All the Highlights of the Upcoming XTERRA 2023 Season

Looking ahead at what’s already on the calendar for the year to come, the 2023 season will undoubtedly be the single biggest XTERRA season yet, so there’s certainly a lot to look forward to and a lot of dates to save. 

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There have already been a few big announcements in the past few weeks, from the freshly-minted XTERRA World Cup to regional championship dates and locations to the roll out of the World Performance Index, and there are still a few more surprises scheduled for January. So before we bid farewell to the year 2022, here's everything to be excited about in 2023.

Some back by popular demand and some brand new to the ever-expanding XTERRA circuit, athletes will be taking on a whole new set of terrains in 2023 with events in South Africa, Australia, Oman, USA and Canada already locked in for the season, and additional events in Europe and Africa currently in the works.

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XTERRA legend and 4-time World Champion Conrad ‘the Caveman’ Stoltz is the driving force behind the return of XTERRA South Africa, having designed and built large sections of the trails himself. XTERRA Australia will also be making a comeback, but this time the event heads to Dunsborough to take on the natural landscapes of Meelup Regional Park. 

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The all-new XTERRA Oman is expected to deliver one of the biggest yet most unique challenges of the 2023 season as athletes head to the Middle East to go head-to-head against a terrain like no other on the XTERRA circuit.

Forced into hibernation by the pandemic, both the Asia-Pacific Tour and the Americas Tour are back in full force in 2023 to determine which men and women will swim, bike and run their way to regional championship glory.

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Both tours kick off on the same day, Feb 25, with the XTERRA Wellington Festival getting the APAC Tour underway while XTERRA Iceman serves as the opening act of the 2023 Americas Tour.

With South Africa and Oman now officially booked for 2023 and another potential African race on the cards, the formerly known European Tour has been renamed the EMEA Tour to include countries from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

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The EMEA Tour gets its earliest start ever in 2023 with XTERRA South Africa kicking off the entire XTERRA World Tour in the scenic town of Grabouw on January 21.

The dates and destinations of all three regional championship events have all been made official, with each race surrounded by a festival of off-road racing action.  

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The APAC Championship returns to Kenting, Taiwan on April 15 and will combine the first stop of the XTERRA World Cup, the first Asia-Pacific Championship in two years, and the first ever Asia-Pacific Trail Run Championship. 

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The European Championship follows next on June 8 with hosts XTERRA Belgium heading back to the iconic Citadel with no less than 8 race categories spread over 2 days and an event that promises to be equal parts race and party (if you know, you know). 

And finally, the USA Championship will close out the last of the regional championships on August 26 with a return to the picturesque Beaver Creek in Avon, Colorado, where just last year XTERRA hall-of-famer Josiah Middaugh was beaten to the finish by the new American threat in off-road tri that is his son, Sullivan Middaugh.

If this is the first you’re hearing of the XTERRA World Cup, get everything you need to know here. But for fans of off-road tri, this will be the biggest shake up of 2023 and the series you’ll most want to keep an eye on.

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The supercharged, elite-driven series is designed to draw the deepest elite field possible into a 7-stop, 12-race circuit with over US$340,000 to race for. Seven of the races will be full-distance triathlons while the remaining five will be the blistering short track format and broadcast live to a global audience.

The all-new series is a points-based competition that works completely differently to other XTERRA tours and series, so be sure to familiarise yourself with rules and save the dates of all seven stops with the full race schedule and series structure here.

As part of the XTERRA World Cup, the 2023 season will see no less than five epic XTERRA Short Track races, each broadcast live, direct, and for free. 

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Made for TV, the fan-friendly format is fast, furious, full-gas racing with every rock, berm, and turn an opportunity for an upset. The format also offers the chance for spectators to get up close and personal to witness the speed, power, and skill of XTERRA’s elite racers. 

Links to the live stream will be available via xterraplanet.com, so save the dates below and keep your phone ready.  

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May 21 - Oak Mountain, USA

June 11 - Namur, Belgium

Aug 13 - Prachatice, Czech Republic

Aug 18 - Zittau, Germany

Sep 24 - Trentino, Italy

Ready to debut in 2023, the custom-built XTERRA World Performance Index (WPI) is set to be rolled out across all age group tours in the upcoming season. It’s been years in the making and finally ready to be implemented as a means to accurately determine the fastest off-road triathlete in every division across the globe.

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The WPI promises to deliver a far more accurate record of athlete performance by taking into consideration the strength and depth of the field, the number of participants, and the difficulty of the course according to elevation, water & air temperature, rainfall, and trail conditions on the day. 

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Click here to find out more on the nuts and bolts of the WPI and its inclusion in all 2023 age group tours.

The 2023 season will also see the first beginning-to-end run through of the new XTERRA Trail Run World Series, with the introduction of exciting new features such as the Segment Challenge and the Duo Team category. But for sure the biggest highlight on the trail run calendar will be the first ever XTERRA Trail Run World Championship contested only by those who have qualified the hard way. With the level of trail running having significantly increased across all regions in recent years, championship glory will not come easy.

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Dates and locations for the APAC Trail Run Championship and the Americas Trail Run Championship have both already been announced, but within the next few weeks the destinations and dates of the European Trail Run Championship and the XTERRA Trail Run World Championship will also be released. So trail runners, stay tuned!

The pinnacle event of the year, and the culmination of a massive season. On September 23, 2023, the best XTERRA athletes across all age groups will return to the crystal blue lake waters at the base of the towering Brenta Dolomites to decide who will end the season at the top of the pile at the 2023 XTERRA World Championship.

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The 2022 Championship race produced some of the toughest, most demanding, but also most exhilarating racing in XTERRA history, and we can’t wait to do it all again at the end of a season that is set to produce a highlights reel better than any season before. 

For more, visit xterraplanet.com, and be sure to follow XTERRA on Instagram and Facebook for info, updates, and inspiration.