There was a healthy mix of youth and experience on the podium at IRONMAN France Nice this weekend, as rising starts Clement Mignon and Jonas Hoffman were joined on the podium by seasoned pro Bart Aernouts.
Mignon, the reigning world long distance champion, prevailed on home soil in the end, with the 24 year old securing his slot for the IRONMAN World Championships along with both Hoffman and Aernouts.
“I took the right decision to follow my rhythm”
Speaking after his victory, Mignon underlined how vital the support of his team has been in the lead up to this race, in particular from his partner Marjolaine Pierre, the current women’s world long distance champion.
“I want to thank Marjolaine [Pierré], who has been supporting me. During the race, I managed to stay in the front pack during the swim and on the bike.
“I then took the right decision to follow my rhythm on the bike and stick to my numbers. I lost two minutes behind Cameron, but that decision helped me on the run.”
The Aernouts of old
The decision to hold off and not be drawn into a shootout on the bike with Australian Cameron Wurf was a brave one from the Frenchman, but one that ultimately paid off, with second place Aernouts crediting Mignon for his well deserved victory.
“I am very happy for Clement because he deserves it. I have had amazing times in Nice and I’m so glad for being on the podium again in Nice after some amazing results like in 2013 against Fred Van Lierde.”
For Aernouts, his past four races have all resulted in a podium, with the streak stretching back to IRONMAN 70.3 Indian Wells last December.
Having now qualified for the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 world championships for the first time since 2019, the former Kona podium finisher looks to be in great shape.
“This is amazing for me”
For German Hoffman, the result in Nice was only his second ever professional podium and a result that came in his debut over the full distance.
“This is amazing for me. It is my first ever IRONMAN event and I am happy to podium. The run was very tough, but I was confident in my running abilities. My muscles are hurting because of that brutal run.
Having also secured qualification for his first ever world championships, Hoffman can now look forward to returning to Nice in just over two months, where in just his second time over the distance, he will race against the best in the sport at the world championships.
“This is such a beautiful venue, and I am happy to have raced here. And, to qualify for the upcoming [VinFast] IRONMAN World Championship.”
