Ironman 70.3 Nice

Blackwater Triathlon Club member, Stephen Collins, recently took a little trip to the south of France to compete in the Ironman 70.3 race in Nice on last Sunday week, the 16th of September. With its mix of old-world opulence, year-round sunshine and stunning seaside location, Nice is the unofficial capital of the Côte d’Azur and a superb, if somewhat challenging, location for a triathlon. The 2,707 athletes who took part on the day began with a beach start and embarked on a one loop, 1.9 km swim in the pristine waters of the Mediterranean Sea. At least that was the plan, but it appears that the swim was closer to 2.2km on the day. The 90 km bike course passed through scenic villages and mountains and athletes enjoyed stunning scenery and beautiful panoramic views. Of course in order to get to the panoramic views the athletes had to climb over 1200m in the first 40km of the cycle, a tough job any day, but even harder in temperatures approaching 30 degrees Centigrade. Stephen and his fellow athletes finished the day with a two loop, 21km along the famous Promenade des Anglais. This was a very flat and fast run route with lots of support from locals and tourists alike who cheered the triathletes home. Despite the heat and the mountains, Stephen finished the race in a very good time of 6:09:19. Well done to him and everyone else who took part on the day.