Lucy Charles-Barclay claimed her first win of the 2024 triathlon season as the Londoner emerged victorious at IRONMAN France Nice on Sunday (June 16) thanks to a lightning-fast marathon.
The 30-year-old, who prior to this race had finished as the runner-up at both the Miami T100 and Singapore T100 so far this season, took the tape by more than 15 minutes in the South of France.
Validating her slot at the 2024 IRONMAN World Championship, which takes place this year in Nice on September 22, Charles-Barclay can now look ahead to defending the title she claimed so brilliantly in Kona last October.
Swim – LCB takes an early lead
Setting a hot pace early on, Charles-Barclay was soon alone at the front of the race, with the PTO World #1 ranked swimmer quickly building an advantage over the rest of the field.
By the time she exited the water in 50:00, the former IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion had a buffer of over six minutes, with French pro Justine Guerard the next best placed athlete, splitting 56:13.
Alongside Guerard in transition was Nina Derron, the Swiss athlete who had previously finished second over the half distance here, with American Sidney Andrew in fourth place the only other athlete to swim under an hour.
Bike – Charles-Barclay continues to build her advantage
On to the bike course, which includes more than 2,500m of elevation gain, and Charles-Barclay extended her buffer over the rest of the podium contenders with Derron moving into second as Guerard started to slip backwards.
Further back, Barbora Besperat of the Czech Republic and German Merle Brunnee were the only athletes making inroads into the Brit’s lead, having started the bike more than 15 minutes down on LCB.
By the time they reached T2, Brunnee had moved to within touching distance of Derron, with the pair 12 minutes back on Charles-Barclay. In fourth, Besperat was +14:04 down on LCB and two minutes behind Derron and Brunnee.
Run – Lucy pours it on with brilliant marathon
Despite being well clear of the rest of the field, Charles-Barclay didn’t hold back on the run course, with the Brit setting a ferocious early pace to pass through the hallway mark in 1:23:17.
Pushing on, Charles-Barclay took the tape in an overall time of 9:03:22 after running a brilliant 2:49:54, the first time she has broken 2:50 off the bike.
Crediting the crowd in Nice, she shared in her post-race interview that things went well across the board and that she’s excited for the world championship in September.
“It was a really great day! Obviously, my main plan was to get used to the course before the [IRONMAN] World Championship in September.
“I really enjoyed it! The bike course was super fun, so I have a super good feeling about it now. On the run, the crowd just kept me going and I felt like I was in a good flow, so I’m super happy.”
IRONMAN France Nice 2024
Sunday June 16, 2024 – 3.8km / 180km / 42.2km
PRO Women
- 1. Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR) – 9:03:22 [50:00/5:16:44/2:49:54]
- 2. Barbora Besperat (CZE) – 9:20:01 [1:07:05/5:13:37/2:52:41]
- 3. Merle Brunnee (GER) – 9:25:21 [1:05:22/5:13:41/2:58:31]
- 4. Nina Derron (SUI) – 9:35:33 [56:17/5:23:01/3:09:33]
- 5. Nikita Paskiewiez (FRA) – 9:43:35 [1:01:59/5:27:26/3:06:43]
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