At the end of a grueling race under the intense Nice heat, the German Boris Stein won the event thanks to a well-controlled marathon. The Frenchman Romain Guillaume had up to a 9-minute lead after a cycling section that played to his advantage. He finished in an honorable third place, driven by determination.
Among the women, local triathlete Jeanne Collonge led most of the race and had a 5-minute lead over the American Cait Snow before she faltered in the marathon and relinquished the top spot. She eventually dropped out halfway through the marathon.
The IronMan is undoubtedly a must-see event in triathlon, but when it takes place in Nice and the French are particularly fired up, it becomes even more epic! Three Frenchmen managed to break into the top 5* of the professional rankings: Romain Guillaume, Sylvain Sudrie, and Jérémy Jurkiewicz!
Announced as one of the favorites of the event, but suffering from foot pain for 10 days and unable to train properly, Domenico Passuello had to face the reality and did not participate in the IronMan France Nice.
On the women’s side, Linda Guinoiseau, an amateur triathlete from Issy-les-Moulineaux, once again managed to climb to the top of the rankings, surrounded by professionals. A “surprise,” she was 4th last year and confirmed her strong performance by finishing in 3rd place with a very solid performance throughout, from swimming to the marathon.
More than 2,800 athletes on the beach for the start
The audience was also present in large numbers on the Promenade des Anglais, comprised of sports enthusiasts and tourists from all over the world, helping the participants of this 11th edition push their limits. The last hour of the race before the fireworks at 10:30 PM was especially warm, creating a very supportive atmosphere to encourage the last finishers and help them reach the finish line on time.
The race started as planned at 6:25 AM for the professionals and 6:30 AM for the 2,700 other competitors who set off at their own pace into the big swim, as some present were seasoned triathletes, while others were participating in their first IronMan. 2,251 crossed the finish line within the 16-hour limit among all the participants.
Besides the sheer difficulty of the course, which included 3.8 km of swimming, 180 km of cycling, and a 42.195 km run, the weather added its own challenge to the event. The sun was blazing and the temperature easily reached 30°C, enough to work up a sweat without even making an effort. So in a triathlon…
When it came time to tackle the marathon, numerous athletes were caught off guard by the heat, and their abilities were weakened, as was the case for Jeanne Collonge and Romain Guillaume, to name a few, since they were leading their race by 5 and 8 minutes respectively before starting it.
Paul Belmondo, Marie-Jo Pérec, Sébastien Foucras, and Richard Dacoury present
This major sporting event also saw the presence of a few personalities whom the triathlon world is more or less accustomed to seeing, such as Richard Dacoury, former French international basketball player and many-time champion with CSP Limoges, who also dropped out during the marathon.
There was also Sébastien Foucras, who finished in 12h08m, a French freestyle skier and partner of Marie-Jo Pérec, who was present only as a spectator. Paul Belmondo, former F1 driver and actor, also completed the course. It took him a bit over 13 hours, of shared happiness.
A second away, it was too much!
The 10th anniversary of IronMan France Nice was a grand celebration and an opportunity to reward athletes, whether professional or not, who are always very deserving.
Timothy Van Houtem, for example, the first amateur, placed 4th, just 17m16s behind Boris Stein! The courage and determination of the last finisher, David Cordero from Antibes, also deserve mention, as he was spurred on by the public in an improbable sprint to complete the entire course in 15h59m59s… A second away, and it would have been too late!
Approximately 600 children gathered for the 4 different categories of the IronKids events. Success was achieved in each age class, from 8/9 years, “the Seahorses” (50m swim, 400m run) to 14/15 years, called “the Sharks” (200m swim, 1.5km run), as the announcer would say, “the hardest part to manage are the parents!”
€2,000 collected for the Indigo association
The IronGirl also took place while the IronMan competitors were in the Nice hinterland tackling the 180 km cycling course prepared for them. 1,000 participants took part, a record, in a relaxed atmosphere. A general warm-up was even organized with the announcer a quarter of an hour before the start of the event.
Knowing that IronGirl donates €2 per entry to the INDIGO association (https://www.chu-nice.fr/patient-visiteur/vous-aider/associations/166-enfant/2017-association-indigo), €2,000 was collected to help them in their mission.
The event consisted of a 5 km run, which was completed in first place by Emilie Alain in 18’59, by chance or coincidence, wearing bib number 1000!
