{"id":19981,"date":"2022-12-13T09:00:57","date_gmt":"2022-12-13T08:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.220triathlon.com\/?p=127049"},"modified":"2022-12-13T09:52:08","modified_gmt":"2022-12-13T08:52:08","slug":"why-the-world-champs-location-change-is-the-right-move-for-ironman","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/rss_feed\/why-the-world-champs-location-change-is-the-right-move-for-ironman\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the World Champs\u2019 location change is the right move for Ironman"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Tim Heming\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 13 December 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Mauna Loa wasn\u2019t the only news erupting from the Big Island of Hawaii in the last week of November. <\/strong><\/p>\n

While the world\u2019s largest volcano blew for the first time since 1984, the leaks were coming thicker than a lava flow that next year\u2019s Ironman World Championship was heading for Nice [Ironman have yet to officially announce the location] \u2013\u00a0or at least the men\u2019s race was<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

An almost instant rethink<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Having confidently announced the Ironman Worlds would continue to be a two-day event in Hawaii<\/strong><\/a> in 2023, local unrest forced a rethink almost as soon as the M-Dot roadshow rolled out of Kailua-Kona in October.<\/p>\n

In many ways the now one-off two-day event had been a success. It was a solution to the backlog of qualifiers hankering after their dream race post-pandemic. It was also, finally, a platform to showcase an independent women\u2019s race that provided great stories<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

But there were also issues such as a shortage of volunteers and closing the highways for two days that stoked the ire of residents.<\/p>\n

So a U-turn was in the offing and Ironman had about as much chance of keeping a lid on its own news as the Big Island residents did of stopping the Mauna Loa lava jets shooting 200ft skyward.<\/p>\n

Split races<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The answer? The promised women-only race remaining on the Big Island next October, while the men\u2019s race shifts 8,000 miles east to southern France and held a month earlier. The expectation, if this policy proves successful, would be for the men to race in Hawaii in 2024.<\/p>\n

Nice offers a great course in a triathlon heartland, with a history dating back to 1982 <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>

It feels like the right move. As the switch and lack of uptake for St George for the delayed 2021 Ironman World Championship showed this year, Kona remains the holy grail; the obsession.<\/p>\n

If the genders are to be split the women deserve first dibs. Even in a sport that prides itself on equality, they too often get short shrift racing midweek while the men get plum weekend slots [Kona top-10 finisher Laura Siddall was just one of many female pros to echo this sentiment<\/strong><\/a>].<\/p>\n

A Kona rival once again?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As for Nice, it has the potential to offer a great course in a triathlon heartland and considerably less costly for Europeans than making the pilgrimage to the mid-Pacific. It also has a history dating back to 1982, won 10 times by Mark Allen<\/strong><\/a>, when it rivalled Kona as the premiere long-course race.<\/p>\n

Ironman could have picked up far more in hosting rights had they headed for the Middle East, but finding a non-Kona course and location engaging enough to entice athletes to fork out for slots would \u2028be a challenge.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not perfect. There\u2019s sympathy for those already qualified for Hawaii in 2023 who will now be forced to change plans \u2013 they should be adequately compensated.<\/p>\n

Worth a try for tri\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There\u2019s also the threat of profit becoming too tempting to ignore and thousands of extra slots being made available that would dilute the quality and undermine the long-term value of the race.<\/p>\n

Yet it\u2019s a concept that merits being tried and serves as a hint that \u2028Ironman may have finally outgrown the Big Island. Hawaii will always remain at its core, it just won\u2019t be its everything.<\/p>\n

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