Four of the top five ranked men and six of the top 9 elite women in the Pan Am Pro Series face off in the mountains of Tapalpa, Jalisco on Saturday.

Leading the charge are defending XTERRA Mexico Champions Josiah Middaugh, the reigning XTERRA World Champion, and former Olympian Fabiola Corona.

Middaugh has several familiar foes looking to steal his crown including 2012 XTERRA Mexico Champion Francisco Serrano, last weekend’s XTERRA Dominican Republic winner Rom Akerson, and Pan Am Pro Series No. 3 Branden Rakita.

In the women’s chase Corona will try to win her fourth straight XTERRA Mexico title but will have to get past Pan Am Pro Series leader Suzie Snyder, winner of three of the four races she entered this year including XTERRA Dominican Republic last weekend and Myriam Guillot-Boisset, who took the titles at XTERRA Costa Rica and Argentina earlier this year and was 2nd to Snyder last week.

XTERRA Mexico, with a maxed-out field of 600 racers not including a vibrant kids’ triathlon, is the ninth of 10 stops on the inaugural XTERRA Pan America Tour. The course itself mixes a warm-water swim in a beautiful lake nearly 7,000-feet above sea-level, with mountain bike and trail run routes that traverse the surrounding serene forests.

“It’s absolutely gorgeous here,” exclaimed XTERRA President Janet Clark. “It’s cool at night and sunny with bright blue skies during the day.         It feels a little like Colorado in regards to weather. The facilities are first-class, and the organizing team here goes out of their way to take great care of the athletes. I can’t wait to see it all unfold this weekend.”

Perhaps the best party of XTERRA Mexico is the fiesta! On Saturday night after the race all the participants head into Tapalpa town, one of Mexico’s magic villages, for a post-race award presentation and party that has to be experienced to be believed. With fireworks going off right on the cobblestone streets in the middle of the town, in front of a beautiful centuries-old church, there’s just nothing else quite like it.

We’ll have pictures, results, and stories in the days to come on Facebook/XTERRAPlanet.

MEN

XTERRA Pan Am Pro Series Rank, Name, Nationality

1 – Josiah Middaugh, USA

3 – Branden Rakita, USA

4 – Rom Akerson, CRC

5 – Kieran McPherson, NZL

41 – Victor Arenas, COL

47 – Ramon Penagos, COL

NR – Eduardo Padilla, MEX

NR – Francisco Serrano, MEX

NR – Noah Wright, USA

WOMEN

XTERRA Pan Am Pro Series Rank, Name, Nationality

1 – Suzie Snyder, USA
4 – Sabrina Gobbo, BRA
5 – Myriam Guillot-Boisset, FRA
6 – Debby Sullivan, USA
8 – Laura Mira Dias, BRA
9 – Katharine Carter, CAN
13 – Fabiola Corona, MEX

ALL-TIME XTERRA MEXICO CHAMPIONS

2015 (Tapalpa) Josiah Middaugh, Fabiola Corona

2014 (Tapalpa) Irving Perez, Fabiola Corona

2013 (Tapalpa) Leonardo Chacon, Fabiola Corona

2012 (Tapalpa) Francisco Serrano, Renata Bucher

2011 (Tapalpa) Seth Wealing, Shonny Vanlandingham

2010 (Valle de Bravo) Seth Wealing, Fabiola Corona

2009 (Valle de Bravo) Seth Wealing, Shonny Vanlandingham

2006 (Puerto Vallarta) Francisco Serrano, Jamie Whitmore

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