This Sunday, 2,500 participants will join the 9th edition of the Ironman and its side events, 60% of whom are foreigners. They include professionals, amateurs, women competing in the event reserved for them, and children. Nice is one of the 22 Ironman events worldwide that qualify for Hawaii* and ranks in the top 3 European Ironman events, alongside Frankfurt and Klagenfurt (Austria).
How many professionals? About fifty, who are the favorites. The winner of the last two editions, Belgian Frรฉdรฉrik Van Lierde, will be the man to beat once more. The course record is his with a time of 8h21m51s.
However, this year, the arrival of some competitors should make his task more challenging, such as Paul Amey who finished second last year. The Spaniard Clemente Alonso and another Belgian, Bart Aernouts, will also be among the front-runners.
The greatest French hope will be Hervรฉ Faure, who won in 2005.
Among the women, two Americans, Mary Beth Ellis and Lisa Ribes, the Czech Lucie Reed, and the two Frenchwomen, Delphine Pelletier and Jeanne Collonge, affiliated with ONN, can aspire to victory.
The swimming segment will start at Plage du Centenaire, the cycling course will be a single loop beginning and ending on the Promenade des Anglais after passing through 17 municipalities, and the marathon includes a loop to be completed four times along the Baie des Anges.
The start (very spectacular) is at 6:30 am, the estimated arrival of the male winner at 3:00 pm and female winner at 4:00 pm, with the race ending at 10:30 pm.
In addition to the Ironman, an event exclusively for women will also take place: the Iron Girl, a 5 km running race (starting at 9:00 am). The organizers announce 700 participants.
And for children aged 8 to 15 (divided into four age categories), IronKids is the answer to their competitive spirit: an aquathlon ranging from 50 to 200 meters of swimming and 400 to 1500 meters of running.
