Dinis Cabral, Nina Tjallingii, Ondrej Plic, Dahlia Fillion, Lucas Wright and Mila Lantelme win world titles as young athletes and their families close the 30th anniversary with the XTERRA Youth World Championship.
The next generation had its own day in Ruidoso on Sunday, with six world titles decided across Youth A, Youth B and Junior competition. Behind every finish were parents, siblings, coaches, clubs and friends who had helped young athletes make the journey.
Athletes from 41 countries took part across the World Championship and Youth World Championship weekend. The youth season offered qualification through 30 XTERRA Youth Tour events across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific..
Youth A athletes, ages 14–15, raced the Super Sprint: a 400M, 7K mountain bike and 2K trail run. Youth B, ages 16–17, and Junior, ages 18–19, followed on the Sprint course, with a 750M, 15K mountain bike and 5K trail run. From Grindstone Lake to the finish at Wingfield Park, rocky climbs, mountain bike descents and steep running trails gave the young athletes a refined, and rewarding championship course.
Full results are available on the XTERRA World Championship event page.
Youth A: The Joy of Racing
Portugal’s Dinis Cabral established his lead in the water, recording a 4:38 swim. He carried it through the bike and run to win in 37:18. Caleb Wales of Springville, California, closed ground with the fastest boys’ bike and run splits, finishing second in 38:41. Dylan Thompson of Cypress, Texas, completed the podium in 39:59.
Cabral’s first request at the finish was to thank the people who had brought him there. His family and friends came first, followed by St. Peter’s School in Palmela, his club Associação Naval Amorense and the coaches who support his swimming, cycling and triathlon development.
“XTERRA is a very difficult competition, especially the run and the bike. But it’s super fun,” Cabral said. “I recommend it to all the people. It’s such an amazing experience I have here.”
His mother, Odilia Andrade, described the daily work behind that experience.
“Sacrifice, but with much love,” she said. “He wakes up very early. He trains every day. Swimming, running, cycling. And good food, and good rest.”
His father, Lino Cabral, offered a message for other parents: let children find their own reasons to take part.
“In our perspective, winning is not the most important,” he said. “I think the advice I can give to other parents is to let their kids enjoy the sport, being triathlon or any other. We never pressure him. Everything he does, we congratulate him,” he said.
In the girls’ race, Flavia Hitchings led out of the water in 5:25, just four seconds ahead of Emie Vandenbussche. Yaroslava Huliy moved into the lead through transition, but Nina Tjallingii’s 19:54 bike split brought the Dutch athlete to the front. She won in 38:57 despite stomach cramps on the run. Huliy took silver in 41:05, with Vandenbussche third in 41:18.
“On the mountain bike, my goal was to take over everyone, so that I could have a lead on the run,” Tjallingii said. “The run was very hard, because my whole stomach was hurting on both sides. I just pushed through and finished.”
Watching his daughter from De Steeg become world champion, Maarten Tjallingii described the investment. “But look at the smiles on the faces of these kids. It’s worth it,” he said. “It’s the future of the sport. We’re investing in something.”
Huliy, from Uzhhorod, Ukraine, had raced in Croatia, the Czech Republic and Denmark before coming to Ruidoso. She described this as her hardest competition, but her reason for choosing XTERRA was simple: “Because there is a mountain bike, and I like it.”
Vandenbussche, who described home as Trier, near Luxembourg, has French parents and dual nationality. Training across three clubs takes coordination, but the technical riding keeps her interested. “It’s more going up, going down, technical. And I like stuff like this. That’s why I like XTERRA.”
Youth B: A Title Defense and Canadian Comeback
Prague’s Ondrej Plic defended his Youth B title with the fastest swim, bike and run splits in his category. He finished in 1:16:11, ahead of Joren Aardema-Gagnon in 1:24:21 and Linus Gasch in 1:25:46.
“On the bike, I’m a really strong cyclist, so the bike is my discipline,” said Plic, who travelled with his mother. “Thank you to everybody who was there and was cheering for me. And it’s really good to be world champion again.”
Racing short track with the elite men in Prachatice was one of his favourite experiences of the season. His next ambition is to join that level: “I would like to be an elite next year, so we will see.”
