Cross Triathlon 101 – A Primer On Off-Road Triathlon

With the increasing interest in Cross Triathlon, and on the heels of the sold out Squamish Triathlon, its inaugural foray into off-road triathlon, we’ve teamed up with Vancouver’s elite Cross racers Julie Robb and Joost van Ulden, and thrown together a few slides about what makes Cross exciting, fun and attractive to a growing number of triathletes. Take a peek at their slide presentation HERE.

For those not in the know, Cross triathlon, or X-tri, is an off-road triathlon discipline that typically takes place over a 1km swim, 20 to 30km mountain bike and 6 to 10km trail run.

The discipline first emerged in 1996 at a race in Maui, Hawaii, and later evolved into the world-renowned XTERRA series. After four years of continental championships, the International Triathlon Union (ITU) held its first Cross Triathlon World Championship in April 2011 in Extremadura, Spain. The City of Penticton will play host to the 2017 Cross World Championships, as part of the World Multisport Championships, August 18 through to the 27.

Go on, get dirty!