Frenchman Leon Chevalier has high hopes for the men’s IRONMAN World Championship in Nice this weekend, having finished sixth and seventh in the last two editions in St George and Kona respectively.

In the pre-race press conference, the PTO World #17 also endorsed having a revolving race venue for the World Championships, stating that a different course each year should be the norm, and not the exception, for IRONMAN racing.

The winner of IRONMAN South Africa earlier in the season, Chevalier revealed that the last 10 months of work had been geared towards this race and he was looking forward to the opportunity to test himself against the worlds best.

Chevalier on IMWC Nice switch

A vocal proponent for a revolving World Championships venue, Chevalier argues that it allows athletes with different skillsets to showcase their ability and means that only a complete athlete can dominate over consecutive years.

“I’m looking forward to Sunday quite a lot, because the last 10 months have been geared towards that day and I’m really excited, as for me it’s the third World Championships and a third location, which I think should be the norm.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase different skill sets from different athletes, have different race dynamics and scenarios and if you can be a World Champion on multiple courses that’s the true mark of a complete athlete.” 

Course could favour Chevalier

On the topic of the course in Nice, Chevalier was upfront in explaining that the longer the bike course, the more it suited his style of racing, with a hard day in the saddle playing into the Frenchman’s favour.

“I am excited for Sunday because it’s a new course and one that probably suits me better than the other two World Championship courses where I’ve done alright.

“IRONMAN is pretty difficult, but I like to make it even harder for myself and the bike is definitely my strength, so the longer the race, in terms of duration, the more opportunity I have to get a gap on the bike and hold on during the run.

“It’s no secret that the swim is my weakness and I need time after that to make up the deficit, so Nice will provide that as it’s a hard course with a longer bike than usual, I’ve raced multiple times over nine hours so it shouldn’t be a problem on Sunday.”