Nice again… but this time from the sidelines

The IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship is back this weekend.

And it's back in Nice.

Yes. Nice.

(Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 13th of September. The pros race Sunday at 7:00 a.m. Nice time. Write it down.)

That little detail is why for days now I've been studying the start list, checking who's coming in strong, who's coming in rough, who pulled out, who has a shot… and thinking:

"So why the hell am I not there?"

After living the IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, it's impossible to watch this race like any other. There are places you visit and that's it. And there are places that stick with you.

Nice is one of those.

The Promenade des Anglais, the Mediterranean, the mountains right there, the Col de Vence, the full-speed descents… and that very particular feeling of knowing you're in one of the places where triathlon gets serious.

This Sunday the pros return to that stage to decide who's the IRONMAN 70.3 world champion (Saturday is the age groupers' turn).

And honestly… this is going to be a huge race.

Nice has one trait I love: it doesn't let you hide.

The 1.9K swim in the Mediterranean is just the warm-up. Then comes the bike. And that's where the party starts.

The course is about 90 kilometers, but what matters isn't the kilometers: it's what happens in between.

The star is once again the Col de Vence, a climb of about 10 kilometers, with an average gradient close to 6.5%. It's one of those climbs that surely looks great on Strava. In real life… not so much.

And after climbing, it's time to descend. Fast. Very fast. Because watching the course on YouTube is one thing, and being up there with loaded legs, bombing down narrow roads, knowing you still have 21.1 kilometers to run, is another.

And those 21 kilometers have one particularity: they're flat. Very flat.

The run goes along the Promenade des Anglais and there's nowhere left to hide. If you got there with legs, you fly. If you got too clever on the bike… well, that's when the creative explanations begin.

Here's where it gets fun.

Jelle Geens: triple crown?

The Belgian arrives as the two-time defending champion, and that already says plenty. He won in 2024 and 2025, and now he's going for something that sounds even bigger: three consecutive IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship titles. He's not the typical favorite you put on the list because "well, he already won". Geens knows exactly how to race this distance and, above all, he knows how to win when it's decided by seconds. The problem: there are too many fast people behind him.

Kristian Blummenfelt: the man who always shows up

If there's someone you can never take out of the conversation, it's Blummenfelt. The Norwegian comes in with unfinished business: last year, in Marbella, the title slipped away by just three seconds. Three. Seconds. In triathlon that's basically a lifetime. He prepared specifically for this race and, if he gets off the bike close to the front and takes it to the terrain where he moves best, he's extremely dangerous. Plus he has something you can't train: the face of someone enjoying it while everyone else suffers.

Hayden Wilde: watch the runner

Wilde is another one I really like for this race. If it comes into the run relatively together, you have to keep him in mind. The New Zealander has the kind of legs that make 80 kilometers of bike matter a lot less in the last 10. And in Nice, with a flat, fast run, that's a serious threat.

Marten Van Riel: he already knows how to win here

Another one I wouldn't take off my picks. Why? Because he already won on this exact course: 70.3 Nice in 2025. He knows the layout, he knows the dynamics and he knows exactly what it means to reach the Promenade des Anglais with a real chance of winning. And in a World Championship, that's gold.

And then there are the Norwegians…

Because apparently one Norwegian wasn't enough. Casper Stornes, Gustav Iden and Kristian Blummenfelt form a block that can do a lot of damage.

Stornes also arrives with the 2025 IRONMAN World Champion title under his arm. And note this: he won it here, in Nice, the same World Championship where I crossed the finish line. So he knows exactly what this stage demands. The kid comes in confident.

Iden, for his part, already knows what it's like to win a 70.3 Worlds (in fact he won it right here, in Nice, in 2019) and has the ability to show up when you least expect it.

And there's still Rico Bogen, Lasse Priester, Vincent Luis and Morgan Pearson, among others. In other words: if someone asks me for a top three, I probably need a top eight.

