K loop of the run Forissier had 11 seconds on Serrières and looked to be on track to claim the title so many thought he would, but a big push by Serrières on the final climb saw the 2022 Champion take the lead and never look back as he crossed the line to claim both titles.

Behind Serrières and Forissier another battle was playing out as two prolific bikers, Ruben Ruzafa and Jens Emil Sloth Nieslen, fought for the last place on the podium in both the World Championship and the World Cup. Ruzafa was off the bike in 3rd with Sloth Nielsen 50 seconds back in 5th place. But the Danish athlete looked fired up and made quick work of moving into 3rd place on the first lap of the run, going on to finish in 2:41:22.83 and claim the World Championship and World Cup bronze.

Solenne Billouin did not hold back in Thursday’s Short Track race and that same determination was on full display once again with the 2022 World Champ charging hard from beginning to end. After exiting the water in 10th place, 1 minute and 26 seconds behind leader Samantha Kingsford, the French athlete put her unmatched power to use on the first bike climb to move to the front of the race and slowly extend her lead from there, finishing nearly 2 minutes ahead of Paties. Her win in the final race of the series sees her finish 2nd in the World Cup overall with Loanne Duvoisin moving down to 3rd.

Paties may have missed out on the World Championship title but her 2nd place finish in a time of 3:08:10 will see her crowned as the 2023 XTERRA World Cup Champion, and rightfully so after dominating the series across 6 of the 7 stops. The 27 year old athlete from France saw more podium finishes in the series than any other athlete, male or female, claiming 4 golds, 4 silvers, and 1 bronze from 11 starts on her way to the overall series win.

Diede Diederiks from the Netherlands finished in 3rd to show just how much of a threat she can be in the off-road world. 7th out the water, 4th off the bike, and 3rd across the line, the Dutch athlete will leave Trentino having made a statement after also taking a silver in Thursday’s Short Track race.

It was the kind of finish the series deserved after showcasing the intensity of XTERRA racing and just how much XTERRA’s top flight put on the line in every race. With just a few races left on the XTERRA World Tour we soon head into the off season. But with the battles that unfolded here in Trentino today, the stage is set for another huge season in 2024.

Read the detailed race report here, or watch the full replay of the 2023 XTERRA World Championship here.

Solenne Billouin and Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen Win Final Short Track Race of the Series

Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen has found the top step of the podium to make a statement ahead of the biggest race of the year, while Solenne Billouin put down an absolutely dominant performance to show that she too means business here at the final stop of the World Cup in Trentino, Italy.

Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen did what he does best by overtaking no less than 22 of XTERRA’s fastest athletes on the bike to take the lead and head into the run in 1st place. But Arthur Serrières was always within striking distance and a cat and mouse game saw the Dane and the Frenchman exchange the lead multiple times - often running shoulder to shoulder - before an error by Serrières gave sloth Nielsen the inside line and his first win of the series. But while the drama between the top two had the crowds on their feet, full credit needs to go to the 19 year old Sullivan Middaugh who finished just 4 seconds behind the current World Champion to claim his place on the podium in 3rd.

Billouin did a fair amount of overtaking herself after exiting the water in 10th and quickly working her way to the front on the bike to take the lead and never look back. The Frenchwoman finished 41 seconds ahead of an impressive Diede Diederiks who never let up on the pace to finish 30 seconds ahead of Switzerland’s Loanne Duvoisin.

The final Short Track race of the series doesn’t impact the leaderboard much in terms of positions, but it has narrowed many of the gaps. Ruben Ruzafa now sits just 3 points behind Sloth Nielsen in 3rd and will have his eye on getting into the top 3 come Saturday, while Solenne Billouin moves to within 4 points of Duvoisin in 2nd.