Serrieres, Billouin win XTERRA Portugal
Press Release / 23.05.2022
Arthur Serrieres and Solenne Billouin from France captured the eighth annual XTERRA Portugal off-road triathlon elite titles in Golega on Saturday, May 21, 2022, with winning times of 2:35:06 and 3:09:57, respectively.
It's the 15th career XTERRA World Tour win for Serrieres, and the third for Billouin.
The race started in hot and humid conditions at 2pm with a 1.5km warm water swim in Lagoa de Alverca, transitioned to a 35km mountain bike course through the region’s cork forests and agricultural plantations, and finished with a fairly flat 10km trail run.
In the men’s elite race XTERRA veteran Jens Roth (GER) had the fastest swim of the day in 17:35, followed closely by 18-year-old sensation Panagiotis Bitados (GRE). The chase pack of Jules Dumas (FRA), Sam Osborne (NZL), and home country favorite Francois Vie (POR) were about 40-seconds back, with Serrieres (pictured) sixth into transition more than one-minute behind.
Once on the bike Bitados took to the front and held off all comers until Serrieres finally caught him just before the bike-to-run transition.
“At the start of the bike Jens and I went together, and it was hard to get in front of him, and then Arthur caught me in the last kilometer on the bike and we came into transition together,” said Bitados (pictured). “I tried to follow Arthur on the run but he’s too strong.”
Serrieres had the second-best bike split of the day behind Sebastien Carabin (BEL), and once again proved his next-level ability on the run with the quickest 10K in 34:45 to take the tape with more than two and a half minutes to spare.
“That was a really tough first race of the season, so hot and humid,” said Serrieres, the reigning and two-time XTERRA European Champion who finished runner-up at XTERRA Worlds last year to Hayden Wilde.
“The challenge here is special because the short, technical climbs on the bike take a lot of energy, and so on the run you have to deal with what you have left in the tank. I suffered a lot, but happy to take the win here against a strong field, and just two weeks removed from a long winter training block.”
Bitados finished strong in second, with Vie in third for the second straight year while winning the Portuguese National Title.
“Winning the national title was my first goal, so really happy with that and to survive a tough day out there," said Vie (pictured). "It was difficult to focus on the bike, but I was able to work with Arthur, who was wonderful, and also with Jens.”
Arthur Forissier posted the second fastest run of the day to catch and pass Carabin for fourth place. Roth placed sixth and Osborne finished in seventh.
Billouin Holds on to Win in the Heat
In the women’s elite race Samantha Kingsford was first out of the water in 20:05, more than one-minute 30 seconds ahead of Billouin in second.
“I think I caught Samantha about 10-kilometers into the bike and we stayed together for two or three K’s, but had good legs so was able to move ahead and rode by myself from there,” said Billouin, who won XTERRA Belgium and XTERRA France last season.
“I was cramping at the end of the bike though, and that made the run one of the hardest I’ve ever done in XTERRA, especially with the heat. So a super tough effort, but feels amazing to start the season with a win.”
Kingsford (pictured below) was solid all around but called it a “slog of a day.”
“Had a good swim but everything else was pretty average,” she said. “As soon as I got on the bike I felt like I had nothing, and the run was really hard because of the heat. Happy with second, and Solenne was amazing, so hats off to her.”
XTERRA amateur Gaelle Leduc from France finished third overall ahead of elites Pauline Vie (POR), who won the Portugal National title, Beatriz Ferreira (POR), and Bonnie Van Wilgenburg (GBR).
