Eagle County triathletes win XTERRA North American titles
XTERRA/Courtesy photo
A pair of Eagle County triathletes found themselves in a familiar spot on Saturday: the top step of an XTERRA podium.
Sullivan Middaugh and Suzie Snyder captured the men’s and women’s XTERRA North American titles at the second-annual event on May 17 at Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham, Alabama. Middaugh won back-to-back XTERRA USA championships in 2022 and 2023 in Beaver Creek before capturing the rebranded, inaugural North American title last spring. Snyder, a six-time USA champ, joined Josiah Middaugh on the USA podium in 2021 and his son, Sullivan, in 2022 and 2023, before finishing second last year at the North American event behind Amanda Felder.
Last weekend’s event attracted a deep international field in doubling as the fourth of eight stops on the XTERRA World Cup circuit. Defending overall World Cup champion Felix Forissier and his brother, Arthur — the current standings leader — entered as the favorites. In the long-distance event, Middaugh exited the 1.5-kilometer swim just six seconds behind Felix Forissier, but went into the lead early in the bike as the Frenchman took a spill on the slick course. As Middaugh — who’s built up a reputation as one of the fiercest cyclists on the international draft-legal road triathlon stage — pushed the pace on the 33-kilometer mountain bike leg, it quickly became a two-person affair.
“Sullivan Middaugh made it tough, especially on the run. I wasn’t sure I could hold him off,” Forissier told XTERRA media. Forissier covered the 10-kilometer trail run in 37:05, pulling away late for the 30-second victory over the EagleVail product to cross the finish in 2 hours, 29 minutes, 13 seconds.
“I led most of the bike and ran as hard as I could,” Middaugh said. “Felix was just a bit faster in the end. But defending the North American title and finishing second overall is a result I’m proud of. Every race teaches you something.”
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Younger brother Porter Middaugh (2:37:58) finished in eighth overall and second in the North American standings. Eagle Valley social studies teacher James Kirschner was 21st in 2:50:26.
On the women’s side, France’s Alizee Paties moved into first on the bike and posted the day’s fastest run split to secure a five-minute victory (2:48:49). Snyder worked alone in the top-5 most of the day, coming home in 3:00:11, fifth overall and first for North American athletes.
“It felt smooth,” she told XTERRA. “I had a relaxed mindset, which really helped in these conditions and I loved reconnecting with everyone here.”
In April, Snyder won her second-straight XTERRA Puerto Rico event.
Sunday’s short-track (400-meter swim, 7.5K bike, 3K run) saw a rematch between Middaugh and Forissier — who went 1-2 in the event at the world championships last September in Italy. But it was young amateur American Lucas Wright who stole the show early, exiting the water first as Middaugh found himself in fifth, 18 seconds back. Forissier, second out of the water, was able to hook onto Wright — who won the junior long-distance title on Saturday — early on the bike. Middaugh moved through the field steadily, attacking on a steep climb to move into the lead late in the second of three laps. He sat on Forissier through the first lap of the run but applied a viscous acceleration during the final revolution. His 9:48 split allowed him to walk across the finish line 17 seconds clear of Forissier for the win as Federico Spinazze rounded out the podium in third.
“I’m super happy with today’s race,” Middaugh said in a post-race interview on the event livestream. “Felix was strong yesterday and I definitely wanted to come back strong. The intensity was a little bit of a shock and I was pretty sore this morning, but I just remembered it was a short race and pushed every chance I could get.”
Both Middaugh brothers will resume World Triathlon Cup and Continental Series events through the summer before returning to the XTERRA stage in September for the world championships in Italy.
