This weekend will showcase one of the grittiest and grimiest disciplines in triathlon with the 2014 Zittau ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships. Set over a 1.5km Swim, 36km off terrain Bike and 9km Cross Country Run, athletes will grind it out for a chance to call themselves the World’s best. With a 978m climb on the Bike and another 105m climb on the Run, this race isn’t for the faint of heart.
Helena Erbenova returns as the multisport queen with two Cross Triathlon World Championship titles to her name, as well as a winter triathlon crown to boot. Last year, Erbenova destroyed the competition by a whopping five minutes for her second cross triathlon gold medal. With Zittau on the border of the Czech Republic, the race will practically be a home event for Erbenova.
Chantell Widney, who earned bronze last year, will line up second next to Erbenova. While she finished eight minutes behind the Czech last year, it was her first time racing the discipline and has since gained valuable experiences in the XTERRA Pro Series this season.
Renata Bucher and Katrin Muller both downed Erbenova recently at the 2014 Sardinia ETU Natura Cross Triathlon European Championships. Bucher did so in formidable fashion, winning by nearly four minutes.
While Bucher hasn’t been as steadfast on the XTERRA circuit as in previous years, elite triathlete Flora Duffy has begun to sketch out a spot for herself in the XTERRA rankings. Duffy, who recently competed at the Commonwealth Games, has won every XTERRA race that she’s entered so far this year.
Like Duffy, Emma Garrard and Suzanne Snyder are listed further down the start list, but are tucked just behind Duffy on the popular XTERRA Pro Series rankings. Also on the this weekend’s start list is Olympic bronze medalist Erin Densham, who earlier this year won an XTERRA race in which she entered as a part of her training for her return to the World Triathlon Series.