World Cup Down Under: 6 Takeaways from the Series Opener in Aus

Taking the reins from Taiwan as the World Cup series opener and bringing the Asia-Pacific Championship back to Australia after 11 years, Dunsborough had big shoes to fill this year. But from the moment athletes arrived in the coastal town and the course recess began, the verdict among XTERRA’s top flight was unanimous: Dunsborough isn’t just ready for the World Cup, it’s built for it.

From a race perspective, the new location brought an entirely different challenge to the series. Beneath a postcard-worthy sunrise over Geographe Bay, the ocean swim brought just enough chop and current to give the stronger swimmers an early edge. On the bike, dry and dusty singletrack made for fast racing, with loose pea gravel catching riders on the corners and rewarding those brave enough to fully commit on the descents. The run course mixed sandy beach sections, rock scrambles, and fast flats—with most of the position changes happening in the final 10K. 

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Low in elevation by comparison, but packed with more corners than any other stop on the series, Dunsborough delivered exactly what the World Cup was built for: testing the world’s best off-road triathletes across the most dynamic yet rewarding terrains.

Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen, who left with two golds and the series lead, called Dunsborough “tailor-made for racing.” Michele Bonacina dubbed it “stunning.” And Arthur Forissier may have summed it up best: “The atmosphere was so wild”—kangaroo traffic included.

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Outside the tape, Dunsborough brought a community that lives and breathes the XTERRA lifestyle. Fans lined the course, cheered from the dunes, raced the same trails, and welcomed the pro series into the fold of an event that has been building momentum for the better part of a decade. If there was any question as to how Dunsborough would fare against the more established stops in the World Cup, the answer came fast, dusty, and undeniable as the Short Track and Full Distance races officially opened the series.

Despite the challenge of a new course and the abrupt shift from the European winter to the Australian sun, few made it look easier in Dunsborough than Alizée Paties. The Frenchwoman swam, rode, and ran her way to gold in both the Short Track and Full Distance races, earning the maximum 175 series points and claiming the golden jersey.

Paties is no stranger to the golden jersey, swim cap, and bike plate awarded to the series leader. In 2023, the debut year of the World Cup, she won the opener in Taiwan and never relinquished the lead for the rest of the series, becoming the first-ever World Cup Champion with a haul of four golds, four silvers, and one bronze across 11 races. But her winning form dipped slightly in 2024. Despite finishing second in the overall standings, she never managed to reach the top step of the podium last year.

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But if the results in Australia are anything to go by, Paties is back to her 2023 form—if not better. She clocked the fastest bike and run splits in both races, taking a dominant Short Track win before backing it up with another near-perfect performance in the Full Distance that saw her lead solo from early in the bike.

“It turned out to be a really good day. I didn’t see anyone out there, except for the kangaroos!”

The World Cup is a season-long competition where anything can happen, but early signs suggest the former World Cup Champ is firmly back in the hunt for another title.

Alizée Paties wasn’t the only athlete to pick up a double win in Australia. Danish rider Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen also went two for two, taking the series lead and securing a perfect start on the leaderboard.

Widely regarded as the best rider in off-road triathlon, Sloth Nielsen has built a reputation as the most exciting athlete to watch on two wheels. A historically weaker swimmer at a pro level, he’s earned the nickname “The Overtaker” for the sheer number of athletes he passes as he cuts through the field like a hot knife through butter on the bike. Still, even after finding the front, on so many occasions he’s been denied the win after being beaten by painstakingly small margins on the run.

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However, that may be about to change. In both the Short Track and Full Distance races in Australia, the Dane exited the water in the chase pack—an important improvement that left him with far less ground to cover on the bike. Towards the end of last season, his run was already showing signs of progress, and that trend has clearly continued. Not only did he post the fastest run split in both races, but he also showed the confidence to make his decisive move on the run rather than the bike.

Sloth Nielsen has earned every ounce of his reputation on the bike, but it may be time to recognise the speed he now brings on the run, along with the edge an improved swim will give him. XTERRA off-road triathlon was born from the idea of pitting specialist riders against road triathletes, and Sloth Nielsen has always belonged firmly in the former camp. But given the Dane’s recent results in his first foray into on-road triathlon, he may now be the master of both. 

