Both reigning XTERRA World Champions have found the top step of the podium, claiming the Full Distance win to close the show in Québec. Arthur Serrières went down hard on the bike in Friday's Short Track race, but has responded the only way he knows how as he proved that he may still be the fastest man on the feet. Meanwhile, Solenne Billouin made it look easy with the series all but wrapped up for the French athlete.
For the men, it was one of the most tightly contested races of the series yet with everything coming down to the run. Despite looking like he may back up his win in Belgium, Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen was just unable to hold off Serrières, but will still be happy with his 2nd place finish. Felix Forissier came in 3rd, achieving his intended goal of holding his series lead. In the women’s race it was Marta Menditto who put her speed on the feet to work as she claimed 2nd place, while the USA’s Suzie Snyder will be happy with her return to the podium in 3rd.
To read the full race report, click here.
The first battle of the weekend is done and dusted, with Felix Forissier and Solenne Billouin getting it done fastest to stamp their names in one of the most exciting Short Track courses in the series so far. Both take the max 75 points for their efforts, and retain their top spots on the leaderboard.
Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen and Alizée Paties both add 67 points to their tally for finishing 2nd in the men’s and women’s races respectively, while Michele Bonacina and Anna Zehnder claim the final step of the podium and a 61-point haul.
Athletes will no doubt be heading for some much needed recovery before the big one on Sunday. The Full Distance race kicks off at 8am local time with live tracking available here. Be sure to also follow XTERRA on IG for content and updates throughout the race. It’s been 10 years in the making and this one should be good!
This was a big win for the reigning World Champions, but with very different consequences for their respective fields. For Solenne Billouin, a double win all but wraps up the series, with the French powerhouse now able to focus purely on defending her World Championship title in Italy. For Arthur Serrières, his Full Distance win doesn’t move the needle on his World Cup campaign much, but it does make things particularly spicy at the top of the men’s field. Stop #5 wasn't just about who racked up points—it was also about who got denied the points they were after.
Serrières’s World Cup campaign hasn’t gone entirely to plan this season, but after returning from an intense 4-week training block at altitude in Andorra, the reigning World Champion and World Cup Champion likely sent shockwaves through the men’s division with this result. The lethal run speed he’s known for has been somewhat absent this season, with Felix Forissier and Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen making a strong case for being the new fastest men on the feet. But that all changed on Sunday when the three athletes went into the run together, only for Serrières to put almost 2 minutes on Sloth Nielsen and nearly 2.5 minutes on Forissier.
It’s long been said that you doubt Arthur Serrières at your own peril, and that certainly still rings true. With the World Cup title now out of reach, his focus shifts to the next two titles on his radar, which could continue to make things challenging for Felix Forissier as he tries to seal the series for the men.
Solenne Billouin will be feeling the exact same boost in her confidence. Still not fully recovered from illness and not yet back to full-intensity training, the Frenchwoman just laid down a huge double win to hammer in what could be the final nail in the coffin. If the World Champ can avoid complete disaster at the final two stops, the World Cup title is hers.
With the World Cup essentially in the bag, Billouin can now focus purely on achieving her three-peat at the XTERRA World Champs in September, which would make her the first-ever female double champion. And with the way her season is going, she may just become the next European Champion along the way.
When we say things may get feisty in the men’s division, we’re referring specifically to the battle now opening up between Felix Forissier in 1st and Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen in 2nd. Had Felix Forissier achieved the double win Billouin did, he may have sealed the series for himself. But Arthur Serrières did what he does, and Sloth Nielsen put down another stellar performance to narrow the gap between 1st and 2nd just enough to get fans rubbing their hands together in anticipation.
Sloth Nielsen will have to pull off the near impossible to snatch the series from Forissier in the final two stops, but if there’s anybody up for the challenge—it's him. The Dane thrives on competitive racing and has now come in ahead of Forissier in the last two Full Distance races. This is now the battle to watch, and both athletes will undoubtedly be ready to go to war.
Felix Forissier will likely be disappointed that he’s left the door open for Sloth Nielsen. He put in a dominant performance in the Short Track race on Friday but seemed to be merely holding on during the Full Distance. Whether he overcooked it during the Short Track or whether it’s the result of the season catching up, the Frenchman will need a strong reply at Stop #6 in the Czech Republic to avoid unnecessary pressure heading into the World Champs.
The next two stops also carry a bit more weight for Forissier. In Czech, he’ll be defending his European title, and in Italy, he’ll be looking to avoid a repeat of last year when Arthur Serrières snatched the title from him in the final 5K of the race. But the truth is, when Forissier is in form, it’s hard to imagine anybody beating him. So, it’s just a matter of whether he can find that form we saw in Taiwan, Greece, and Oak Mountain.
One of the few leaderboard changes after the weekend, Marta Menditto will be ecstatic with her move into 2nd place in the overall standings. It may seem a little bittersweet for the Italian as she leapfrogs teammate Alizée Paties, who suffered a DNF after breaking her chain in the Full Distance race.
