Slack and Allen for Xterra England

XTERRA Champions Jacqui Slack and Australia’s Ben Allen are the latest elite athletes to join an international world class field at the inaugural XTERRA England Championships. The race will be held in the grounds of the Vachery Estate in Cranleigh, Surrey on the weekend of the 7th-8th September 2013.

The news of their addition to the start line comes just after the pair hit the podium at the XTERRA Saipan Championships this past Saturday. The Saipan titles would become the third of Jacqui Slack’s cross country career and the seventh of Ben Allen, who can also count the XTERRA Western Pacific Triple Crown amongst his career honours. With the pair sharing an impressive sporting CV between them, they will no doubt start amongst the favourites for the race.

Jacqui Slack said:

“I’m so excited to have XTERRA back in the UK! XTERRA is a sport that offers me a unique opportunity to travel around the world, and visit some of the most beautiful places. Now I have the opportunity to showcase to everyone the place I like to call home at XTERRA England!”

Allen said:

“I’m excited to be racing in Pommie land and take in some of the beautiful English countryside. The racing will be fast and furious, and I look forward to the challenges the course has to offer.”

International off-road series, XTERRA, returns to the UK for the first time since 2009 and will be raced at the Vachery Estate in Surrey on a course designed by top off-road athlete Sam Gardner. The XTERRA England Championship event offers 40 qualifying spots for athletes looking to qualify for the world championships held later in the year in Maui, Hawaii.

As well as the standard distance, the organisers are running a sprint distance event alongside so that all can try this fantastic race experience and course. There are further options that include a six-hour endurance mountain bike race and open-water swims, which form part of the H2O open water series.

Find out more about XTERRA England and sign up to this race at the event website: http://xterra-england.co.uk/

Matt Baird Editor of Cycling Plus magazine

About

Matt is a regular contributor to 220 Triathlon, having joined the magazine in 2008. He’s raced everything from super-sprint to Ironman, duathlons and off-road triathlons, and can regularly be seen on the roads and trails around Bristol. Matt is the author of Triathlon! from Aurum Press and is now the editor of Cycling Plus magazine.