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An Ironman is a long-distance triathlon that includes a swim, bike and run for a total distance of 226 kilometers. After offering you the list of Ironman in France, today we zoom in on one of the most famous of them: the Nice Ironman.
What is the Ironman de Nice?
The Ironman de Nice, in the Alpes-Maritimes, usually takes place in June on the Côte d'Azur. It is an international competition that attracts the best international triathletes every year. Moreover, the event is a qualifier for the World Championships. It brings together about 3,000 participants each year.
The first edition of the Ironman de France in Nice took place in 2005, replacing the Ironman France in Gerardmer. The Nice Ironman thus succeeded Europe's oldest triathlon event, the Nice International Triathlon, in the international calendar that has earned the city its nickname of the cradle of European triathlon since 1982. In 2016, the Nice Ironman was voted best Ironman in Europe.
It is composed, like all other Ironman, of a swimming event(3.8 kilometers), a bike event (180 kilometers) and then a running event (42, 195 kilometers, the distance of a marathon), a total of 226 kilometers to be completed in under 16 hours.
Other than the difficulty of the event due to the high gradient during the cycling event, one of the aspects that makes this race very difficult is the climate. Indeed, at least in June, it usually falls a scorching heat - sometimes exceeding 30°C on the thermometer - on the French Riviera and this condition is not to be taken lightly for athletes, especially for those who come from regions where they are not used to perform, nor to train, with such intense temperature. This is why triathletes must not forget to hydrate throughout the event or they may become dehydrated or suffer from heat exhaustion. The bike event, very difficult, as well as the marathon at the seaside, are often difficult to bear for some athletes.
At the request of the authorities, the course of the 2019 edition has moreover had to be shortened because of the heat wave and the pollution peak that hit the region. Thus, the bike route was reduced to 152 kilometers (instead of 180 kilometers) and the running event was reduced to 30 kilometers.
The Swimming Event
During the Nice Ironman, the 3.8-kilometer swimming event takes place in the Mediterranean Sea. The start is from a sandy beach (Plage des Ponchettes) in the Baie des Anges, which borders the famous Promenade des Anglais.
During this event, competitors must complete a 1.9-kilometer loop twice, with no Australian-style exits, within a maximum of 2 hours 15 minutes after the start.
Professional triathletes (men and then women) start first, at dawn, and then, in a staggered fashion, the other participants start in small groups. Previously, until 2015, amateur triathletes started the swimming event in a mass start, but the rules were changed in 2016 to improve the safety of swimmers with rolling starts.
At the end of this event, the competitors of the Ironman de Nice must join the transition area located at Quai des Etats-Unis to prepare to start the bike event.
The Bike Event
At the conclusion of the swim event, competitors join their bikes in the transition area. During this transition, they remove their swim gear and don their bike race gear.
Once equipped, they exit the transition area and hop on their road bikes to start the bike course towards the Nice hinterland.
The bike route, with a length of 180 kilometers, consists of a single loop with a start and finish on the Promenade des Anglais: it crosses the Parc Naturel des Préalpes as well as many villages of the Alpes-Maritimes such as Vence, Gourdon or Carros. It is undoubtedly one of the most difficult but also the most beautiful of all Ironman organized in France: indeed, it includes nearly 2000 meters of positive elevation gain and several passes to cross.
The start is on the Promenade des Anglais, in the direction of Saint-Laurent du Var, then takes the direction of Gattières where the first difficulty of the cycling event is located at kilometer 20, before branching off onto the road to Vence. Just before the fortieth kilometer and the crossing of Tourrettes-sur-Loup, there is afeeding zone.
At the fortieth kilometer, the road rises steeply to reach one of the most beautiful villages in France, Gourdon, where there is a new feed zone, before moving on to the Col de l'Ecre, which is the highest point of the course at kilometer 70.
Before Caussols, there is a new feed zone, before starting the ascent of the Col de la Sine. At this point of the course, there are forty kilometers to go (of descent, then of flat) to reach the finish line of the cycling event by crossing the village of Carros. This is the time to take advantage of it to recover some energy before starting the marathon.
From Gattières, the bike course is similar to the one at the start, that is to say that the participants go back through Saint-Laurent du Var to reach the finish point on the Promenade des Anglais at the level of Quai des Etats-Unis.
In order not to be disqualified, triathletes must complete the cycling event within a time limit of 10:15 am, which includes the swim and bike times combined.
The Running Event
Finally, when athletes are done with the demanding bike course, they must pass through the transition area again to drop off their bikes and gear up for the run, before setting off for a 42.2-kilometer marathon consisting of four loops along the Promenade des Anglais, along the Mediterranean Sea. It is actually a round trip over a distance of five kilometers from the start/finish line to the Nice airport area.
After a very hilly bike event, participants are not unhappy to run the marathon on the Promenade des Anglais where the circuit is almost flat and therefore has a very small difference in altitude.
Three refueling zones are set up all along the Promenade des Anglais at kilometers 1, 3 and 4 to allow competitors to hydrate and feed themselves throughout the course.
Ranking
To earn the Finisher medal - awarded to all participants who complete their IronMan within the allotted time - it is imperative to complete all three events in less than 16 hours in cumulative time.
Nevertheless, there are other time limits for completing the other events: the swim course must be completed in less than 2:15 and the bike course in less than 10:15 (including the swim) or they will be disqualified.
The ranking is done by age bracket based on the cumulative time of each participant in the three events. Each category includes a five-year age bracket and starts with 18-24 year olds, then continues with 25-29 year olds, and so on. Obviously, men and women are not classified in the same category.
At the finish line, for the top finishers in each category, spots are up for grabs to be able to compete in the World Triathlon Championships.
The prize list
In the men, two athletes share the record of victories in the event with 5 titles each: the Spanish Marcel Zamora Perez (winner from 2006 to 2010) and the Belgian Frederik Van Lierde (winner in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017 and 2018).
Frederik Van Lierde also holds the event record having completed the 2013 edition in 8 hours 8 minutes 59 seconds.
The last French winner of the event was Hervé Faure in 2005 during the first edition of Ironman France in Nice. He also reached the second step of the podium three other times in 2006, 2008 and 2009.
French athletes Kevin Rundstadler and Anthony Costes both reached the second step of the podium in 2019 and 2018 respectively. As for Denis Chevrot, he concluded the 2017 edition with a bronze medal in hand.
Among the women, Belgium's Tine Deckers is the recordwoman of the event with five titles to her credit in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016. To date, she is the only female athlete, along with Australia's Carrie Lester (winner in 2017 and 2019) to have her name on the list of winners multiple times.
Britain's Corinne Abraham holds the record for the event having completed the 2018 edition in 9h 11minutes 39 seconds.
The last French triathlete to win the Nice event was Alexandra Louison in 2007.
Manon Genêt, the French leader in long-distance triathlon, has twice reached the third step of the Nice Ironman podium, in 2018 and 2019.
You now know all about the Ironman de Nice. Now how about learning more about other French events like the Ironman de Vichy, the Ironman des Sables-d'Olonne or the Ironman 70.3?
