Jelle Geens is ready to put his bravery to the ultimate test as he ramps up preparations for his bid to become the first man to win three successive IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship titles.
Since parking his dreams of racing at Kona this year, his focus has been set entirely on getting fit enough to challenge for next month’s potentially historic showdown in Nice.
With a stacked field of the world’s best athletes looking to deny him his three-peat glory, he accepts that the task will not be easy and is already focusing on the fine margins that could make the difference on race day.
Nice descents likely to be key
While precise course details have yet to be revealed, it is likely that the tricky and potentially decisive descents associated with Nice will again feature on the 90km route, which traditionally takes athletes over the Col de Vence and through Coursegoules before the technical return towards the coast.
And with the roads through the region’s hinterland being narrow and twisting, with bends that frequently interrupt the riders’ rhythm, knowing how to navigate the technical aspects of a downhill ride that could potentially decide the outcome of the whole race is going to be crucial.
Geens, who beat Hayden Wilde in 2024 and Kristian Blummenfelt last year with dramatic late bursts to the finish line, explained on the latest edition of his All In Triathlon podcast how athletes would need to hold their nerve when taking on the course’s more intimidating downhill sections.
Indeed, such is the importance that he has placed on this particular section of the race that he has planned a series of reconnaissance sessions as he mixes his time before the race on September 13 between Nice and Zell am See in Austria.
‘You can definitely lose it there’
“I want to do the course already a few times before we go to Zell am See and then a few times after, just because I think the descent, while you can’t win the race, you can definitely lose it there,” he says. “If you lose a minute in the race because you’re scared on the downhill, and the others are sending it, that’s like an important part.
“Everyone can push watts on the uphill; that’s easy. But on the downhill, like it’s just balls.”
The Belgian has also sought out the help of a few pro cycling friends as he looks to pick the best lines and speeds to keep him in contention ahead of the 21.1km final run leg.
“What was actually good. I went riding with some pro cyclists yesterday, and they gave me some good downhill lessons,” he added. “They’re going so smooth; it’s quite impressive, and it was good for me following their lines and stuff on these big downhills.
“That was good for me. I was on the road bike, so it’s different than a TT bike, but at least it was fun.”
‘It’s never easy to win a world title’
The latest episode of All In Triathlon, which is embedded into this story below, is hosted by Aaron Royle but also includes a special appearance from Jack Kelly of The Triathlon Hour, who, while agreeing with Geens’ decision to drop his Kona bid for 2026, did question whether his good friend would have enough in the tank to challenge this year after injury issues.
Geens is clearly keen to do his talking on the course but did give a sneak peek into where he is at regarding his training with less than a month to go before the big race.
“Of course I believe in it,” he replied when asked whether he feels he can win. “I also know it’s never easy to win a world title, you know, like it wasn’t last year, it wasn’t the year before and definitely isn’t going to be this year.
“I think the course suits me well. I think I have a chance. It obviously isn’t going to be easy, and I didn’t have the lead-in that I probably wanted, but at the moment, I’m quite happy with where I’m at, knowing in the past few weeks how much I’ve run.
“I think if this keeps building up, then I’ll be in very good run shape.”
Coupled with his meticulous planning for the daunting bike leg, only a brave – or even foolish – person would bet against him completing what would be a truly special hat-trick.
