The inaugural XTERRA World Cup champions won both elite races as the oldest active XTERRA event in the world brought locals, families, age groupers and youth athletes together in South Bohemia.
Arthur Serrières and Alizée Patiès completed perfect weekends at XTERRA Czech, each winning Saturday’s Full Distance Triathlon. They returned to take Sunday’s Short Track, broadcast live nationwide on ČT sport and globally on YouTube. The two French athletes, who became the first XTERRA World Cup champions in 2023, leave the home of Short Track ready for the final stretch of the pro series.
XTERRA first came to the Czech Republic in 2002. Twenty-four years later, the oldest active event continues to update its courses while keeping the traditions that bring athletes back: the remote lake start, the point-to-point ride through the Šumava forests, the finish in Prachatice’s Great Square, and locals lining the course and cheering from outside their homes.
Saturday’s Full Distance began in partly sunny conditions with an air temperature of 25°C and Křišťanovický Lake at 24°C. It offered 56 qualification places for the 2026 XTERRA World Championship, while the Elite field raced for up to 100 World Cup points. Another 75 were available in Sunday’s Short Track at the sixth of seven stops in the 12-race series. See the complete XTERRA Czech results and the Czech World Cup stop page.
A Course and Town That Keep Moving
The Full Distance started nearly 20K from the race village with a 1.5K swim in Křišťanovický Lake. From there, the point-to-point 33K ride followed panel roads built for tanks in the 1960s, the old Golden Salt Path and forest singletrack before the 10.5K run reached the cobblestones of the Great Square.
New bridges and technical sections appeared again this year. “It’s where Short Track started, and right now even the Full Distance race looks like Short Track in some parts, with all the bridges they’ve built on the downhill,” Serrières said.
Women’s runner-up Kerri-Ann Upham of Great Britain has watched that work at close range through five consecutive visits. “The organizers are always listening to our feedback and making changes to the course, so every single year it’s a different experience. I love that variation and the community among the athletes and organizers.”
The expo, food festival and music program filled the Great Square before the gala dinner, awards and long-running afterparty. “You get here early in the week and it’s quiet, not a lot going on, and slowly but surely XTERRA takes over the entire square,” Upham said. “It becomes such a spectacle by the time race day comes around.”
Along the course, XTERRA Europe introduced Zdena Hruzova, a long-time supporter who rarely misses a chance to cheer the athletes passing her door. Serrières also stayed with a local friend named Milan. “I’m happy to share this with him and discover more about the way of life in the Czech Republic and Prachatice.”
Serrières Turns Five Seconds Into Victory
Michele Bonacina led the Elite men through the swim in 19:50, but the lead group remained tightly packed through the opening kilometres of the bike. By the end of the ride, Madrid’s José Ignacio Gálvez Ponce had moved to the front. Maxim Chané entered T2 two seconds behind him, with Serrières another three seconds back.
Serrières took control on the run, recording a 41:16 split to win in 2:21:00. Denmark’s Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen came from sixth at T2 with the fastest run of the day, 40:51, to claim second in 2:22:31. Gálvez held third in 2:22:36, five seconds behind the Dane, for the surprise result of the weekend.
“It’s an amazing experience because I race middle-distance all year,” Gálvez said. “I touched the mountain bike this week, and I don’t know what happened, but I had a lot of flow today. I had an amazing day.”
Serrières’ victory carried its own history. “It’s a special place for me because it’s where I think everything began. It’s where I won my first major title, the European Championship, years ago.”
Patiès Breaks Away on the Bike
Romy Spoelder led the Elite women out of the water in 22:48, four seconds ahead of Patiès. Once onto the bike, the Frenchwoman opened the race with the fastest split of 1:28:58 and carried a lead of more than five minutes into the final leg.
Patiès finished in 2:46:10. Upham ran 50:33 to move into second in 2:50:29, continuing the year-by-year progression that began when she first raced here as an age grouper. World Cup leader Marta Menditto of Italy completed the podium in 2:53:21.
“The atmosphere in Prachatice is incredible,” Patiès said. “The people are really kind, and the organization is excellent. I think it’s one of the best. They deserve applause.”
Short Track Replay Worth Watching
The format created at Křišťanovický Lake in 2019 returned Sunday for two races decided by seconds. Both were shown nationwide on ČT sport and remain available through the free 2026 XTERRA Czech Short Track replay.
