Maui has been hosting the Xterra World Championships since 1996. For the last fifteen years, the off road triathlon championships have been held in the Wailea and Makena area of Maui. This year, the event shifts from South Maui over to West Maui and the beautiful resort community of Kapalua. After a one mile swim centered along Fleming Beach, racers will hop on their bikes and head up past Kapalua’s golf courses and into the old pineapple fields and forest areas above the resort. After 18.3 miles on mountain bikes, the racers will finish with a 6.1 mile trail run. While the course promises to be cooler than the lava fields of Makena, the elevation changes of the course will provide plenty of challenges for the Xterra athletes.
The field of participants includes 675 professional and amateur racers from 42 states and 28 countries. The most famous participant is 7 time Tour De France Winner Lance Armstrong. It will be interesting to see how Lance fares on the run and swim element of the competition. Even off road, you would have to figure he would be a dominant figure on the bike leg. If you would like to see any of the Xterra action tomorrow, the race starts at 9:00 AM at Fleming Beach. Good luck to all of the athletes!
