Earlier today, World Triathlon announced the courses for triathlon at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
Based in the very heart of the city, the races will take in some of France’s most iconic sites.
The start and finish point will be on the Pont Alexandre III bridge with the athletes diving into the river from a floating pontoon at the foot of the bridge. Watching from above, a spectator stand with 1000 fans will be watching. The bridge will also host T1 and T2, giving the spectators plenty of action.
The swim will consist of two laps in the Seine. The first will be a longer 910m lap with the second lap being a shorter 590m. In one of the unique features of the race, the athletes will then climb 32 steps from the river to the bridge, which itself will be the first swim exit of its style at the Olympic Games.
Seven loops of 5.715km follow to make up the 40km bike course. Across the route, the athletes will first head north of the river towards Le Petit Palais. Thereafter the iconic Champs-Élysées awaits, giving the triathletes a taste of being in the Tour de France. Before they reach the Arc de Triomphe, the athletes will loop back in a 180 degree turn and head back to the river, crossing at Pont des Invalides.
Once they are south of the river, they will pass Le Musée d’Orsay, Quai d’Orsay and Quai Anatole France as well as Boulevard Saint-Germain.
At the end of the bike, they will arrive back on Pont Alexandre III to begin four laps of 2.5km. On each lap they will cross Pont des Invalides and Pont Alexandre III whilst also heading up to Le Grand Palais and the Champs-Élysées. It will doubtless feel like the eyes of the entire city will be on them as they run.
When it comes to scenery and landmarks, World Triathlon could not have hoped for a better course.
While Paris is mostly flat, the course nonetheless offers several key opportunities to attack. The most obvious breaking point will be the climb to Pont Alexandre III after the swim and that could facilitate an early break on the bike by sapping legs early on. Overall the course seems to have something for everyone. There is enough of a carrot to entice the fast swimmers to risk a break while the run course will encourage those that are fleeter of foot.
In both the men’s and women’s races it is possible to envision a breakaway being hunted down on the run, resulting in a nail-biting finish.
More will no doubt reveal itself about the course at the Test Event this coming August.
Crucially, while the stand at transition will be ticketed, the rest of the course will be free for spectators. As such, the triathlon may just be one to the best events at the Games to target.
The Mixed Team Relay will be taking on a shortened version of the course. With a 300m swim, 5.8km bike and 1.8km run, the course has many of the hallmarks of the individual route.