The Youth B girls’ title came down to a chase on the run. Ecuador’s Alejandra Proaño led out of the water in 10:59 but did not finish. Dahlia Fillion recorded the fastest bike split, although South Africa’s Jeané Smith still left the second transition about 1:29 ahead of her. The Canadian, from Saint-Hippolyte, Québec, produced the category’s fastest run to win in 1:44:08, 21 seconds ahead of Smith. Angèle Laurencon finished third in 1:49:04.
Fillion’s mother, Élisa Piscollo, and father, Michel Fillion, celebrated the comeback together. “She worked really, really hard. I’m really proud of her,” they said in the family interview.
Their daughter remembered the riding with a smile. “The bike, I’ve never had so much fun,” Fillion said. “It’s a beautiful place with a beautiful atmosphere. It’s extraordinary races with extraordinary people.”
She also knew how many people had contributed to the result: “I think it wouldn’t have been possible without all the people behind me.”
Andrew Wales finished eighth in Youth B, completing a day in which all three Wales siblings raced. “It was a blast getting to race with everybody,” he said. Their father, Travis, explained why the family keeps doing it: “We get to train together. It’s fun. We get to run together, cycle together. It’s good because we can do it all together.”
Junior: Redemption, and the People Back Home
Lucas Wright of Ellicott City, Maryland, led the Junior men out of the water and extended his advantage with a 43:53 bike split. He won in 1:18:42. Iwan Froley of Port Talbot, Wales, passed Italy’s Pietro Bellemo early in the run to take second in 1:21:08. Bellemo finished third in 1:22:13.
Wright arrived looking for redemption after two difficult world championships in Italy. He said he had also raced for his college team the previous day, helping it win by a single point before coming to Ruidoso.
“I wanted redemption. I wanted to prove myself. I know I was better than that. I know I’m better than that. And I think I proved that today,” he said.
The technical climbing and flowing descents suited him. “The climb isn’t just a gravel climb the whole way. It’s actually technical uphill. Lots of rocks. I love it,” he said. The run was much harder, but his earlier work gave him the lead he needed.
Asked about his parents and supporters at home, Wright said: “Thank them for everything. They’re the only reason I’m here. They’ve gotten me everywhere I needed to be.” His definition of XTERRA was equally personal: “It’s my escape. It’s challenging. It’s fun. It’s different. It takes me to really cool places.”
Froley travelled with his father, Colin, while the cost meant his mother stayed home. “It’s been a lot to get out here to America. It’s a lot of time, but everybody’s just supporting me,” he said.
Bellemo came with his father, Michele, brother Nicolas and friend Tommaso Frosi. His father and brother had raced on Saturday. For him, the welcome was central to the experience: “It’s like you’re in a really big family. Everyone cheers for you. Everyone is kind with you.”
France’s Mila Lantelme led the Junior women across all three disciplines to win in 1:27:39. Abigail Wales took second in 1:38:41 after moving up on the bike, and Anděla Břenková completed the podium in 1:43:19.
Lantelme thanked Team Organicoach, her family and partners. Her parents could not travel because of work commitments in France. “I know that they really wanted to come,” she said. She plans to move into elite competition next year.
“It’s like a big family, and the people are so friendly,” Lantelme added. “Discovering XTERRA was a real change in my life.”
Abigail Wales thanked her parents, siblings, sponsors and swim coach Daisy. She is considering what comes after her final Junior season, including a possible move toward elite racing.
For now, she described the sport this way: “It means grit, strength, all that. It takes a lot of power, but at the end of the day, it’s really fun.”
A Community Celebration
XTERRA thanks the young athletes, their parents and support teams, the Ruidoso community, the Mescalero Apache community, volunteers, local residents and supporters who helped make this championship week possible. Families who have travelled with XTERRA for years and those attending for the first time had the chance to meet, race and encourage the next generation together.
Sunday evening’s Youth Awards closes an anniversary week that celebrated world champions and gave young athletes ambition to imagine what comes next. XTERRA wishes them well in the year ahead and looks forward to welcoming them, their families and more young athletes to future races.
Watch the Youth A replay and the Youth B and Junior replay, with aerial views and on-course cameras following the athletes through Ruidoso.
Explore the championship photo gallery for images from the week, with more photos continuing to be uploaded. Additional press-release photo folders are available beneath the photo gallery below.
Visit the 30-Year Living Archive to explore the people and stories behind three decades of XTERRA and add your own. Follow XTERRA Americas on Instagram for more highlights and athlete moments from the week in Ruidoso.
