Malta hosted the opening race of the Xterra European Tour this weekend in Majjistral Park. The weekend was abuzz activity, as three events, including the highly anticipated international triathlon,  hosted over 150 athletes from 20 countries on Saturday.  A further 200 athletes took part in a 6km trail run, whilst 100 kids raced in a duathlon and trail running on Sunday morning.

Xterra Triathlon welcomed professional and amateur athletes who experienced Malta's natural beauty and heritage. In the Elite Category, Belgian Sebastian Carabin was the fastest Elite Male athlete, whilst Malta's very own Lara Buttigieg was the first Elite female athlete to finish.

There were other excellent performances from other Maltese athletes which  included Josef Azzopardi who was the fastest Maltese and until complications on the bike route arose, Danica Bonello Spiteri was having a very strong race too.

In the Age Group category, Adrien Dransart and Gaelle Leduc where the fastest athletes in the Male and Female categories, respectively. 

The event also hosted a Triathlon experience, aimed towards attracting less experienced triathletes to offroad triathlon. The event saw a good mix of international and local triathletes taking part.  Winner of this event was Lilian Sicard, followed by Maltese upcoming triathlete Kai Azzopardi in second place. 

The organisers would like to thank all the authorities and local councils for their support, Red Cross for keeping the athletes safe, and the sponsors Visit Malta, Garmin, Intersport, & Cisk Excel for their ongoing support. Thanks also to Nature Valley and The Cyclist for supporting the athletes.

Full Results can be viewed via this link :- https://my.raceresult.com/194452/results

The next XTERRA events will be Trail runs hosted in Gozo and which will be held on the 7th May in Ghajnsielem. Athletes can choose from an 11km, 21km and 50km distances and which will all take place on the same day. Registrations are open via this link - https://www.xterraplanet.com/gozo-trailrun