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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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See the final results of the 2023 XTERRA World Cup here, read the detailed race report here, or watch the full replay of the 2023 XTERRA World Championship here.

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Talking Points

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This was a huge win for Arthur Serrières, who now becomes the most successful Frenchman in a sport that has long felt the effects of an undeniable blue wave. Serrières now equals Nico Lebrun’s total of 25 XTERRA Full Distance wins, but with 2 World Championship titles to Lebrun’s 1, and now a World Cup title too, Serrières becomes the most decorated French athlete in XTERRA history. The scary part is that he is far from done, and any Frenchman looking to surpass the legacy he is building will have a lot of work to do.

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But if this World Cup has shown us anything, it’s that wins in the elite category are going to get increasingly hard-fought. The level at which an athlete ends their season is often the level at which they start the next, and there are many that ended 2023 stronger than ever.

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The first of those is Sullivan Middaugh, who’s 5th place in the XTERRA World Championship is enough to show that ‘the kid’ is ready to take his seat at the big table. At just 19 years old there is a lot still to come from the already 2x American Champion. He has a long way to go to surpass the legacy of his father, Josiah Middaugh, but with time on his side and the strength he is already showing, he could become the most decorated Middaugh in town. He could also very well be the one to put a stop to the blue wave.

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Michele Bonacina is another. The Italian athlete has been quietly building this season and the race he put together at XTERRA Worlds is an indication that he could be a very big problem for those at the top next season. Already one of the fastest swimmers in the sport, yesterday he came off the bike in 4th to show that he is upping the game in his weaker disciplines. If he unlocks the run he could make the fight for a position anywhere on the podium in the men’s division very interesting.

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Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen, one of the most entertaining athletes to watch there is, showed in no uncertain terms that he has unlocked the run in what has to be the best finishing sequence in Short Track history. As much as the fans would love to continue seeing him overtake half the division on the bike, the Dane knows he needs to improve his swim. And if he does, the pace at the front of the race - from start to finish - is going to be frighteningly fast.

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And then there is Felix Forissier, who’s 2nd place finish after leading most of the race will no doubt act as rocket fuel for his 2024 season. The Forissier vs Serrières battle has been one of the highlights of this World Cup and we can expect that to pick up right where it left off next season. But if there is a takeaway from this battle, it’s that any athlete looking to get into the mix with these two will need to be extremely strong in all three disciplines. The days of relying on one discipline to get the edge may be fading fast.

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There is also a lot to dissect from the women’s race, and like the men, much of it leaves us with a lot to look forward to when the 2024 season kicks off.

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Whether she was slowly building her season, whether she was fueled by what happened in Oak Mountain, or whether it’s the new coach and new bike, World Champion Solenne Billouin is looking incredibly powerful and more determined than ever. She ends her season with the World Championship title but not the World Cup title, so it will be interesting to see if she starts her 2024 season with the same intensity she ended 2023 with, because when she gets going the way she did in both races at Stop #7, it’ll take a lot to get in front of her.

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But if there is one person who can stop her, it’s the 2023 World Cup winner Alizée Paties who just kept racking up medals from start to finish in this World Cup. Nobody expected her to be as strong as she was when she began the season in Taiwan, and from there she went on to show that this is the level she now races at in every single race. Nine podium finishes in eleven races. The French athlete clearly made significant changes in the off season last year, so it’ll be exciting to see what she brings to the table in 2024. The opportunity to be the first ever female to be a double champ is still there, and the ever-consisent Alizée Paties is surely one of the top contenders to take it in 2024.

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Another standout performance that has to be mentioned is the lightning-fast Diede Diedericks. For all the noise that was made about road athletes potentially stealing the show in the men’s race, it was the Dutch athlete who came in to shake up the women’s race. Her performance in the Short Track race was a taste of just how good she can be in the off-road world, and in the Full Distance she did it again. It’s not the first time she’s done it either. She claimed the silver medal at the 2021 XTERRA European Championship and bronze at this year’s XTERRA France. She’s predominantly focused on road, but it would be good to see more of the Dutch athlete in XTERRA as she clearly has what it takes to go shoulder to shoulder with the best.

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And last but certainly not least, special mention has to go to The Scottish Rocket, Lesley Paterson, who at 43 years old and with a heavily reduced training schedule, is still able to get in the mix with the fastest in the game. Coming out of the water in 16th, Paterson did once again what she always does, fighting till the bitter end to overtake one competitor after the other to finish the 2023 XTERRA World Championship in an impressive 5th place. Even though she only featured in 2 of the 7 stops, Lesley Paterson is also one of the most entertaining racers to watch whenever she takes to the line.

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The XTERRA World Cup was a long time coming, and the inaugural series has been quite a ride. Details to come about dates, stops, and races when XTERRA’s strongest and fastest go at it again in 2024.

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With the rain beginning to clear, 15 of the top contenders from countries around the world took to the stage to answer questions on strategy, weather, and the World Cup as the countdown to the biggest race of the season enters the final hours.

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Tomorrow the wait ends and the 2023 World Championship begins. The race begins at 10:00 CET and will be livestreamed right here for those tuning in from around the world.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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It now comes down to the final race of the series - the XTERRA World Championship - where large point swings are possible. The top 3 finishers will receive 120, 108, and 98 points accordingly, meaning a win for any of the top 4 men and top 3 women could hand them the XTERRA World Cup and the XTERRA World Championship titles. It’ll be all about rest and recovery now, and at 10:00 CET on Saturday the final race of the series begins.

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Watch the full replay of the Short Track race here.