After just under four hours of relentless battle, the new world champion Hayden Wilde and the rest of the top 5 took to the press conference. All manage to find reasons for satisfaction in their performance as the world level is so high in Ironman 70.3.
Nice experienced a magical moment this Sunday. Following Taylor Knibb’s triumph in the women’s category the day before, the men’s field of the Ironman 70.3 world championships offered a spectacle of rare density on the roads of the Côte d’Azur. After 113 kilometers of effort (1.9 km swimming, 90 km cycling and 21.1 km running), it was New Zealander Hayden Wilde who crossed the finish line first. Just eighteen seconds separated the world champion from his Norwegian runner-up Kristian Blummenfelt, following a breathtaking battle.
“It was quite a battle. On the bike, I tried to stay focused and conserve energy for later,” explained the new world champion at the press conference. “When Kristian came back so strongly behind, the spectators on the Promenade des Anglais were giving me the gaps. I thought back to scenarios where victory slipped away in the final and I told myself, not today, not this time. I put in one more burst of acceleration over the last three kilometers to secure the victory. Winning this title against such a field, it’s an indescribable feeling.”
A record for the Norwegian
Trailing by over two minutes coming out of the transition area, Kristian Blummenfelt came close to pulling off the upset by completing his half-marathon in a record time of 1 hour 5 minutes and 12 seconds. “Honestly, I was aiming for around 1h08,” acknowledged the Norwegian. “At the top of the Vence pass, I felt good, but I lost some time on the descent. During the run, the crowd was giving me reliable gap updates. Hayden resisted superbly, I think he didn’t want to relive the disappointment of the 2024 Olympics, when he got overtaken in the final meters.”
On the third step of the podium, Belgian Jelle Geens marks a remarkable return to the highest level after four months off due to a femur injury. “In the Vence pass, I was missing a few watts compared to my race plan, and I was frustrated,” he confides. “I started the run very strong to make up the gap, but my legs were destroyed by the end. Coming back to this level and standing on the podium after such an injury, I can be really proud.”
Reasons for satisfaction for the athletes off the podium
Behind the leading trio, Gustav Iden takes fourth place after setting the race on fire on the descent of the Vence pass, which was extensively discussed as a key point of the course in the pre-race press conference. “Zooming down the mountain on closed roads was an incredible experience. I felt like I was in control, just following the white lines, but it’s true that when I look back at the footage, it looked very impressive! Halfway through the run, when it got tough, I motivated myself by thinking that a top 5 would at least let me talk at the microphone in the press conference. Now, let’s head to Kona!”
Finally, German Lasse Nygaard Priester rounds out this exceptional top 5. Leading for a good part of the race, the ‘new kid’ on the block eventually succumbed to the Nice heat. “I may have taken too many risks at the start of the half-marathon and paid the price over the last ten kilometers. But being surrounded by such world-class athletes is incredible learning.”
All these athletes hope to meet again in the future to battle once again on the Promenade des Anglais.
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