Watch Live: XTERRA Short Track – ITALY

XTERRA Short Track is taking place in Italy this Saturday, 5th June. The season opener event is by invite-only from the idyllic Lake Garda.

The event is a little bit different, with much of the racing action taking place in the beautiful town of Toscolano Maderno. Winding through the narrow streets with man-made obstacles to challenge the athletes with plenty of high speed action on the cards.

• WHAT:  XTERRA Short Track – Italy, Lake Garda
• WHEN:  June 5th 2021. 2:50pm GMT / 3:50 pm CET
• WHERE:  Lake Garda – Toscolano Maderno (see on the map)

“I think a race in the city centre with artificial obstacles could suit me well, and I feel confident,” said Lukas Kocar (CZE), who will be looking to build on his strong second place finishes in the elite men’s races at Short Track Molveno and Czech Republic last year. “I anticipate a very close and dramatic race and that is exactly what I enjoy about the Short Track format.”

With a stacked men’s start list, this race will be the perfect opportunity for athletes to showcase what they have been working on and test where their fitness is at after a tough year of limited racing in 2020.

The competitors in the women’s elite race are also ready to make the most of a return to racing and leave it all out there on the racecourse. Sandra Mairhofer from Italy spoke of her excitement ahead of the race: “There are so many strong girls out there in the XTERRA world who are hungry after this strange year. Every race is an opportunity for me to give my best and at the end, we will see who will be at the top. I can’t tell you who will cross the finish line first, but for sure we will fight for the win and have fun out there.”

Watch all the action unfold in real-time on Facebook Live starting at 2:50pm GMT, 3:50pm CET (9:50am in New York).

What is XTERRA Short Track?

XTERRA Short Track is a short course race concept that debuted in Czech Republic in 2019.  An elite-only event where athletes have to qualify during the full distance event or in a preliminary short track race to claim the best starting position in the final grid. The course is made up of a two-lap 400m swim with an Australian exit, a very technical four-lap 6km bike circuit littered with jumps, rock gardens, root infested single track and a couple of flat-out pedaling sections. The run will then be contested over two-laps using a slightly shortened course.

The 2021 XTERRA Short Track series will feature events in Italy, Czech Republic, Germany, and France. The biggest advantage of this format is that athletes race multiple laps on a very tight course which makes it perfect for live TV coverage and a thrilling atmosphere for spectators.

All four Short Track events will be streamed live on TriathlonLive.tv, and Facebook.