Loanne Duvoisin Conquers Xterra European Championship Women's Race
A thrilling comeback sees Loanne Duvoisin emerge victorious in the Xteera European Championship, overcoming a stellar lineup of competitors.
The women's division of the Xterra European Championship kicked off with Daisy Davies of Britain emerging first from the water in a swift 19:17. Close on her heels were fellow Britons Maisie Aubrey, clocking 19:31, and the 15-19 division superstar, Isla Hedley, trailing by just three seconds.
Among the leading contenders, Italy's Sandra Mairhofer posted a 21:02, approximately 1:40 behind the leaders. Hot on her trail were World Cup leader Alizée Paties of France and the reigning Xterra World Champion, France's Solenne Billouin, with another minute lag. Loanne Duvoisin, another strong competitor, was further 1:30 behind at 23:41.
As the contest transitioned to the mountain biking phase, the dynamics of the race changed dramatically, mirroring the earlier men’s race.
Sandra Mairhofer, known as one of the best bikers among the women, tenaciously maintained her lead throughout much of the race, overcoming a flat front tire on the first downhill. Despite the setback, she pressed on, demonstrating impressive determination and skill.
Paties and Duvoisin gave outstanding performances on their bikes as well. Duvoisin managed to erase her deficit from the swimming phase with the fastest bike split of the day, 1:44:49. She arrived at the bike-to-run transition just seconds behind Paties and immediately took the lead as the race transitioned to the run.
Confident in her biking abilities, Duvoisin pressed on hard on the downhill and gave an exceptional performance in the final running phase. Clocking the best run of the day (46:05), she crossed the finish line in 2:57:11 to secure first place.
A delighted Duvoisin expressed her joy over her victory, saying, “I wasn’t sure after the bike if I was going to be able to push on the run, but I felt good and just super happy with the win."
Mairhofer held on to finish second, about a minute behind Duvoisin, followed by Paties another 1:30 later in third place. “I did my best, but was completely dead on the run," admitted a exhausted Paties.
Completing the top five were Solenne Billouin in fourth and Marta Menditto of Italy in fifth, mirroring the top five of the Xterra World Rankings. Thus concluded an exhilarating day of competition, leaving everyone eagerly awaiting the next race in the Xterra European Championship.
