IRONMAN 70.3 Aix-en-Provence

The swim was great. beautiful cristal clear water and great conditions. T1 is quite long, with roughly 1 km between the swim exit and the bike transition. The bike course was fantastic and fast overall. The first part is rolling and enjoyable, then you hit the main climb around the middle of the course, with the Col de Cengle actually coming around km 67–71. After that, the final section is mostly downhill/fast and makes for a great finish on the bike. The run is also really nice, although definitely not flat. There are some rolling sections, with a few noticeable climbs, especially through the Parc de la Torse. The atmosphere in Aix makes it much easier, though, especially towards the finish. Overall, a beautiful and very well orgnized 70.3.

The swim takes place about 20km outside of Aix but there are shuttle buses to make it easier for those without a car. The lake is beautiful and it makes for a very nice swim course. T1 is quite long as you run 800m from the water to transition. The bike course is beautiful but quite difficult, I measured 1100m of elevation over 86km but to be fair it didn't feel quite that difficult as a lot of it is rolling hills, although you should expect two big climbs with tough gradients. It's a funny time of year because you get on the bike and the sun hasn't quite risen everywhere yet so you're cold and wet for the first 30mins or so but by the end of the ride you are baking hot. There are two long descents on the course that are very technical, I saw plenty of riders on the ground so definitely worth checking out beforehand or taking your time going down. T2 is in a school playground, split into two areas (Btw swim bags are brought from T1 to T2 so you have everything in one place at bike check out), it's another long one with 650m of transition distance but all in all a pretty simple transition. The run course is beautiful as you run through the town's narrow streets, along various squares then down into the park for what is the hardest part of the lap. You descend into the park then run back up a trail over a couple of hundred meters, it's a bit of a killer but fortunately there is an aid station at the top of the hill and it's almost entirely flat until the end of the lap after that. There are plenty of crowds there to support and the finish line is beautiful with the main square and the city fountain behind you, you run down a nice shaded finishing straight. The post race experience was very nice, plenty of hot and cold food, massages and places to recover. All in all, it's a very good race I definitely recommend.