The 8th annual BVI XTri, a triathlon held in the off-road wilds of Smuggler’s Cove and Belmont, will take place on Saturday, March 10. Michael “Balls of Steel” Ellis will be vigorously defending his title after winning the event last year beating a surprised and shocked Andrew “Tubes Thompson by one minute and twenty-two seconds. Ellis has made it no secret that he intends to destroy Tubes’ 2009 record in his swan song event in the BVI; the target is 47 minutes and 27 seconds, Michael’s time last year was 48 minutes and 50 seconds.
The event starts with a 600m, two-lap swim in Smuggler’s Cove which includes a trademark sprint around a flag on the beach at the end of the first lap. Competitors then embarked on the five-mile bike circuit which sees the cyclists slog up the north side of Belmont Drive in a leg and lung destroying climb, followed by death-defying descent on the south side, before heading west around Steele Point and back to Smuggler’s Cove beach, where the race finishes with a two-mile run along Arawak Drive and back along Palm Drive.
Click here for the full report from last year, for photos click here, for a “fly-by” virtual tour of the course click here.