Controversy and dominance were the order of the day in the men’s and women’s races respectively, as Arthur Forissier claimed his first win to move into 2nd place and Solenne Billouin doubled her points to keep her lead in the 2024 XTERRA World Cup.
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The two Forissier brothers worked together as a pair to control the race from the front, with Felix Forissier eventually opening up a gap to see him headed for a comfortable second win in the series. But a wrong turn coming into the race village cost the younger brother precious seconds as Arthur Forrisier crossed in 1st to claim his first win of the series. It was a lot less of a screamer in the women’s race as France’s Solenne Billouin put in another dominant performance to finish unchallenged up front with over 2 minutes to spare. The current World Champ is now 2 for 2 in the series, heading into stop #3 with the perfect score of 200 series points.
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Felix Forissier will be disappointed with his mishap, but he will also take confidence in the fact that he clearly has what it takes to continue winning in this series. His 2nd place finish sees him keep his position at the top of the leaderboard with 190 points, while World Champion Arthur Serrières opened his World Cup campaign with a 3rd place finish that now leaves him in 9th place in the series.
Aneta Grabmüller announced herself as the name to watch with a 4th place finish in Taiwan, and today she backed that up with an impressive 2nd place. The Czech athlete is now tied in 2nd place in the series with reigning World Cup Champion Alizée Paties. Sandra Mairhofer took the final spot on the podium, opening her World Cup run with a 3rd place finish that sees the Italian enter the series leaderboard in 7th.
There was always the feeling that the first European stop of the series would deliver a dramatic finish, but nobody expected it to come the way it did. You can read the race report here or subscribe to the YouTube channel for the extended race recap vid coming this week, but for now let’s look at what these results mean for those for those looking to lead the series.
This was not the way Arthur Forissier would have wanted to win his first race of the series, even less so to claim a win over his brother. The Forissiers are extremely supportive of each other, even as they find themselves at the pinnacle of the sport, so a win in this fashion would have undoubtedly felt strange. But that said, mishaps and mistakes are part of the game, and the experience and meticulous preparation of the older brother may have been the deciding factor. Had Arthur followed Felix into the race village, it would be Serrières on the top step of the podium with the Forissiers taking 2nd and 3rd.
Arthur Forissier stated at the beginning of the series that he was going all-in on the World Cup this year. He now moves up into 2nd position in the series with just 8 points separating him from the top position. Next up is the first double-feature stop where he will have two opportunities to try to bridge that gap. 10 points is the difference between 1st and 2nd in a Full Distance race with 8 points making the difference in the Short Track. Arthur Forissier is a careful planner, with the Frenchman sure to have already looked into the numbers.
The look on Felix Forissier’s face as he crossed is enough to tell you how he felt about the finish. The Frenchman had put in the work and was on his way to a well-deserved perfect score in the series after back to back wins. The mishap may well haunt him for a few days but he will also take confidence that without this one mistake he is still the best at this stage in the season. He retains the lead and the golden jersey, and will likely start Oak Mountain with a little extra fire in the engine.
With the results Arthur Serrières is able to produce, he will almost always be the focus of attention in the men’s race when he is on the starting line. He has proved on so many occasions why he deserves to be the first double-champ in XTERRA history and in Greece he proved again that he has one of the most lethal runs in the sport as he went nearly a minute faster than any other competitor on the run section.
However, in his opening race of the series, it was clear that the current World Cup Champ is not 100% ready to race at this level. He found himself in a difficult position on the bike as the group seemed to be looking to him to lead the chase to catch the Forissiers, but ultimately he was just a little off the pace. Yet if history is to teach us anything, it’s that this will only add fuel to the fire of the Frenchman. In 2023 he backed up his opening race with a double win in Oak Mountain, which now serves as the next stop on the 2024 series. He enters the leaderboard in 9th after his first race, but with plenty of opportunity to get into the top 5 after stop #3.
Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen might be disappointed to not be on the podium after putting together an impressively long consecutive run of podium finishes. You’d have to go all the way back to Czech in August last year to find the last time he didn’t podium, and even then he was only one position out. He initially set himself up for a great race with an impressive swim, but perhaps the bike section here in Greece was just not quite technical or tough enough for the Dane to inflict the damage he usually does.
But Sloth Nielsen has spoken before about the patience he has with himself, and he is certainly making constant gains. Not only did he put in an impressive performance on his weakest discipline, he also takes the honour of the second fastest run of the day. With the right bike course, his time at the top of the podium may well be on the way.
World Champion Solenne Billouin has put herself in the best possible position heading into the rest of the series. The 2x World Champ clearly means business and has dispatched all comers on two occasions on two continents already in 2024. Even with a slight injury and 3 weeks of no running ahead of the race this weekend, the French athlete seemed unbeatable after taking the lead early on in the bike section.
With the form she is in it’s hard to imagine her relinquishing this lead, but the series is long and there is a lot that can happen. But for now the pressure is off, allowing the current series leader the chance to focus on enjoying the rest of the season and the build to three-peat in Molveno.
