Off-road triathletes gear up for Xterra series

MANILA, Philippines - Off-road triathletes and enthusiasts brace for another spirited battle of stamina and power on a challenging course when Xterra holds the Off-Road Triathlon South in Danao, Cebu next month.

While the organizing Sunrise Events, Inc. has assured an elite international cast in the April 23 event, the host city has guaranteed a triathlon to remember at the Coco Palms Beach Resort in Cebu.

“This is a great opportunity to promote Danao City,” said Fifth District Rep. Ramon Durano IV, citing their experience in successfully hosting the Asian Mountainbike Championships. “We will do our best to showcase Danao City and provide an unforgettable race to the participants.”

The event actually serves as the first of three Xterra races the city will host till 2019 after Durano and SEI general manager Princess Galura signed the three-year contract the other day. Others present in the meeting were Cebu provincial administrator Mark Tolentino and Cebu provincial sports commission (CPSC) executive director Ramil Abing.

“With the cancellation of Xterra La Union, triathletes will have longer time to train and prepare for the Danao race, ensuring a fierce battle for top honors in one of the toughest off-road races,” said Galura.

Heading the early pro roster are Ben Allen, Jacqui Slack, Bradley Weiss, Lizzie Orchard, Carina Waisle, Sam Osborne and Kieran McPherson with the list expected to swell in the coming days.

SEI is targeting 300 to 400 participants in the 1.500m swim, 40K off-road bike and 10K trail run event sponsored by Alcoplus, Sanicare, The Philippine Star, 2GO Express, Cetaphil, Prudential Guarantee, Columbia, Garmin, Tri Life, Cignal Hyper TV, Rocktape, Gatorade, MNTC and Storck.

The race will start and finish at the Coco Palm Beach Resort with the bike and run stages to take the participants to the scenic mountain ranges of the city. It will feature individual and relay competitions.

Also up for grabs is the duathlon individual title for the 3K run-20K bike-5K run event.

For details, visit www.xterraphil.com or through social media accounts (fb) xterraNorthPH; (IG) xterranorthph xterrasouthph and hashtag: #xterralaunion and #xterradanao and #xterrasouthph.

The organizing SEI also announced the first 150 registrants of the individual full and individual lite categories will get limited Xterra jerseys.