Women, men, professionals, and amateurs will start at 6:30 AM on the Centenaire Beach, with the first man expected to finish around 3 PM and the first woman around 4 PM. Competitors will begin with the swimming segment, completing two loops of 2.4 and 1.4 km. They will then proceed to the cycling event, which starts on the Promenade des Anglais. The route will take cyclists through several towns in the hinterlands of Nice such as St Laurent du Var, Gattieres, Carros, Le Broc, Bouyon, Gréolières… The transition to the final event will take place at Opéra Plage. The running event will occur on the Promenade, with runners covering over 42 kilometers, making four loops of more than 10 km before crossing the finish line on Avenue de Verdun. Volunteers and medical teams will be on site at the finish to support and refresh the athletes.
The winner of the 2008 edition, Marcel Zamora, a triple winner of the competition, will defend his title. Facing him, Frenchman Hervé Faure (double winner at Embrun) will attempt to challenge the Spanish triathlete. Similarly, the Argentinian Oscar Galindez, a triple winner of the Ironman Brazil. From the French side, François Chabaud, Olivier Marceau, and Simon Billaud will be the underdogs. After Laurent Jalabert’s participation in 2008, another former professional cyclist, Patrick Nazon, will try his hand in the Ironman France 2009.
Amongst the women, the reigning champion will face tough competition from the Frenchwoman Alexandra Louison, winner in 2007, and the New Zealander Gina Fergusson.
Overall, more than 2500 competitors, including 37 professionals, will take on the Nice Promenade with the goal of securing the ultimate prize.
Who will succeed Marcel Zamora and the Italian Martina Dogana? The answer will come on Sunday evening.
If you want to volunteer during this event, you can sign up until June 27th on the official competition website at www.ironmanfrance.com in the “volunteers” section or by phone at 06 15 61 06 22.
