In 2024, just three years after Kristian Blummenfelt and Flora Duffy took gold in Tokyo, the Olympic Games will head to Paris, with individual racing held across two days on July 30-31.
The course has now been revealed and it’s based around the historic Pont Alexandre III, which connects the 7th and 8th arrondissements of Paris, with transition on race day situated at the bridge.
Both races will start at 8:00am, with the men racing on Tuesday July 30 and the women on Wednesday July 31.
The swim
With 55 athletes in each race, the Olympic Games will be slightly less congested than a typical WTCS or World Cup field, but nonetheless the swim start in the River Seine is still likely to be frantic.
The swim, starting from a pontoon beneath Pont Alexandre III, is over two laps, with the first a longer 910m lap and the second a shorter 590m loop.
Both laps will follow a similar path, with the athletes heading towards the Pont Des Invalides, but familiarity with the course will be necessary to avoid overshooting the buoys on the second loop.
The bike
Out on the bike, the field will complete seven laps of 5.7km, starting from Pont Alexandre III, which will see them race along the streets of both the 7th and 8th arrondissements.
Each loop first crosses the Pont Alexandre III, before passing between the Grand and Petit Palais and heading up the famous Avenue Des Champs-Elysees.
Crossing back into the 7th arrondissement over the Pont Des Invalides, the rest of the lap consists of a loop past the Assemblee Nationale and around the Musee D’Orsay, before coming back past transition.
The run
Finally, out on to the run, the athletes will retrace their steps and initially following the same route as the bike course, completing four laps of 2.5km.
From transition, they will head out between the palaces and along the Avenue Des Champs Elysees, before turning back on themselves slightly earlier than on the bike and heading back down along Avenue Montaigne and Rue Francois 1 towards the Pont Des Invalides.
After crossing the bridge, the athletes will run the short distance along the banks of the Seine towards transition at Pont Alexandre III, with the finish line on the far side of the bridge.
Para events
The Paralympic events in Paris, held on September 1-2, will again take place at the iconic venue surrounding Pont Alexandre III, as six categories battle it out for the 11 Paralympic titles at stake.
They will set off from the floating pontoon at the base of Pont Alexandre III for a 750m swimming loop to Pont des Invalides before returning to the Ports des Invalides and the first transition zone (swim/bike).
Then the athletes will take on a smaller stage of 1,500m at the start of the bike course, accessing Quai d’Orsay via a ramp just upstream from Pont de l’Alma before returning to Pont Alexandre III and doing five loops of 3.7km to complete the 20km distance.
On the run, the course will take in Le Cours de la Reine, Pont de la Concorde and Quai d’Orsay, before making two loops and a 180 degree turn on the Boulevard Saint-Germain to finish on the Pont Alexandre III, for a total of 5km.
Mixed Relay
At 8:00am on Saturday August 5, the Mixed Team relay will return to the Olympic programme after a successful debut in Tokyo. 18 teams, consisting of two men and two women, will compete for the gold medal won by Team GB in Japan.
The order, this time round, will be male/female/male/female, with each athlete completing a 300m swim, 5.8km bike and 1.8km run.
The swim will take place in the Seine, with one lap of 300m starting from the Pont Alexandre III pontoon, before riding two laps of 2.9km following a similar route to the individual race and then taking on two laps of 900m which follow a loop around Pont Alexandre III and the Pont Des Invalides.
Marisol Casado, president of World Triathlon, was full of praise for the course in Paris:
“The course of the triathlon and Para triathlon events in Paris is just everything that we have been dreaming of for years for the family of triathlon. The heartbeat of the city will echo in the rhythm of the race, as athletes will swim, bike and run right in the heart of the City of Lights.
“I can only imagine how wonderful it will be to see the best triathletes and para triathletes of the world sprint through the bustling streets, weaving past such historic landmarks and cheered on by a roaring crowd. To crown the Olympic and Paralympic champions in one of the most beautiful landscapes of the world will be just amazing. I am sure that the triathlon and Para triathlon races in Paris 2024 will leave an indelible mark on both the athletes and the city itself”
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