The 2023 XTERRA Asia-Pacific Tour kicks off in just two weeks at the XTERRA Wellington off-road triathlon festival, February 25, on the north island of New Zealand.
The rugged Kiwi coastline event in Kapiti is the first of six stops in the resurgent series that welcomes the return of XTERRA racing to Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Japan, and Tahiti.
New this year, amateur athletes have the opportunity to compete for Asia-Pacific Tour titles using the World Performance Index, the new custom-built XTERRA scoring system that will be used to determine tour champions in all three regions.
The WPI was inspired by ITRA (trail running) and FIS (Skiing) points scoring systems, but built specifically to rank XTERRA athletes at XTERRA races. Athletes must start at least two events in the Asia-Pacific region to be eligible for tour honors. Detailed rules and a complete set of FAQ’s can be found at xterraplanet.com/tour/apac-tour.
There are five prize paying races for elite athletes on the schedule as well, with $10,000NZL up for grabs at both Wellington and Rotorua, $7,500USD on the line at XTERRA Australia and XTERRA Tahiti, and $25,000USD on offer at the XTERRA Asia-Pacific Championships in Taiwan – which is the first of seven stops on the all-new XTERRA World Cup where elites will go head to head for their share of $340,000 in prize money.
In addition, there are more than a dozen opportunities in the region for trail runners to qualify for the XTERRA Trail Run World Championships to be held at Sugarloaf Resort in Maine on October 1, highlighted by the XTERRA Asia-Pacific Trail Run Championships in Kenting, TWN.
Read the full XTERRA Asia-Pacific Tour preview at xterraplanet.com.
2023 XTERRA Asia-Pacific Tour Schedule
Date – Race (Location)
Feb 25 – XTERRA Wellington Festival (New Zealand)
Mar 11 – XTERRA Rotorua Festival (New Zealand)
Apr 01 – XTERRA Australia (Dunsborough, WA)
Apr 15 – XTERRA Asia-Pacific Championship (Kenting, TWN)
Sep 15 – XTERRA Japan (Marunuma)
Oct 21 – XTERRA Tahiti (Moorea)