When the gun goes off for the start of the inaugural XTERRA Tahiti on April 25 – Ironman Hall of Famer and 6x IM World Champion, Mark Allen – will be the guy pulling the trigger.
It won’t be Mark Allen’s first XTERRA experience, however, as he was a television host for the first XTERRA TV show in 1996 (seen above interviewing inaugural winner Jimmy Riccitello after the race).
The President of the organizing group from VSOP, Jean Michel Monot, convinced Allen to come to support the inaugural race and discover one of the rare countries he has yet to visit.
The inaugural XTERRA Tahiti off-road triathlon is April 25, starting in Mataiea and crossing the island. Kiwi stars Olly Shaw and Sarah Backler are among the elite participants.
“It looks awesome so I can’t wait to get there and experience it all,” exclaimed Shaw, who finished third at the XTERRA New Zealand Championship over the weekend.
“Spotted images from last year’s event and thought it looked amazing, so very excited about the opportunity to race there,” added Backler. “Tropical beach, lush rainforest, waterfalls, big climbs… should be epic!”
Learn more at xterratahiti.com/en