Aneta Grabmüller may have taken 2nd place but in many ways the Czech athlete could be considered the biggest winner in Greece. This was a career best for Grabmüller, and it comes right off the back of her breakthrough race in Taiwan where she gave her performance a surprisingly low 6 out of 10.
She has surely now earned herself a place in the top contenders list for this series, and as determined as ever, she continues to gain valuable experience from experienced champions. When Billouin caught her on the bike she didn’t panic at all, instead she stepped up to sit on the wheel as long as she could to learn what it's like to lead an XTERRA World Cup race.
The biggest challenge the core four of the women’s field has seen in a while, Grabmüller now moves up into tied-second place with the current World Cup Champ.
Sandra Mairhofer’s podium finish on her first race back was a strong answer to the question of whether she can still hang with XTERRA’s best. The Italian also posted impressive times in the swim and run sections to quash any doubts that her split discipline focus may have had a negative effect.
The 2x former European Champ will have now shaken off some of the XTERRA racing rust and will be firing on all cylinders come Oak Mountain.
With Solenne Billouin and Felix Forissier holding onto the golden jerseys, the countdown now begins for when the 2024 XTERRA World Cup heads to the USA for stop #3 in Oak Mountain, Alabama, with the Full Distance race set for May 18 and the first Short Track race of the series following on May 19.
Just last night the local square was buzzing with elite and age group athletes as they took advantage of the unbeatable local cuisine here in Vouliagmeni. That energy will undoubtedly carry through to tomorrow as the square now transforms into a livestream viewing party location ahead of the race tomorrow.
The XTERRA Media team also caught up with two top contenders from the Women’s race for their thoughts on the race and season ahead.
France’s Emma Ducreux won Greece ‘23 in her very first XTERRA race. She knows defending will be a big ask, but she isn't getting caught up worrying about the superstars set to start alongside her. She will focus on her pace and use her swim speed to control the race from the front, allowing the race to come to her.
There is a lot of anticipation for how Sandra Mairhofer will open her World Cup campaign, and by the looks of things it seems clear that the Italian is not just here to make up the numbers. Her outstanding mountain bike performances seem to have been part of a carefully planned season to go big in the European World Cup races in this series.
In less than 24 hours we go between the tape to find out who will be the first to break the tape and walk away with the max 100 points at stop #2 of the 2024 XTERRA World Cup.
With most of the pros now having spent time out on the course, a lot of the feedback seems to be centred around the new and improved bike loop. This is the product of George Chanoumis, a local XTERRA Coach who has built multiple singletrack sections over the course of 3 years to avoid paved areas and elevate MTB riding in the area.
The bike loop now has increased technicality with speed management being crucial through the dry sections where small pebbles line the top layer. Some new sections also include a fair amount of sharp rocks which have already led to a few flat tires this week. Finding the right flow will be key for those looking to get ahead.
In athlete updates, it looks like we’ll see Michele Bonacina back in action after injuring his wrist on a recce in Taiwan. The Italian may not be back to full form yet but he will be out to salvage some World Cup points. Unfortunately, however, Morgane Riou (FRA) will not start after the French air traffic control strike left her with no way to get to Vouliagmeni in time.
Defending World Cup Champ Arthur Serrières is locked in to get his campaign started, although he knows this one is likely to be tight with a tough finish on what he describes as a “brutal run course”.
It’s been almost exactly a month to the day, but XTERRA World Cup racing is officially back as athletes begin to arrive in numbers here in Vouliagmeni. There are countless reasons why Greece was included in the series this year and they all seem to be on full display already. The bay is looking as enticing as ever, the trails are running fast, and the XTERRA atmosphere in the small beachside town can be felt almost immediately on arrival.
The list of big names already getting familiar with the course reads like the top end of the World Rankings, including the likes of World Champions Arthur Serrières and Solenne Billouin, World Cup Champion Alizée Paties, APAC Champion Kieran McPherson, and current World Cup leader Felix Forissier.
The course that awaits them will be a fast one, with plenty of mediterranean rock to add some tech between the speed along the bike and run sections.
Weather is looking warm and dry throughout the week, leaving athletes plenty of time to get their equipment and lines dialed in before we go between the tape once again for the 2024 XTERRA World Cup this Saturday.
Having first debuted on the XTERRA circuit in 2013, Greece is not entirely a newcomer. But while many elite athletes will arrive with experience on this course, never will they have pushed it at the pace necessary for a podium finish in World Cup conditions. If Taiwan was a test of resilience, Greece will be a test of speed.
It’s also the first of 3 stops in XTERRA’s most competitive region, with 50 pros set to contest the race in Vouliagmeni. Current double-champion Arthur Serrières will be on the starting line as he looks to regain his place at the top, while Italy’s Sandra Mairhofer will also be out hunting as she looks to shake up the leaderboard in her opening race of the season.
The race begins in the open waters of the Aegean Sea before heading into the mountain trails above Varkiza and Vouliagmeni to decide who goes and who stays in the coveted top-10 section of the World Cup leaderboard. Read here for some of the key battles set to play out at the front of the race, or watch the video below for a full breakdown of the course that awaits in Greece and the top contenders ready to give it their all when the action begins on Saturday, April 27.
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