If I had to bet something (and by "something" I mean nothing involving real money, we're not here to fund Las Vegas's retirement), my podium would be:

1. Jelle Geens
2. Kristian Blummenfelt
3. Hayden Wilde

But with Van Riel lurking. And with the feeling this could be one of those races where someone who wasn't in anyone's picks ends up in the podium photo.

Because that's the beautiful thing about a World Championship. There are no normal races.

Because if there's a fight on the men's side, the women aren't far behind. And this weekend they're handing out a crown too.

There's a favorite with a first and last name here: Taylor Knibb. She won this World Championship three years in a row (2022, 2023 and 2024) and is probably the best cyclist in the field. And guess what Nice rewards? Exactly: the bike. The Col de Vence is practically a personalized invitation for her. Last year, in Marbella, the fourth title slipped away, so she arrives with a score to settle.

But she's not alone:

Laura Philipp arrives in great form, winning everything she touches.

Kat Matthews, two-time world runner-up (2023 and 2024), looking to finally make her statement.

Julie Derron, Olympic silver medalist in Paris, with a brutal T100 in her legs.

Marjolaine Pierré races at home, in France, and in a World Championship you feel that.

My women's picks:

1. Taylor Knibb
2. Laura Philipp
3. Kat Matthews

With Derron and Pierré ready to wreck any prediction. Because, once again: there are no normal races.

For those of us following from the sidelines, here's the practical guide so you don't miss the show:

The race runs over two days. Saturday the 12th is the age groupers' turn, and on Sunday the 13th the pros start at 7:00 a.m. CEST (Nice time). In Mexico, it depends on daylight saving, but figure around midnight Saturday into the night if you're following the pro broadcast. The best feed is the official IRONMAN YouTube channel, which usually streams the 70.3 World Championship live and free.

You can watch the pro race right here: 2026 Precision Fuel & Hydration IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship.

If you want to follow live times, splits by discipline and tracking for each athlete, go to the official IRONMAN Pro Series page, in the How to watch section.

And since we're on the sidelines, these are the unwritten rules:

• Make coffee (or whatever keeps you up), because in Mexico it's an early one.
• Have two screens: one with the video and one with the times.
• Say "this bastard's done for" when someone loses 40 seconds.
• Five minutes later: "he's back, he's alive".
• Repeat until the finish.

Because that's how we are.

Here's the tricky part. Because as I write this, part of me wishes I were there.

Not just for the race. For everything. For arriving in Nice. For seeing the sea. For hearing the bikes go by. For walking the Promenade. For running into friends everywhere. For that mix of nerves, excitement and stupidity we triathletes have when we decide that swimming 1.9 km, riding up a mountain and then running a half marathon is a good way to spend a Sunday.

After living the World Championship in Nice, I know exactly what those who'll be there this weekend are going to feel. And that's why this post is also a little bit for them.

To all my friends racing this weekend: enjoy it.

Yes, you have to race. Yes, you have to suffer. Yes, you have to chase that second, that spot, that PR, that AG podium, that slot, or simply reach the finish knowing you left everything out there.

But also remember to lift your head. To look at where you are. Because not every day do you get the chance to race a World Championship in Nice.

I know what it feels like. And I also know what it feels like to be on the other side of the screen, watching the race and thinking: "I should be there."

The 70.3 World Championship is back in Nice. The mountains are ready. So is the Mediterranean. The Col de Vence is waiting for someone to think they still have legs. And the Promenade des Anglais will once again welcome some of the best triathletes in the world.

I won't be there this time. But I know several who will. And I'll be following them as if I were.

Good luck to everyone representing their countries, their families, their teams, their clubs and, above all, themselves.

Enjoy Nice. See you on the other side of the screen.

And who knows… maybe the next World Championship finds me there again. Because you can say a lot of things. But after racing a World Championship… it's very hard to stop wanting another one.

Your top three? Drop it in the comments. On Monday I'll compare it with mine and we'll see who called it best.

Rodrigo