Magali Tisseyre is headed to Maui

Magali Tisseyre, one of the fastest and most successful road triathletes in the world, will take on her first-ever XTERRA at the 2012 World Championships in Kapalua, Maui on October 28.

Over the last few weekends Tisseyre captured the IM Calgary 70.3 and Sooke International Triathlon titles.  The 30-year-old from St-Sauveur, Quebec, Canada has also won the Mooseman and Mount Tremblant 70.3 races this season.

While IM 70.3 Worlds at Lake Las Vegas, NV in September is what Tisseyre has built her season around, the desire to jump into an XTERRA was too much too resist.

“XTERRA Worlds had been on my mind for a long time but it is only when I went back to my coach, Lance Watson from Lifesport, three months ago that the decision was taken to race,” said Tisseyre.  “It only became official very recently and I will have three weeks to renew some mountain bike skills before the race. It will be close, but a good challenge for sure!”

While it may be her first XTERRA, it won’t be Tisseyre’s first time on a mountain bike.

“Growing up, I did try mountain biking one summer,” explained Tisseyre.  “I was riding with my older sister’s friends and they convinced me to enter a race, a Canada Cup at Mont Tremblant. It went quite well for me considering I had never done any form of racing before, and I remember thinking to myself  that I may want to become a mountain biker one day.”

While her passions through life have shifted from playing the violin “from age 8-to-16 I played four hours a day pretty much every day,” to acting, to competitive skiing, motocross, waterskiing, and windsurfing, she has clearly found a calling in triathlon.

Tisseyre, who did her first tri at age 22 in the midst of earning her masters degree in biomechanics from McGill University, turned pro when she was 26, and was named the Ironman 70.3 Triathlete of the Year by Triathlete Magazine in 2009.  Now, she’s a race favorite everywhere she goes.

“I think XTERRA is be a great branch of the sport for me to explore. I love the rush that comes with endurance sports, and I think getting back on the mountain bike will be a perfect way to get that rush out of my sport,” said Tisseyre.

Learn more about Magali on her website at mightymagali.com.