Currie fended off some of the world's best in his debut ITU race, recording a blistering time of 2hr 37min 10sec in one of the grittiest and grimiest disciplines in triathlon.
The event featured a 1.5km swim, 36km mountain bike and 9km cross-country run.
''It's really cool to be here and racing at this level, against the strongest field of competitors that I have ever had the opportunity to race,'' Currie said.
Spain's Ruben Ruzafa, the double world Xterra champion, won in 2hr 34min 33sec, with Josiah Middaugh (United States) second.
Currie finished hot on their heels and had a faster swim time than both Ruzafa and Middaugh.
He chased the leading pack hard on the bike - which included a 978m climb - to catch three-time world champion Conrad Stoltz.
When Ruzafa passed them, Currie stuck on Ruzafa's wheel for as long as he could, but the former Olympic cross-country mountain biker escaped after 20km.
Stoltz, Middaugh, Currie and Austria's Michael Weiss then worked together for the rest of the ride.
''Riding with these three was fast and furious,'' Currie said.
''We were all riding to win, but also attempted to work together for as long as we could to gain back some ground on Ruzafa.''
He and France's Francois Carloni ditched their wheels together and headed for the 9km run with a minute advantage over Stoltz, but nearly four minutes down on Ruzafa.
Turning on his trademark run pace, Currie's time was more than a minute faster than Ruzafa's and he claimed a decisive bronze, 78sec ahead of Weiss.
The podium capped off Currie's successful European off-road triathlon racing season. Over the past six weeks, he has won the Swedish Xterra and placed second in three Xterras (Switzerland, Italy and France).
Next weekend, he swaps solo racing to join Team NZ Adventure (Dougal Allan, Jess Simson and brother Glen Currie) in China for the Wulong Mountain Quest.
Then it will be home to New Zealand, where he pairs up with Allan for the Red Bull Defiance race in Wanaka over Labour Weekend.
