Cross Triathlon: Ever evolving MultiSport

by Nicola Hargreaves on 18 May, 2012 11:35 • Español

The 2012 Shelby County ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships and XTERRA Southeast Championships goes ahead this weekend as the biggest event on the ITU Cross Triathlon calendar. Now in its second year the race also marks a landmark partnership with XTERRA.

As a multidiscipline sport, triathlon has evolved to encompass a number of different forms, each playing an important development role over the course of the sports short history. Cross triathlon first emerged in 1996 on the island of Maui, when mountain biking and triathlon met in a bold new racing format that consisted of an open-ocean swim, a mountain bike race and a trail run.

This fresh take attracted outdoor enthusiasts, adventure seekers, mountain bikers and triathletes. The mountain bikers brought their laid back style and bold self assurance, while the triathletes brought their intense training and avid dedication. ITU acknowledges the key role that XTERRA played in establishing this vibrant and dynamic format and XTERRA’s subsequent growth into the internationally recognised off-road triathlon brand it has become.

Today, a typical cross triathlon comprises of 1.5km swim in an ocean, lake or river, 30km mountain bike on off-road trails and a 10km trail run on a variety of surfaces. ITU’s first cross triathlon was the 2007 Panama PATCO Cross Triathlon Pan American Championships beginning a series of annual continental championships.

The inaugural ITU Cross Tri World Championships were held in 2011 in Extremadura, Spain with South Africa’s Conrad Stolz and Melanie McQuaid from Canada crowned the very first ITU Cross Triathlon World Champions. Extremadura was deemed a huge success with over 400 athletes competing across the elite, junior, age-group and paratriathlon categories in the swim, mountain bike and cross-country run discipline.

This year ITU has partnered with XTERRA to further raise the profile of cross triathlon to host the 2012 Shelby County ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships and XTERRA Southeast Championships. The course in Alabama’s largest park, Oak Mountain provides trails that lead through the almost 10,000 acres of pine-studded ridges and lush green hardwood bottoms and is widely praised by competitors.

The ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships are now an established annual event with Den Haag (The Hague), Netherlands already set to host 2013, as ITU continues to work hard in seeking new ways to strengthen cross triathlon as a proud commitment to the each and every sport under the ITU multisport umbrella.

With files from Team Unlimited/XTERRA

Article tags melanie mcquaid cross triathlon conrad stoltz multisports shelby county

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Related Event: 2012 Shelby County ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships and XTERRA Southeast Championship

16 - 19 May, 2012 • event page • all results

Results: U23 Men
1.	Bradley Weiss	RSA	02:11:22
2.	Tomas Kubek	SVK	02:13:50
3.	Karsten Madsen	CAN	02:14:34
4.	Satoki Kori	JPN	02:39:51

Results: Junior Women
1.	Hannah Finchamp	USA	01:00:14
2.	Jocelyn Vides	USA	01:04:01
3.	Charne Prinsloo	RSA	01:09:43
4.	Marlette Smit	RSA	01:12:21

Results: Junior Men
1.	Bradley Schuit	RSA	00:56:12
2.	Nicolas Alvarez Icaza	MEX	00:57:19
3.	Robbie Deckard	USA	00:57:38
4.	Caden Ewing	USA	00:58:20
5.	Hunter Tolbert	USA	01:00:37

Results: Elite Women
1.	Lesley Paterson	GBR	02:24:39
2.	Melanie Mcquaid	CAN	02:27:15
3.	Carla Van Huyssteen	RSA	02:28:34
4.	Suzanne Snyder	USA	02:29:13
5.	Shonny Vanlandingham	USA	02:29:15

Results: Elite Men
1.	Conrad Stoltz	RSA	02:12:11
2.	Craig Evans	USA	02:12:58
3.	Christopher Legh	AUS	02:14:11
4.	Josiah Middaugh	USA	02:15:47
5.	Richard Stannard	GBR	02:16:09

Results: 75-79 Male AG
1.	Nathaniel Grew	CRC	04:30:42

Results: 70-74 Male AG
1.	John Stover	USA	03:36:19

Results: 65-69 Male AG
1.	Richard Wall	USA	03:21:54
2.	Peter Lilley	USA	03:40:01
3.	Ronald Scranton	USA	03:57:07
4.	G L Brown	USA	04:17:57

Results: 60-64 Male AG
1.	David Rakita	USA	02:46:18
2.	Tryg Fortun	USA	02:46:20
3.	James Dalton	USA	02:50:56
4.	Dennis Lloyd	USA	02:55:01
5.	J. Alan Moore	USA	03:03:27

Results: 60-64 Female AG
1.	Cindi Toepel	USA	03:12:51

Stoltz and McQuaid aim to defend their titles at ITU Cross Triathlon world titles
Cross Triathlon takes another step forward this weekend as ITU joins with XTERRA for the second ITU Cross Triathlon world titles which doubles as the XTERRA Southeast Championships
05:12 - 15 May, 2012
One month until 2012 ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships
With just one month to go before the 2012 Shelby County ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships we take a look at why excitement is building in anticipation of the biggest event on the ITU Cross Triathlon calendar
09:02 - 19 Apr, 2012
ITU announces 2012 and 2013 ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships
ITU is pleased to announce the 2012 ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships will be held in Pelham, Alabama, on May 19 in a partnership with the XTERRA Southeast Championship. While Netherlands will host the 2013 event
01:37 - 01 Feb, 2012