Top tips for the Xterra Worlds

Don’t just survive but thrive in the Maui mud with insider tips from France’s former Xterra World Champion, Nicolas Lebrun

The Xterra World Championship

is an off-road triathlon that combines a 1,500m swim, a 32km mountain bike and ends with a 10.5km trail run.

The swim is in the rough

waters of the Pacific Ocean. There are often big waves and strong currents on the northwest coast of Maui, which makes for quite a difficult opening leg. The swim follows a M-shaped course consisting of two 750m circuits with a beach run inbetween. Watch the current: it tends to push you left but can change direction depending on the weather so be ready to compensate (see sessions 1 and 2).

The mountain bike course features

lots of steep climbs, particularly at the start, so take some time to spin, drink and build your pace slowly. With about 1,000m of vertical gain, it’s a tough challenge that you need to be ready for (see session 3). The final kilometres aren’t as steep, but they’re twisty, so you’ll need energy to focus on your technical riding.

You’re also on a tropical island that’s hot and humid, making it important to drink lots – I recommend using a hydration pack. If it rains, it’s a different race altogether as the dirt is turned into slippery mud. In this case you need to be patient, as the clay in the mud makes the course more challenging.

The run course features one big

uphill and downhill. You might have to walk a bit on the steepest part, but don’t consider that a failure, as sometimes it’s better to save energy until you can increase your speed once it flattens out. Even in the shadows under the trees it’s still hot, so don’t miss any aid stations. The downhill can be really fast, with lots of sandy turns. Be ready to use gravity to gain some free speed (see sessions 4 and 5). Approaching the finish on the beach, stay close to the water because the sand is harder along the shore break.