The challenging Alpe d’Huez Triathlon just took place. The race in the French Alps includes an enormous amount of climbing and includes a 2 km swim, 118 km bike with 3000 m of climbing and a 20 km run. Frenchman Clément Mignon and Swiss athlete Emma Bilham won the race.
Mignon was right on target during the first leg of the race and was got onto his bike after a 28:27. He finished the long bike with lots of climbing in 3:50:53, the fastest bike split of the day. He gave back some time to his competitors on the run, but thanks to a 1:16:16 run split and a total time of 5:39:09, his victory was never in danger. He was joined on the podium by compatriots Léon Chevalier and Nathan Guerbeur, who finished second and third. Chevalier finished in 5:43:12, Guerbeur 5:45:05.
In the women’s race, there was no holding back for Emma Bilham. In the swim she was slightly behind a number of women (she finished the 2 km swim in 32:35), but on the bike she rode away from everyone. After sitting in the saddle for 4:28:01 she started the 20 km run, which she finished in 1:25:49. Her total time of 6:29:39 put Bilham well ahead of Spain’s Marta Sanchez who took second in 6:43:49. Third went to Belgium’s Alexandra Tondeur, who crossed the finish line in 6:46:50.