“I didn’t have the fastest swim or bike, but it just goes to show—triathlon isn’t about having the fastest split, it’s about putting together the best race overall."

The real test, however, is still to come, when he goes up against the full French contingent later in the season.

Italy’s Michele Bonacina delivered a standout performance in the Full Distance race, one that not only puts him second in the overall standings but also highlights the off-season gains that earned him his best World Cup result to date. 

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A famously fast swimmer, Bonacina has consistently led the men’s field out of the water in nearly every race he’s contested. But rarely has he managed to hold that lead once the stronger riders and runners start to close in. In Australia, that wasn’t the narrative. 

After another trademark swim saw him exit the water 30 seconds ahead of countryman Federico Spinazze, Bonacina held off the charge from powerhouse riders Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen and Ben Forbes to keep the lead through the bike and deep into the run. Only Sloth Nielsen managed to pass him, making the decisive move with less than 5K to go.

“On the bike, I tried to do the same—push, but stay controlled. I knew I had good legs today.”

For two seasons now, Bonacina has set the initial pace with the rest of the men's field looking to close the gap once the race hits dry land. But from the performance he delivered in Australia, that gap may be harder to close in races to come this year.

Who doesn’t love a new name shaking up the status quo? This season, that name might be specialist rider Ben Forbes from Australia.

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With years of experience racing the Enduro World Series, Forbes only made the switch to off-road triathlon last year, starting with regional races in Taiwan, New Zealand, and Australia before stepping onto the big stage at the World Championship in Italy. A 12th-place finish at Worlds proved he could compete with the best—but it may have been the post-race DSQ for a minor transition infraction that truly lit the fire heading into 2025. 

This season, Forbes has a tentative schedule that includes seven of the eight World Cup stops. And he’s already established himself as the rider to beat, putting down the fastest bike split in both the Short Track and Full Distance, with some of the big names in the sport commenting on just how dangerous, risky, and nearly impossible he is to follow on the bike.

“Honestly, it was probably my biggest goal of the year—to take the top bike split.”

The Aussie won here in Australia last year, but that was before the World Cup brought a far deeper field. This year, he leaves with what’s surely a career-best performance, and the 2025 Asia-Pacific title to his name.

One of the most exciting storylines of the series opener was the Asia-Pacific athletes taking on Europe’s contingent of World Champions, World Cup winners, and top-ranked competitors. It had all the makings of a David vs Goliath battle, but the APAC athletes proved they’re not just here to race, they’re here to contend. 

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In the women’s field, Maeve Kennedy earned a podium finish with third place in the Short Track. In the Full Distance, she opened a big gap ahead of the field in the swim before finishing fourth to claim her second Asia-Pacific Championship title, leading a strong showing that saw Hannah-Lee Young (AUS), Lizzy Orchard (NZL), and Lucie Van Der Schalk (AUS) finish fifth, sixth, and seventh.

In the men’s field, it was Ben Forbes setting the benchmark on the bike. But Kieran McPherson was equally impressive across the full course. The hard-charging Kiwi worked his way through the field in the Short Track and closed with a powerful run to take second place. A few mistakes on the bike cost him in the Full Distance, but when he’s on, McPherson will be a serious podium threat at any World Cup stop.

“I came off three times in the first lap from pushing too hard and not thinking clearly. The second lap was all about finding rhythm again and not bleeding too much time.”

Europe has long been off-road triathlon’s most competitive region, home to both reigning World Champions for the past three years. But healthy competition breeds progress—and with names like Ben Forbes, Kieran McPherson, and Hannah-Lee Young set to race the majority of the season, this is a storyline worth watching as the series unfolds. 

For now, Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen and Alizée Paties have given themselves the best possible start, but there’s still a long season of racing to come as the series makes its first stop in Europe. Greece is up next, with a fast and physical test through the Gulf of Vouliagmeni and the rugged mountain trails of South Hymettus, before Weston Park enters just 7 days later as the next debut location on the 2025 World Cup circuit.