Affectionately known as ‘the Kid,’ Menditto has long been part of the core group of top female contestants but often finds herself on the lower steps of the podium in the presence of Billouin, Paties, and Mairhofer. A move into 2nd will no doubt be a welcome confidence boost as she prepares for the European Champs and the final World Championship in front of a home crowd.
For Suzie Snyder, this was a truly standout performance. Québec was only the second time this season that the veteran XTERRA racer has tested herself against the top-ranked athletes, and the American proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is still a force to be reckoned with.
Snyder’s bike time in the Full Distance was second only to World Champ Solenne Billouin, and if not for Menditto’s superior run, the six-time XTERRA USA Champion might have given the new generation plenty to think about.
Five stops down and just two to go. Next, the series heads to the Czech Republic, where the pressure of the penultimate stop is sure to be compounded by the fight for European Championship titles at one of XTERRA’s most infamous venues.
Today World Cup racing officially gets back on track, with the Short Track race set to get the battles started here in Québec. If you’ve been on social media in the last 24 hours you may have seen that this Short Track race will be very different to any of the previous World Cup ST races. The track runs incredibly fast and is loaded with jumps through the pump track section. Not sure how much we’ll see in the race, but the likes of Felix Forissier and Jens Emil Sloth Niesen have been putting on an aerial clinic for those watching on.
The action starts at 12:00pm local time, with the woman up first and the men following at 14:00. If you’re in the area, get yourself to the side of the track on the bike course for a proper showdown. The sun is back out and it looks like we’re locked in for a weekend of top shelf pro racing.
You can follow the live tracking here, with official results and splits to follow on this page. And if you need a refresher for what’s in store, don’t forget to check out the preview video to get up to speed.
It’s really beginning to feel like full house here with the both Forrisier brothers, World Champ Solenne Billouin, and the Organicoach crew of Alizée Paties, Marta Menditto, Michele Bonacina and Sébastien Carabin all seen out on the course.
Felix Forissier currently leads the men’s field, and if he can do enough to fend off a surging Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen, he may already have one hand on the trophy.
Female series leader Solenne Billouin seems to be close to a return to full health, with her sights set on getting back on to the top step of the podium this weekend.
The course is now fully marked and open for practice. However, the rain has arrived and trails may be closed periodically to protect the trails for the race in the event of inclement weather. Please check empire47.com for updates.
The Short Track bike course will also be open on Thursday from 16:30 to 17:30 for athletes to get familiar with the track. Please note that the course is ridden in a clockwise direction, and athletes may not ride in a counterclockwise direction for safety reasons.
The wait for Québec to make its World Cup debut is now down to just days and hours. The story of XTERRA Québec is remarkable, growing from just 6K of hand-built trails for the first race in 2014 to a 75K trail network that will now host its first World Cup race. After raising the bar for ten consecutive years, this tailor-made course is ready to be tested by the strongest pro field in the event's history.
With trails for some of the best mountain biking in the region, bike handling skills will likely trump sheer power, but reserving enough gas in the tank for a fast run will be key.
One athlete who will undoubtedly showcase how fast these trails can be ridden is Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen, the winner of Stop #4. Coming off two back-to-back World Tour wins in Belgium and France, the Dane has already been out on the course getting his lines dialled in.
Rain is expected later in the week, which will create an entirely different race dynamic. However, coming off the back of a muddy victory in France just days ago, this should have little impact on arguably the best biker in the series.
With XTERRA Quebec ringing in the 10th edition of the event this year, it’s more than fitting that it will do so as the latest addition to the XTERRA World Cup. Many esteemed names such as 15x XTERRA USA Champion Josiah Middaugh, APAC Champion Kieran McPherson, and 10x XTERRA Champion Samantha Kinsford have all laid claim to the race, but never has the startlist been as formidable as it will be at stop #5 of the 2024 XTERRA World Cup.
Both World Champions, Arthur Serrières and Solenne Billouin, will be on the starting line ready to compete for the $20,000 prize purse and the crucial World Cup series points. But they’ll have their work cut out for them with a lineup that includes the reigning World Cup Champion Alizée Paties, the dominant Forissier brothers, and stop #4 winner, Jens Emil Sloth Nielsen, just to name a few.
Quebec marks the first of three consecutive double-feature stops set to close out the series. On July 12, the pros will face off in the fast-paced Short Track race, followed by the Full Distance race on July 14. Check out the preview video below for a detailed breakdown of both formats and what it means for the top contenders vying for the lion's share of the maximum 175 series points.
Quebec will be the final stop in the North American region, with only the European Championship in Czech and the World Championship in Italy remaining for those looking to work their way up the series rankings.
Stay tuned for more updates as race week officially kicks off, with Quebec braced and ready for the biggest race in its decade-long history.
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