The drama, skill and incredible endurance on show more than matched the pre-race hype at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in Nice, as we were treated to two races befitting the star-studded ensemble of world-class athletes.
From the immense pedal power of women’s champion Taylor Knibb to the sublime saddle skills of Hayden Wilde, there was no doubting where their crowns were won, as once again this incredible course on the French Riviera bared its teeth on the Col de Vence.
The bike, however, was only one key aspect of a weekend which gave triathlon fans so much to ponder and plenty to look forward to as we edge ever closer to the big one in Kona next month.
Here are our five things that we learned in Nice at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship:
1: Could Hayden Wilde race at Kona?
Having proved himself at the short-course racing with an Olympic silver medal and at the middle distance with titles in both T100 and now IRONMAN 70.3, what are the chances of the Kiwi completing the set and going all in for a shot at full-distance triathlon?
The New Zealander certainly has the cycling ability to make the step up and proved on Sunday that he can run strongly over longer distances and under pressure, so how about it? Could he soon be making an appearance on the Big Island?
Such a question was posed to him by Triathlon Insider on Sunday after his epic 70.3 win, and it seems that switching to full distance is indeed on the cards – but not until he has completed his LA28 Olympics schedule.
When asked if he wanted to try a full-distance IRONMAN, he replied: “Yeah, absolutely. You know, it’s my goal to do Kona, to do Roth. It’s those two, I guess, which are the big A-races at that distance. I really want to compete at the highest level in IRONMAN. And yeah, it may or may not suit, but I guess we’ll find out in a few years.”
His ‘few years’ caveat pretty much confirms that the Olympics will come first… then thoughts may just turn to those bigger endurance challenges.
2: Can Taylor Knibb achieve a unique hat-trick?
From the looks of her performance at the weekend, it is hard to imagine anyone getting the better of Taylor Knibb… no matter the distance or, for that matter, the sport.
A unique athlete with skills that can easily transfer from triathlon to the cycling world, she will now head out to Montréal this weekend to compete in the Individual Time Trial at the UCI Road World Championships, before then returning to multisport for another shot at Kona.
You don’t need to spend hours looking through the record books to know that such an incredible hat-trick has never been done before, but should she follow up her 70.3 title with wins in Canada and then Hawaii, it will surely be one of the most incredible feats our sport has seen.
Becoming the first woman to achieve the 70.3 and IRONMAN world championship double since Switzerland’s Daniela Ryf achieved it in 2018 is not beyond the realms of possibility, but being able to mix it with the best of the best in the saddle at what is effectively the UCI’s world cup of cycling? That is going to be a much stiffer test.
When asked recently what her goal for Kona was this year, she replied, ‘to finish the race’. Having come so close in 2025, only to blow up when it seemed glory was within her grasp, she will arrive on the Big Island next month with realistic dreams of doing much more than simply finishing.
3: Can KB counter the anti-Blue tactics?
It would seem that Blummenfelt’s rival athletes have hit upon a game plan to beat him – despite the Norwegian’s infamous ‘beast mode’ running style almost being enough to get him out of even the toughest of scrapes.
Early in the season, Big Blue was seen chasing wins from behind at IRONMAN Texas and the two 70.3s at Geelong and Oceanside, with that incredible running power crucial to hunting down the leaders.
At Roth and now at the 70.3 World Championships on Sunday, the pace of the swim and bike was such that he was left too far adrift coming out of T2 and simply ran out of road as he pounded the streets in a desperate attempt to catch Sam Laidlow and Wilde.
Blummenfelt admitted that he lost the race on Sunday whilst in the saddle, Wilde grasping his opportunity to open up the crucial gap with a stunning climb and masterful descent of Col de Vence.
Expect a similar tactic from the field when they head out to Kona on October 10… but also expect Blummenfelt to be aware of it and look to counter. He certainly won’t want to be caught out in the same way again.
4: Alanis Siffert is going to be a star
When the 24-year-old Swiss athlete won at Challenge Roth earlier this season, it was clear that she had something about her, something which made her an athlete you’d want to watch over and over again.
Be it the enthusiasm with which she races, the sheer energy that she exudes or the relentless running style which held off star names like Lucy Charles-Barclay in Germany and Solveig Løvseth in Nice… There is certainly plenty to like about Alanis Siffert.
And just as Løvseth burst onto the scene last year with her incredible World Championship win, it would surely be no surprise to see Siffert return next year and pick up where she left off with multiple wins in the biggest races on the triathlon calendar.
5: Will Kat Matthews be fit for Kona?
Kat Matthews started the season in imperious form with three wins from her opening four races and only the DNF in Texas blotting her copybook.
It seemed she was nailed on to finally achieve what her form over the last two seasons has deserved – a win at one of the IRONMAN majors.
However, a troublesome Achilles tendon issue seems to be hampering her progress at precisely the time in the campaign when she needs to be fit, healthy and happy with her preparations.
After finishing 11th on Saturday, she explained how she ‘hit a point of risk-reward’ very early in the run and ‘opted for caution’ by lowering her pace and saving herself for another assault on the World Championships, where she has finished runner-up two years on the bounce.
While she will need to be at her very best to take that elusive tape on the Big Island, there is no doubt that she is certainly capable of finally achieving her dream.
As she posted on Instagram this weekend: “Let’s hope (with me, please 🙏🏻) that it was a positive decision for the outcome of Kona in 4 weeks.”
Amen to that.
