The iconic venue of Nice, France, once again delivered historic days of championship racing at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. From Taylor Knibb’s stunning display of dominance, to Hayden Wilde’s first 70.3 world title, to Kristian Blummenfelt’s record-setting 1:05:12 (3:05/km) charge down the Promenade des Anglais on Wilde’s heels, the weekend was full of suspense and world-class racing at its best.

Here’s how the action unfolded.

Taylor Knibb Makes It Four

Many people’s pre-race favourite, Taylor Knibb exited the water with a front pack of 13, led by Sophie Evans and including rising Swiss star Alanis Siffert. Fellow Swiss athlete Julie Derron led the chase group out of the water 1:31 back, accompanied by hometown favourite Marjolaine Pierre, Canadian Paula Findlay, British star Kat Matthews, and reigning Ironman World Champion Solveig Løvseth of Norway.

By 10km into the iconic and brutally challenging bike course, the commentators were already calling it Knibb’s race, saying we were watching Taylor Knibb do Taylor Knibb things. She reportedly climbed the Col de Vence in 29:48, sharing afterward that her coach had cleared her for 300 watts and she pushed 303 – setting a new record for the ascent and reaching the summit more than six minutes ahead of Siffert. At that pace, there certainly wasn’t time to stop and admire the view, as Knibb joked post-race!

 

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Knibb also shared in the post-race press conference that she had been worried about losing time on the descent, potentially three to four minutes, and was pleased to enter T2 with a 4:24 advantage over Pierre. Behind her, Simmonds was 5:23 back, Siffert 5:34, Løvseth 7:56, Matthews 7:59, Laura Philipp 8:36, and Derron 8:41.

While Knibb was clearly commanding the race at this point and seemed poised for victory barring an unexpected disaster, the battle for second (and the rest of the podium!) had fans on the edge of their seats.

Derron, already known for her foot speed, still managed to surprise as she came roaring back along the Baie des Anges, running her way from 11th off the bike all the way into second with a 1:13:04 (3:27/km) run split. Meanwhile, Siffert was holding third but being chased down by Løvseth, another formidable runner who can never be ruled out. The 24-year-old managed to hold on for third, adding another remarkable result to her breakout year, while Løvseth shared post-race that she was very pleased with fourth following a recent period of illness. Pierre completed the top five, admitting she was disappointed with the result but nevertheless receiving huge cheers from the hometown crowd.

Wilde Holds Off a Flying Blummenfelt

Meanwhile, the men’s race the following day delivered an equally thrilling battle.

A huge front pack of 27 men exited the water together, including many of the biggest names: Jamie Riddle, Marten Van Riel, Jonas Schomburg, Jelle Geens, Rico Bogen, Lasse Nygaard Priester, Casper Stornes, and Hayden Wilde. Kristian Blummenfelt was hanging onto the back of it, exiting just 22 seconds off the lead, a strong swim for the Norwegian. Gustav Iden was 1:12 back.

The racing was aggressive up the Col de Vence, with men making moves, testing their rivals and trying to establish separation – not unlike what Knibb had done in the women’s race, although no one could produce anything close to her advantage. Michele Bortolamedi led into T2, followed closely by Wilde, Bogen, and Priester, at 11, 16 and 17 seconds back, respectively. Among the Norwegians, Iden entered T2 in sixth, 54 seconds back, Stornes in eighth at 59 seconds, and Blummenfelt in 16th, facing a 2:29 deficit. Many had ruled him out by then. But just as many knew: never rule out Blu. Meanwhile, defending champion Geens entered T2 in 12th, 1:55 back.

In the early stages of the run, it looked like it could be a breakthrough day for Priester, who traded the lead with Wilde and appeared to be having the race of his life. But as Priester began to fade, other men came charging along the Promenade des Anglais, most notably Geens and Blummenfelt, and suddenly the podium picture was changing fast.

Wilde ultimately took the world title in 3:50:51, but behind him, Blummenfelt was absolutely flying. The Norwegian clocked the fastest Ironman 70.3 run split in history, a remarkable 1:05:12 (3:05/km), as he rapidly ate into Wilde’s advantage. He had famously run down Wilde and Alex Yee to claim Olympic gold, and there were shades of that race here as the crowds went wild for Blu and the gap to Wilde kept shrinking.

 

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This time, though, Wilde held on.

Just 18 seconds separated them at the finish.

Meanwhile, although Geens didn’t produce the three-peat he’d hoped for, he impressively ran himself onto the podium despite an injury that had disrupted his run training heading into the race.

And for Wilde – passed late by Blummenfelt at the Olympic Games and then late by Geens at the 2024 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Taupō – holding on for the victory this time made the moment all the more meaningful. This time, nobody caught him.

 

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