2014 Xterra Off-Road Triathlon draws 400 participants

MANILA, Philippines – A total of 30 pros and about 400 participants vie for cash prizes, spots in the World Championships in Maui, Hawaii, and the honor of being called champion when the 2014 Vaseline Men Xterra Off-Road Triathlon Series unfolds on Saturday in scenic Liloan, Cebu.

Australian Ben Allen is back to retain the title he won the first two editions of this annual race – dubbed as the world's premier off-road race that covers a grueling 1.5 kilometer of swimming in the pristine waters of Liloan, 35 kms of mountain biking and 9.2 kms of trail running in the rough but picturesque terrains of this quaint venue.

"It will be our third year to host this event and we're excited to be given a chance to host it again this year," said Vaseline Men Brand Manager Jonathan Pua in Thursday's press conference at the Milky Way in Makati City.

Aside from Pua, Princess Galura of the organizing Sunrise Philippines, race director Neville Manaois, Mark Zarraga of LBC Solutions and Paolo Dizon of Smart also attended the presser hosted by Patricia Bermudez-Hizon.

Aside from Xterra Full, there will be another category for those still not yet ready for the big time with the staging of the XterraLite, which is a little bit shorter course of 500-meter swim, 15.5-km mountain bike and 5-km run.

To date, a total of 376 participants have already enlisted and organizers expect about a hundred more from Cebu and the Visayas to join.

But attention is expected to fall heavily on Allen, who has also won the Xterra World Tour in Saipan, Guam and New Zealand last year aside from his two triumphs on local sail the last two stagings.

South African Dan Hugo, Aussie Dimitry Duke, Guam's Charlie Epperson, Malaysian Sharom Abndullah, and Guam's Bradley Weiss are among the pros expected to give Allen a run his money.

"It will be interesting to see how Dan Hugo challenges Ben Allen for the title because Dan really wanted to come back here to beat Ben," said Galura.

Swiss Renata Buchers, which finished second in the last edition, Great Britian's Jacqui Slack and Daz Parker, last year's third placer, are the heavy favorites to snare the crown this year with Saipan's Mieko Carey tipped to pose as a big threat.

This event is sponsored by Vaseline Men, The Philippine STAR, LBC Solutions, ABS-CBN, Air Asia, Aqua Sphere, Coca-Cola FEMSA Phl, David's Salon, Devant, Department of Tourism, Intercare, Prudential Gurantee, R.O.X., Salomon, Shotz, Smart, Timex, Titay's and the municipality of Liloan.

To know more, interested participants may log on www.XTerraphil.com, https://www.facebook.com/VaselineMenXTERRAPhil or you can also visit R.O.X Bonifacio High Street or R.O.X. Cebu.