Serrières completed the men’s sweep in 38:56, followed by fellow Frenchman Maxim Chané in 39:12 and Denmark’s Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen in 39:16. Patiès won the women’s race in 45:52, with Italy’s Marta Menditto second in 47:30 and French junior Mila Lantelme third in 47:33.
The World Cup Heads to Suzhou
After six of seven stops, only 18 points separate men’s leader Arthur Forissier on 634 from Nicolas Duré in third on 616, with Maxim Chané between them on 618. Marta Menditto leads the women with 875 points, 127 ahead of Emma Ducreux.
The Oct 29-Nov 1 finale consists of the Short Track at Pan Men Square and the Full Distance on the custom-built trails of Yuyang Mountain above Lake Taihu. A short high-speed rail journey from Shanghai, XTERRA Suzhou brings the series finale to a city of centuries-old canals, classical gardens and historic gates. Visit the XTERRA World Cup page for the standings and full breakdown.
Eighteen Nationalities and Eight Children From Japan
The published Full Distance, Youth and Short Track results recorded athletes from 18 nations. The field included competitors from as far away as Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain and the countries surrounding the Czech Republic formed the largest visiting groups.
France’s Cyril Bernard was the fastest male age grouper, winning the 20–24 division in 2:37:27. Šárka Půstová of the Czech Republic was the fastest adult female age grouper, taking the women’s 20–24 title in 3:11:58. Other division wins went to Germany’s Alexandra Rudl, France’s Victor Caillat, the Netherlands’ Michel van Schie and Great Britain’s Renell Brennan.
“It’s such a nice group of people doing off-road triathlon. It’s like a little family,” Půstová said. “You’re in nature, in such beautiful places that I would otherwise never visit if it wasn’t for XTERRA.”
Yoshinori Arisaka completed the Full Distance after travelling from Nagoya with eight children, four from his family and four connected to Renato Nagoya football club and the After-School Adventure Club. They raced, camped and cheered throughout the weekend.
“The most special experience for me was meeting the group of Japanese children at the XTERRA campsite,” Rudl said. “I completely fell in love with them. They were there cheering for me during the race.”
The Next Generation Takes Its Turn
Youth B and Junior athletes raced Saturday’s Youth Sprint, followed by the Youth A Super Sprint on Sunday. The races offered qualification places for the Youth World Championship in Ruidoso.
Daniela Beranová won the Youth B women’s race and later said, “The atmosphere here is amazing, and then everything seems to flow by itself.” Junior men’s winner Pietro Bellemo returned to a place that has become part of his own calendar. “Every year we are astonished by how beautiful this place is and how beautiful this race is.”
Tereza Hrazdilová won Sunday’s Youth A girls’ race in 33:33, ahead of Yaroslava Huliy in 33:56 and Sofie Pazderková in 34:36. Adam Šiška took the boys’ title in 27:08, followed by Samuel Holíček in 28:07 and Hugo Keilwerth in 28:21. All six represented the Czech Republic.
In Saturday’s Youth B races, Czech athlete Daniela Beranová won the girls’ division in 1:24:06, followed by compatriot Zuzana Veselá in 1:25:20 and Germany’s Sophie Lindner in 1:27:13. Ondřej Plic led a Czech sweep of the boys’ podium in 1:07:34, with Václav Šoula second in 1:10:10 and Matyáš Večeřa third in 1:11:06.
Czech athlete Anděla Břenková won the Junior women’s race in 1:29:59, ahead of Italy’s Serena Bratti in 1:31:15 and Poland’s Kinga Karcz in 1:32:32. Italy’s Pietro Bellemo claimed the Junior men’s title in 1:08:51, followed by Czech athlete Marek Krátký in 1:09:41 and fellow Italian Tommaso Frosi in 1:10:23.
Complete category results are available through XTERRA’s official results page.
The Trails From Prachatice
The XTERRA World Tour continues through August with XTERRA Germany, Sleeping Giant in Canada and Santa Elena in Mexico on Aug 14-16, followed by Costa Rica and Austria.
For the athletes who earned their places in Prachatice, the larger target is now the XTERRA World Championship in Ruidoso, New Mexico, from Oct 8-11. The Full Distance World Championship takes place Oct 10, bringing many of the same Elite, age-group and youth communities back together for XTERRA’s 30th anniversary.
