2021 XTERRA Short Track – France – Highlights

XTERRA Nouvelle Aquitaine switched it up for the fourth and finalstop of the XTERRA Short Track season. Introducing a new format which involved two stages, athletes first had to qualify in the full distance the day before. 

The first stage of the Short Track involved a 400m swim in the Lac de Cadie, followed by an all-out 1.5km run. After the short but sweet stage in the morning, elite athletes then got ready to attack from the off with a 7km bike and 1.8km run around the village of Pujols that afternoon.

Perfect weather conditions with blue skies set the stage for the women’s race, who were ready to race amongst the old churches and vineyards of the Bordeaux region. 

Michelle Flipo (MEX) was quick to take the lead on the two lap swim, continuing to pull ahead with every metre and looking increasingly unstoppable on the run. Having won the full distance race yesterday, Flipo looked unstoppable on the first stage of the Short Track, finishing 1 minute 27 seconds ahead of 2nd placedMaria Calleja (ESP) and 3rd placed Alizée Paties (FRA).

Next up, stage one of the men’s race saw Francois Vie (PRT) and Will Crudgington (GBR) drop the chasing group of Arthur Serrieres, Ruben Ruzafa, Francois Carloni, Brian Tetard and Julie Buffe. 

On the run leg, it was the young British athlete, Crudginton that pulled ahead of his counterpart Vie to finish first with just a 5 second lead. Arthur Serrieres came in third but it was tight racing throughout the field, with 9 of the elite men finishing within seconds of each other. 

New start, new location and new opportunities for the second stage of the race, with athletes lining up in Pujols for the pursuit style start to the race. Flipo started first in the women’s race, with Alizée Paties starting 1’27 later in second, and Maria Calleja in third at 1’41. 

While Flippo lost some time on the bike, she stayed strong on the run to win her first ever Short Track event, after also winning the full distance race the day before. Morgane Riou continued to chip away to build positions from 4th to 2nd, with Alizée Paties finishing 3rd.

In the men’s race, François Vie was quick to hunt down Will Crudgington who started first. Arthur Serrieres struggled to match the pace, while Ruben Ruzafa and Arthur Forissier worked together to hunt down the podium. Known as “the boss”, Ruzafa demonstrated his epic biking skills once again, taking the lead on lap 3 of 4. 

But it was Serrieres that managed to run every down to win his first Short Track of the season. His French counterpart, Arthur Forissier also passed Ruzafa on the run to take second, with the Spanish athlete rounding out the podium.