Danish star Magnus Ditlev says his confidence has grown after riding on the bike course for Sunday’s men’s IRONMAN World Championship in Nice.

The PTO World #2 is primed to go better than his eighth place performance in Kona last year, which was hampered by a penalty.

The two-time Challenge Roth winner, who defended his title in such brilliant fashion in June, has had a strong season which also includes a third place finish at the PTO Tour European Open in May. More recently Ditlev was forced to DNF at the PTO Tour US Open in Milwaukee while dealing with stomach issues on the run.

If all goes well in Nice, the 25-year-old will be one of the favourites to claim the sport’s biggest prize with his prowess on the bike potentially a powerful weapon on the hilly course on the Cote d’Azur.

Ditlev on Nice bike course

Speaking on IRONMAN’s YouTube channel in a video ahead of this Sunday’s race, Ditlev revealed that he had ridden the bike course in its entirety on more than one occasion, adding that he felt much more confident about the technical downhills now.

“I have done the entire bike course a few times already and it is obviously a super-cool and really tough course. There has been so much talk about this course and getting here to actually see it has been really good.

“It has calmed me down a little to see it, as people were saying the downhill was super-technical and that you would lose time if you are not technically good. I think overall it is really a course where you have the opportunity to get some separation and the harder the bike course, the better it is for me.

“Some people have said that I am pretty bad at descending in the lead-up to the race but I think it will probably be okay. I am not at the top but I am not at the bottom either descending wise, and I think I am closer to that middle range.” 

Worth the weight

Acknowledging the different challenges which come with riding such a hilly course, Ditlev highlighted the importance of weight for a quick bike leg, revealing that he had taken the liberty of choosing each of his components and weighing up the aerodynamic benefits to weight ratio to optimise his bike for race day.

“Normally you would have to optimise towards aerodynamics if you were doing a race on a flat course, but here in Nice with all the climbing and other demands, it has been quite fun to try and optimise for weight.

“Aerodynamics are still important but on my bike now the frame has been stripped down of paint, so it is just the carbon fibre, and I have chosen every component on the bike to make it as light as possible which has been a fun project.” 

With this tinkering in mind, combined with his incredible ability on the bike, it is almost scary to imagine what kind of performance the Dane can produce on the bike leg in Nice. However, as is always the case in an IRONMAN, it will be his ability to prevail on the run leg that will determine whether or not Ditlev goes home with a maiden world title this weekend.