Sullivan Middaugh and Alizée Patiès win the first Xterra world championship in Ruidoso
The American won by almost six minutes at altitude in New Mexico on 10 October, with his father and brother also in the top seven. France’s Patiès took her first world title after leading from the bike.
Sullivan Middaugh of the United States and France’s Alizée Patiès won the Xterra World Championship in Ruidoso, New Mexico, on 10 October. Both were first-time world champions in the off-road triathlon series’ full-distance race.
Middaugh finished in 2 hours 6 minutes 50 seconds, 5 minutes 56 seconds ahead of Spain’s José Ignacio “Nacho” Gálvez Ponce, according to Xterra and Slowtwitch. Denmark’s Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen was third in 2:14:54 (220 Triathlon gives 2:14:53), which 220 Triathlon reported was his fourth consecutive world championship podium.
Patiès won the women’s race by 6 minutes 14 seconds from Italy’s Marta Menditto, with Australia’s Maeve Kennedy third. Her time is given as 2:36:18 in Slowtwitch’s results table and by 220 Triathlon, and as 2:36:19 in Xterra’s race report.
A new home at altitude
This was the 30th Xterra World Championship and the first held in Ruidoso, New Mexico. 220 Triathlon reported that it is the first year of a three-year cycle at the venue. The race had a 1.5 km swim in Grindstone Lake, a single 27 km lap on the mountain bike and a 10 km run through the village streets and forest trails.
The water was 18.1°C, and the air about 15°C at the start, according to Xterra.
A family race
Gálvez led out of the lake with Middaugh close behind. Both men crashed early on the bike, and Middaugh also lost his bike computer. He then rode the fastest bike split of the elite men, 1:07:18, and the fastest run, 39:00.
“I think it was maybe a blessing in disguise not to have power data,” Middaugh said, according to Xterra. “I knew that at altitude I could run uphill just as fast as anyone else.”
220 Triathlon reported that he is the first American to win the Xterra world title in 11 years. His father, Josiah Middaugh, finished sixth in 2:19:08, and his younger brother Porter was seventh in 2:19:41 after a heavy crash on the bike, according to Xterra.
“Really happy for Sullivan. Start to finish, he just put it together,” Josiah Middaugh said, according to Xterra.
Sloth Nielsen started the bike in 13th place and worked his way up to third. “Sullivan and Nacho must have just prepared better,” he said.
Patiès takes over on the bike
In the women’s race Costa Rica’s Raquel Solis and France’s Emma Ducreux led the swim, with Patiès third out of the water. She took the lead on the mountain bike, setting the fastest elite women’s bike split of 1:20:45, and started the run around four minutes ahead of Ducreux, 220 Triathlon reported.
“I knew the race wasn’t going to be decided in the swim,” Patiès said, according to Xterra. “It’s a lifelong dream. It’s a little difficult to take it all in right now.”
Menditto ran the fastest women’s run split, 50:42, to move from third to second. Kennedy passed Ducreux late in the run to take the last podium place.
“It’s fun. It’s hard, but it’s technical too, so you can enjoy it,” Menditto said of the course.
